WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday set the stage for the central bank's first rate cut in four years, citing greater progress toward lower inflation as well as a cooler job market that no longer threatens to overheat the economy.

Still, the Fed kept its key interest rate unchanged at a 23-year high of 5.3%, despite calls from some economists and Democratic politicians to implement a cut Wednesday. Instead, Powell said that, if inflation continues to cool, “a rate cut could be on the table" when it meets next Sept. 17-18.

“We’re getting closer to the point at which it’ll be appropriate to reduce our policy rate,” Powell said, “but we’re not quite at that point.”

A rate cut by the Fed is unlikely to have much immediate impact because it is largely expected by financial markets. Yet over time, lower Fed rates should reduce borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including mortgage and auto-loan rates.

Rate cuts could also bolster the economy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-harris-biden-election-prices-wages-d4dc87e150e5c0b76b664ad7525e05a4">potentially improve</a>&nbsp;Vice President Kamala Harris' prospects. Former President Donald Trump has said the Fed shouldn't cut rates before the election. After September, the Fed's next meeting is two days after the election in November.

In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/business/inflation-general-news-31d83873be23c658d66526745482d572">a statement</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, the Fed said that “job gains have moderated” and acknowledged that the unemployment rate has risen. The Fed is required by Congress to pursue stable prices and maximum employment, and the statement said the central bank is “attentive to the risks” to both goals.

The focus on both inflation and employment is a major shift after several years of Fed officials focusing exclusively on combatting rising prices.

“They’re ready to cut, just as long as we don’t get an inflation suprise between now and September, which we won't," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "Better late than never.”

Before the Fed's decision, financial market traders had priced in 100% odds that the central bank will reduce its benchmark rate at its Sept. 17-18 meeting,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html">according to futures markets</a>. The Fed typically seeks to avoid surprising investors with its rate decisions.

Stocks added a bit to earlier gains and Treasury yields eased after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-federal-reserve-interest-rates-04d2877f47f3913acc2f992d8ef1581b">the Federal Reserve</a>&nbsp;held its main interest rate at a two-decade high but gave some indication that an easing may soon be on the way. The S&amp;P 500 ended Wednesday up 1.6%.

The Fed is seeking to strike a delicate balance: It wants to keep rates high enough for long enough to quell inflation, which has fallen to 2.5% from a peak two years ago of 7.1%, according to its preferred measure. But it also wants to avoid keeping borrowing costs so high that it triggers a recession. So far, it is on track for a so-called “soft landing,” in which inflation falls to 2% without a recession.

Yet with the unemployment rate ticking higher for three months in a row, some economists have raised concerns that the Fed should have cut rates Wednesday or should cut them more quickly later this year.

“The finish line is in sight and it would be tragic for the Fed to stumble and fall, with one-tenth of a mile left in the marathon, which is what I think they would be doing if they don’t start cutting,” Bharat Ramamurti, an advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and former economist in the Biden White House, said on a call with reporters.

Also Wednesday, three Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, urged Powell in a letter to cut rates. The letter charged that a failure to reduce borrowing costs soon would suggest the Fed is “giving in to bullying” and would itself be a political move.

In the latest piece of good news on price increases, last Friday the government said that yearly inflation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-election-federal-reserve-rates-economy-d8d44ca753aace952831a8f0cb42b97c">fell to 2.5%</a>&nbsp;in July, according to the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. That is down from 2.6% the previous month and the lowest since February 2021, when inflation was just starting to accelerate.

At the same time, the unemployment rate has risen by nearly a half-percentage point this year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-unemployment-economy-inflation-federal-reserve-c99bb206d61a2fb2e96156460849d006">to a still-low 4.1%</a>&nbsp;and hiring has slowed. Powell and other Fed officials have highlighted they are increasingly focused on the risk that the job market could falter, another reason markets expect rate cuts soon.

The government will issue the latest jobs numbers on Friday, and economists forecast that it will say employers added 175,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate remained 4.1%.

The Fed may be among the last of the major central banks to cut its benchmark rate. The European Central Bank reduced borrowing costs in June and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-central-bank-economy-inflation-95fccba0a7daad47f081edb1dbccf437">may do so again in September</a>. The Bank of England meets Thursday and may implement its first cut, though economists think it could also keep rates unchanged.

The Bank of Japan is in a different boat, as the country has long sought higher prices after decades of slow deflation. Its inflation rate has moved higher and the Bank of Japan responded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-rates-boj-yen-e00919b053412fabf7a800ed78a9ad7a">earlier Wednesday</a>&nbsp;by increasing its key rate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday set the stage for the central bank's first rate cut in four years, citing greater progress toward lower inflation as well as a cooler job market that no longer threatens to overheat the economy.Still, the Fed kept its key interest rate unchanged at a 23-year high of 5.3%, despite calls from some economists and Democratic politicians to implement a cut Wednesday. Instead, Powell said that, if inflation continues to cool, “a rate cut could be on the table" when it meets next Sept. 17-18.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the Federal Reserve board&#39;s decision not to cut interest rates. <a href="https://t.co/LQ1DldwH2K">pic.twitter.com/LQ1DldwH2K</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818733196982337989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We’re getting closer to the point at which it’ll be appropriate to reduce our policy rate,” Powell said, “but we’re not quite at that point.”A rate cut by the Fed is unlikely to have much immediate impact because it is largely expected by financial markets. Yet over time, lower Fed rates should reduce borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including mortgage and auto-loan rates.Rate cuts could also bolster the economy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-harris-biden-election-prices-wages-d4dc87e150e5c0b76b664ad7525e05a4">potentially improve</a>&nbsp;Vice President Kamala Harris' prospects. Former President Donald Trump has said the Fed shouldn't cut rates before the election. After September, the Fed's next meeting is two days after the election in November.In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/business/inflation-general-news-31d83873be23c658d66526745482d572">a statement</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, the Fed said that “job gains have moderated” and acknowledged that the unemployment rate has risen. The Fed is required by Congress to pursue stable prices and maximum employment, and the statement said the central bank is “attentive to the risks” to both goals.The focus on both inflation and employment is a major shift after several years of Fed officials focusing exclusively on combatting rising prices.“They’re ready to cut, just as long as we don’t get an inflation suprise between now and September, which we won't," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "Better late than never.”Before the Fed's decision, financial market traders had priced in 100% odds that the central bank will reduce its benchmark rate at its Sept. 17-18 meeting,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html">according to futures markets</a>. The Fed typically seeks to avoid surprising investors with its rate decisions.Stocks added a bit to earlier gains and Treasury yields eased after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-federal-reserve-interest-rates-04d2877f47f3913acc2f992d8ef1581b">the Federal Reserve</a>&nbsp;held its main interest rate at a two-decade high but gave some indication that an easing may soon be on the way. The S&amp;P 500 ended Wednesday up 1.6%.The Fed is seeking to strike a delicate balance: It wants to keep rates high enough for long enough to quell inflation, which has fallen to 2.5% from a peak two years ago of 7.1%, according to its preferred measure. But it also wants to avoid keeping borrowing costs so high that it triggers a recession. So far, it is on track for a so-called “soft landing,” in which inflation falls to 2% without a recession.Yet with the unemployment rate ticking higher for three months in a row, some economists have raised concerns that the Fed should have cut rates Wednesday or should cut them more quickly later this year.“The finish line is in sight and it would be tragic for the Fed to stumble and fall, with one-tenth of a mile left in the marathon, which is what I think they would be doing if they don’t start cutting,” Bharat Ramamurti, an advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and former economist in the Biden White House, said on a call with reporters.Also Wednesday, three Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, urged Powell in a letter to cut rates. The letter charged that a failure to reduce borrowing costs soon would suggest the Fed is “giving in to bullying” and would itself be a political move.In the latest piece of good news on price increases, last Friday the government said that yearly inflation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-election-federal-reserve-rates-economy-d8d44ca753aace952831a8f0cb42b97c">fell to 2.5%</a>&nbsp;in July, according to the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. That is down from 2.6% the previous month and the lowest since February 2021, when inflation was just starting to accelerate.At the same time, the unemployment rate has risen by nearly a half-percentage point this year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-unemployment-economy-inflation-federal-reserve-c99bb206d61a2fb2e96156460849d006">to a still-low 4.1%</a>&nbsp;and hiring has slowed. Powell and other Fed officials have highlighted they are increasingly focused on the risk that the job market could falter, another reason markets expect rate cuts soon.The government will issue the latest jobs numbers on Friday, and economists forecast that it will say employers added 175,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate remained 4.1%.The Fed may be among the last of the major central banks to cut its benchmark rate. The European Central Bank reduced borrowing costs in June and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-central-bank-economy-inflation-95fccba0a7daad47f081edb1dbccf437">may do so again in September</a>. The Bank of England meets Thursday and may implement its first cut, though economists think it could also keep rates unchanged.The Bank of Japan is in a different boat, as the country has long sought higher prices after decades of slow deflation. Its inflation rate has moved higher and the Bank of Japan responded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-rates-boj-yen-e00919b053412fabf7a800ed78a9ad7a">earlier Wednesday</a>&nbsp;by increasing its key rate.

🎥Federal Reserve Chair on decision not to cut interest rates

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jaredstrong/">JARED STRONG</a>&nbsp;

Federal health officials are encouraging farm workers who tend livestock and poultry to get vaccinated for seasonal influenza to help prevent a bird flu mutation that might spark a pandemic in people.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it would devote up to $5 million to pay for the vaccinations, and that it will rely on states to implement the initiative.

There are 14 known human infections of highly pathogenic avian influenza that resulted from contact with infected dairy cattle and poultry in the United States, and all but one has happened in the past four months.

The virus has been circulated by wild birds for more than two years and has sporadically transmitted to domestic birds. A variation of the virus has been infecting U.S. dairy cattle since December, and four people who worked closely with infected cattle also became ill.

In recent weeks, nine people in Colorado who were tasked with culling infected poultry contracted the virus.

The CDC has maintained that the virus’ risk to humans is low — those who have been infected so far had minor symptoms of respiratory illness or pinkeye, or both.

It has not been shown to transmit between people, but the virus has the potential to rapidly gain that ability if it infects someone who also has a seasonal flu virus.

“Such dual infections, while rare, could potentially result in an exchange of genetic material between two different influenza viruses,” Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director for the CDC, said in a call with reporters Tuesday.

Shah said that “reassortment” process could pose a “significant public health concern” if bird flu gains the ability to spread person-to-person the way seasonal flu does, potentially resulting in a virus that spreads easily and causes severe symptoms.

Shah said the CDC will devote up to $10 million for farm workers’ health related to avian flu. Half will be spent educating and training farm workers about how to avoid being infected.

The other half will pay for seasonal flu vaccines for an estimated 200,000 farm workers who tend livestock and poultry. The CDC hopes to vaccinate all of them but acknowledges that less than half of the general population typically gets a flu shot.

How the voluntary vaccination effort will proceed is unclear. State health officials are expected to implement them, most immediately in the 13 states that have confirmed infections among cows.

That includes Iowa, where 13 dairy herds have been infected. However, no new infections have been reported in the state in the past month.

A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services — which presumably would coordinate with the CDC — did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.

The vaccine will not protect the workers from contracting bird flu, Shah said, nor will it guarantee they won’t be infected by seasonal flu. But he said it’s an important component of the public health response to the new virus’ threat.

“The risk here is a theoretical but important risk,” Shah said.

The confirmations of new bird flu infections among cattle have waned significantly in most states, except for in Colorado. In the past 30 days, two-thirds of the nation’s 32 newly infected herds were in that state, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Some of that might be due to Colorado’s&nbsp;<a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-requiring-dairy-products-to-be-regularly-tested-for-bird-flu-amid-outbreak/" target="_blank">robust testing protocols</a>, but it’s also “a quirk of history and geography,” said Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs for the USDA.

The state has far fewer dairy farms than the leading milk-producing states, but most of them are concentrated in one county.

“They are all in very close proximity to one another, and so there is a lot of sharing of equipment, a lot of sharing of personnel and a lot of movement on and off farms to adjacent farms,” Deeble said.

The USDA has identified the movement of equipment and people between dairy farms as a primary vector for virus transmissions from herd to herd and from herd to flock.

The virus has been identified in 172 dairy herds in the United States this year. Fifty of them are in Colorado. In Texas, where the infections originated, the virus was confirmed in 22 herds, although there were many that went untested because they recovered before bird flu&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/04/17/two-veterinarians-hundreds-of-miles-apart-solved-a-cow-sickness-whodunit/" target="_blank">was identified</a>&nbsp;as the culprit.

This story was originally published by the&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/07/30/worried-about-bird-flu-mutation-feds-seek-livestock-worker-vaccinations/" target="_blank">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>, a States Newsroom affiliate.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722448527185.png" alt="Cow Photo courtesy of Iowa State Dairy Association)." />
 <figcaption>Cow Photo courtesy of Iowa State Dairy Association).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jaredstrong/">JARED STRONG</a>&nbsp;Federal health officials are encouraging farm workers who tend livestock and poultry to get vaccinated for seasonal influenza to help prevent a bird flu mutation that might spark a pandemic in people.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it would devote up to $5 million to pay for the vaccinations, and that it will rely on states to implement the initiative.There are 14 known human infections of highly pathogenic avian influenza that resulted from contact with infected dairy cattle and poultry in the United States, and all but one has happened in the past four months.The virus has been circulated by wild birds for more than two years and has sporadically transmitted to domestic birds. A variation of the virus has been infecting U.S. dairy cattle since December, and four people who worked closely with infected cattle also became ill.In recent weeks, nine people in Colorado who were tasked with culling infected poultry contracted the virus.The CDC has maintained that the virus’ risk to humans is low — those who have been infected so far had minor symptoms of respiratory illness or pinkeye, or both.It has not been shown to transmit between people, but the virus has the potential to rapidly gain that ability if it infects someone who also has a seasonal flu virus.“Such dual infections, while rare, could potentially result in an exchange of genetic material between two different influenza viruses,” Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director for the CDC, said in a call with reporters Tuesday.Shah said that “reassortment” process could pose a “significant public health concern” if bird flu gains the ability to spread person-to-person the way seasonal flu does, potentially resulting in a virus that spreads easily and causes severe symptoms.<h2>A new vaccination campaign</h2>Shah said the CDC will devote up to $10 million for farm workers’ health related to avian flu. Half will be spent educating and training farm workers about how to avoid being infected.The other half will pay for seasonal flu vaccines for an estimated 200,000 farm workers who tend livestock and poultry. The CDC hopes to vaccinate all of them but acknowledges that less than half of the general population typically gets a flu shot.How the voluntary vaccination effort will proceed is unclear. State health officials are expected to implement them, most immediately in the 13 states that have confirmed infections among cows.That includes Iowa, where 13 dairy herds have been infected. However, no new infections have been reported in the state in the past month.A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services — which presumably would coordinate with the CDC — did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.The vaccine will not protect the workers from contracting bird flu, Shah said, nor will it guarantee they won’t be infected by seasonal flu. But he said it’s an important component of the public health response to the new virus’ threat.“The risk here is a theoretical but important risk,” Shah said.<h2>Colorado has most recent infections</h2>The confirmations of new bird flu infections among cattle have waned significantly in most states, except for in Colorado. In the past 30 days, two-thirds of the nation’s 32 newly infected herds were in that state, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.Some of that might be due to Colorado’s&nbsp;<a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-requiring-dairy-products-to-be-regularly-tested-for-bird-flu-amid-outbreak/" target="_blank">robust testing protocols</a>, but it’s also “a quirk of history and geography,” said Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs for the USDA.The state has far fewer dairy farms than the leading milk-producing states, but most of them are concentrated in one county.“They are all in very close proximity to one another, and so there is a lot of sharing of equipment, a lot of sharing of personnel and a lot of movement on and off farms to adjacent farms,” Deeble said.The USDA has identified the movement of equipment and people between dairy farms as a primary vector for virus transmissions from herd to herd and from herd to flock.The virus has been identified in 172 dairy herds in the United States this year. Fifty of them are in Colorado. In Texas, where the infections originated, the virus was confirmed in 22 herds, although there were many that went untested because they recovered before bird flu&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/04/17/two-veterinarians-hundreds-of-miles-apart-solved-a-cow-sickness-whodunit/" target="_blank">was identified</a>&nbsp;as the culprit.This story was originally published by the&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/07/30/worried-about-bird-flu-mutation-feds-seek-livestock-worker-vaccinations/" target="_blank">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>, a States Newsroom affiliate.&nbsp;

Worried about bird flu mutation, feds seek livestock worker vaccinations

WASHINGTON (AP) —CarShield will pay $10 million to settle charges that its advertisements and telemarketing for its extended auto warranty plans are deceptive and misleading, the Federal Trade Commission said.

Many customers found that repair claims were often not covered despite making payments of up to $120 per month, the FTC said Wednesday. The FTC also alleged that CarShield’s celebrity and consumer endorsers made false statements in its ads.

The FTC complaint states that CarShield advertises and sells vehicle service contracts in a monthly price range of about $80 to $120. Its ads have featured celebrities including sports commentator Chris Brown and actor and rapper Ice-T.

The complaint alleges many CarShield ads claim that all repairs or repairs to “covered” systems, such as the engine and transmission, will be covered and they use language that make consumers believe CarShield will pay for all necessary repairs.

But the FTC alleged that consumers often didn't receive the services they thought were covered under their payments, such as using the repair facility of their choice. Many consumers also found that repairs they thought were covered were not.

“Instead of delivering the ‘peace of mind’ promised by its advertisements, CarShield left many consumers with a financial headache,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a prepared statement. “Worse still, CarShield used trusted personalities to deliver its empty promises. The FTC will hold advertisers accountable for using false or deceptive claims to exploit consumers’ financial anxieties.”

NRRM LLC does business under the CarShield name. American Auto Shield LLC is the administrator of the vehicle service contracts.

The settlement prevents CarShield and American Auto Shield from making deceptive and misleading statements in the future and requires them to ensure the testimonials from representatives, including celebrities, are truthful and accurate.

The company did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) —CarShield will pay $10 million to settle charges that its advertisements and telemarketing for its extended auto warranty plans are deceptive and misleading, the Federal Trade Commission said.Many customers found that repair claims were often not covered despite making payments of up to $120 per month, the FTC said Wednesday. The FTC also alleged that CarShield’s celebrity and consumer endorsers made false statements in its ads.The FTC complaint states that CarShield advertises and sells vehicle service contracts in a monthly price range of about $80 to $120. Its ads have featured celebrities including sports commentator Chris Brown and actor and rapper Ice-T.The complaint alleges many CarShield ads claim that all repairs or repairs to “covered” systems, such as the engine and transmission, will be covered and they use language that make consumers believe CarShield will pay for all necessary repairs.But the FTC alleged that consumers often didn't receive the services they thought were covered under their payments, such as using the repair facility of their choice. Many consumers also found that repairs they thought were covered were not.“Instead of delivering the ‘peace of mind’ promised by its advertisements, CarShield left many consumers with a financial headache,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a prepared statement. “Worse still, CarShield used trusted personalities to deliver its empty promises. The FTC will hold advertisers accountable for using false or deceptive claims to exploit consumers’ financial anxieties.”NRRM LLC does business under the CarShield name. American Auto Shield LLC is the administrator of the vehicle service contracts.The settlement prevents CarShield and American Auto Shield from making deceptive and misleading statements in the future and requires them to ensure the testimonials from representatives, including celebrities, are truthful and accurate.The company did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

CarShield to pay $10M to settle deceptive advertising charges

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating the death of a teenager in an apparent drive-by shooting in the north Kansas City community of Avondale Tuesday night.

Just after 9p.m.,&nbsp; multiple 911 callers reported the sound of shots fired, according to a statement from the Clay County Sheriff's Office. Shortly thereafter, a caller reported someone had been shot in the 3200 block of N.E. Excelsior Street. The victim, a boy in his teens, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Detectives spoke to witnesses and gathered evidence. The Kansas City Police Crime Scene Investigations Unit is helping process the scene. Initially, it appears a drive-by shooting took place.

Investigators have identified a suspect vehicle.

The vehicle appears to be a dark blue or black 1996-98 Chevy Silverado Z71 4x4 with the driver’s side headlight out.

If anyone has any information that can help solve this case, please contact the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722421208879.png" alt="Clay County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Clay County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating the death of a teenager in an apparent drive-by shooting in the north Kansas City community of Avondale Tuesday night.Just after 9p.m.,&nbsp; multiple 911 callers reported the sound of shots fired, according to a statement from the Clay County Sheriff's Office. Shortly thereafter, a caller reported someone had been shot in the 3200 block of N.E. Excelsior Street. The victim, a boy in his teens, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We&#39;re investigating an apparent drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of a teenager in Avondale about 9 p.m. tonight. This is the suspect vehicle. Contact <a href="https://twitter.com/KCCrimeStop?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KCCrimeStop</a> @ 816-474-TIPS with any info. that could help us solve this. More: <a href="https://t.co/U9sq7dbtRR">https://t.co/U9sq7dbtRR</a> <a href="https://t.co/5LrGs3msvG">pic.twitter.com/5LrGs3msvG</a>&mdash; Clay County, Missouri Sheriff (@SheriffClayCo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SheriffClayCo/status/1818505232189378894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Detectives spoke to witnesses and gathered evidence. The Kansas City Police Crime Scene Investigations Unit is helping process the scene. Initially, it appears a drive-by shooting took place.Investigators have identified a suspect vehicle.The vehicle appears to be a dark blue or black 1996-98 Chevy Silverado Z71 4x4 with the driver’s side headlight out.If anyone has any information that can help solve this case, please contact the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Sheriff: Teen dead in Kansas City area drive-by shooting

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri residents will get another tax cut in 2025, marking the fourth straight year of reductions.

Gov. Mike Parson's administration said Tuesday that the top income tax rate will decline from 4.8% to 4.7% effective Jan. 1. The reduction is a result of a 2022 state law that set a series of revenue benchmarks capable of triggering tax cuts in future years.

When Missouri's revenue figures for the 2024 fiscal year were released earlier this month, it was not immediately clear that they were high enough to cause a tax cut. But the formula also takes into account money set aside for savings, which helped Missouri reach the threshold.

Budget Director Dan Haug said the state made larger-than-usual transfers in the 2023 fiscal year to its constitutionally required savings fund and to a maintenance and repair fund for state facilities. That reduced the base-year revenue figure used in the tax-cutting formula, making the 2024 growth sufficient to trigger another rate reduction.

The top income tax rate was 5.4% before the series of gradual reductions began in 2022.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658243002664.jpeg" alt="(Unsplash)" />
 <figcaption>(Unsplash)</figcaption>
 </figure>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri residents will get another tax cut in 2025, marking the fourth straight year of reductions.Gov. Mike Parson's administration said Tuesday that the top income tax rate will decline from 4.8% to 4.7% effective Jan. 1. The reduction is a result of a 2022 state law that set a series of revenue benchmarks capable of triggering tax cuts in future years.When Missouri's revenue figures for the 2024 fiscal year were released earlier this month, it was not immediately clear that they were high enough to cause a tax cut. But the formula also takes into account money set aside for savings, which helped Missouri reach the threshold.Budget Director Dan Haug said the state made larger-than-usual transfers in the 2023 fiscal year to its constitutionally required savings fund and to a maintenance and repair fund for state facilities. That reduced the base-year revenue figure used in the tax-cutting formula, making the 2024 growth sufficient to trigger another rate reduction.The top income tax rate was 5.4% before the series of gradual reductions began in 2022.

Missouri to cut income tax rate for the fourth straight year

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement continue their investigation of a vehicle crash into two homes in Riley County.

According to an updated statement from the Riley County Police Department, just before 1a.m. Saturday, a vehicle traveled through two houses  1100 Block of Yuma and came to rest inside the second home and ran over a 23-year-old occupant of the residence who sleeping in his bed. The man was trapped and eventually extracted from under the vehicle.

He was taken to the hospital for treatment. &nbsp;

The vehicle occupants exited the vehicle. EMS was dispatched for the vehicle occupants with one being transported to Via Christi for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The other occupant of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;

Police continue to work to gather all of the facts.&nbsp; Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

RILEY COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 1a.m. Saturday in Riley County.

A driver lost control of a vehicle in the 1100 Block of Yuma, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

The vehicle struck a house and continued into another house where it&nbsp; ran over a 23-year-old occupant of the residence who sleeping in his bed. The man was trapped and eventually&nbsp;extracted from under the vehicle.

EMS transported the victim to Via Christi for treatment of his non-life-threatening injuries. He was later transferred to Stormont-Vail for advanced treatment, according to the RCPD.&nbsp;&nbsp;Before he was transported the injured man was stable and was able to communicate with officers, according to the RCPD.&nbsp; Police had no additional information early Monday.

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement continue their investigation of a vehicle crash into two homes in Riley County.According to an updated statement from the Riley County Police Department, just before 1a.m. Saturday, a vehicle traveled through two houses 1100 Block of Yuma and came to rest inside the second home and ran over a 23-year-old occupant of the residence who sleeping in his bed. The man was trapped and eventually extracted from under the vehicle.He was taken to the hospital for treatment. &nbsp;The vehicle occupants exited the vehicle. EMS was dispatched for the vehicle occupants with one being transported to Via Christi for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The other occupant of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;Police continue to work to gather all of the facts.&nbsp; Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.-------------RILEY COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 1a.m. Saturday in Riley County.A driver lost control of a vehicle in the 1100 Block of Yuma, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.The vehicle struck a house and continued into another house where it&nbsp; ran over a 23-year-old occupant of the residence who sleeping in his bed. The man was trapped and eventually&nbsp;extracted from under the vehicle.EMS transported the victim to Via Christi for treatment of his non-life-threatening injuries. He was later transferred to Stormont-Vail for advanced treatment, according to the RCPD.&nbsp;&nbsp;Before he was transported the injured man was stable and was able to communicate with officers, according to the RCPD.&nbsp; Police had no additional information early Monday.

Police: 1 died after vehicle ran over man asleep in his bed at Kansas home

&nbsp;WASHINGTON —The Secret Service's acting director told a United State's Senate committee Tuesday that he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in&nbsp;the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump&nbsp;was unsecured.&nbsp; Following the hearing, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall led colleagues in demanding accountability on Trump assassination attempt.

Marshall is calling for an independent commission that identifies all of the problems and mistakes that took place on July 13th.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722374985803.png" alt="Kansas Senator Roger Marshall during Tuesday's hearing with Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Senator Roger Marshall during Tuesday's hearing with Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;WASHINGTON —The Secret Service's acting director told a United State's Senate committee Tuesday that he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in&nbsp;the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump&nbsp;was unsecured.&nbsp; Following the hearing, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall led colleagues in demanding accountability on Trump assassination attempt.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I am demanding an independent commission that identifies all of the problems and mistakes that took place on July 13th. Corey’s family deserves more, President Trump deserves more and the American people deserve more. <a href="https://t.co/hk1YLYpPcB">pic.twitter.com/hk1YLYpPcB</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1818379725024133403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are 17 days out from the assassination attempt on Trump. I don&#39;t want conversations and processes- I want answers and accountability. Hiding behind a vague, slow-moving investigation is not going to cut it. We need full reform at the Secret Service and FBI now. <a href="https://t.co/vBwmq4FnCh">pic.twitter.com/vBwmq4FnCh</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1818338263775547853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Marshall is calling for an independent commission that identifies all of the problems and mistakes that took place on July 13th.

🎥Kan. U.S. Senator calls for independent investigation of Trump assassination attempt

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a car theft with a dog in the vehicle have located the car and also the puppy.&nbsp;

The dog was located late Tuesday, according to police, and is safe.

Just after 5:30a.m. Tuesday, a black Volkswagon Passat with Kansas tag number 0806ABC, was reportedly stolen from the Kwik Shop at SW 6th and Macvicar in Topeka, according to Topeka Police.

Police determined there was a puppy inside the vehicle at the time it was stolen.&nbsp;

Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, police reported they located the black Volkswagon Passat and two individuals were currently in custody, according to police spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police thanked the many community members who assisted in this investigation.&nbsp; Police have not released the names of the suspects.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722349064686.png" alt="Volkswagon Passat with Kansas tag number 0806ABC" />
 <figcaption>Volkswagon Passat with Kansas tag number 0806ABC</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a car theft with a dog in the vehicle have located the car and also the puppy.&nbsp;The dog was located late Tuesday, according to police, and is safe.Just after 5:30a.m. Tuesday, a black Volkswagon Passat with Kansas tag number 0806ABC, was reportedly stolen from the Kwik Shop at SW 6th and Macvicar in Topeka, according to Topeka Police.Police determined there was a puppy inside the vehicle at the time it was stolen.&nbsp;Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, police reported they located the black Volkswagon Passat and two individuals were currently in custody, according to police spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp;&nbsp;Police thanked the many community members who assisted in this investigation.&nbsp; Police have not released the names of the suspects.---------------

Police find puppy taken in Kansas car theft

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A&nbsp;Kansas woman who admitted killing her 14-year-old son before a standoff with police at her apartment is going to prison for the rest of her adult life.&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced 43-year-old Kylee Hodges of Wichita to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. Hodges waived her right to be present at the sentencing hearing, according to the DA's office and left the courtroom.

In June,&nbsp; Hodges pleaded guilty to&nbsp;first-degree murder&nbsp;for the shooting death of&nbsp;Claude Hodges Jr., according to the District Attorney's Office.

Just before 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28, police arrived at an apartment at 8405 W. Central in Wichita, to check on 14-year-old Claude Hodges after his father called concerned for his welfare.

When they arrived at the apartment they knocked and received no response. They observed a bullet hole in the apartment's exterior wall and also found a fired bullet on the ground near the entrance.

Police officers quickly obtained a key and entered the apartment. Upon entering they found a woman, later identified as Kylee Hodges of Wichita, holding a handgun. A shotgun was also nearby. Officers quickly withdrew from the apartment and notified negotiators.

The police negotiators began talking with Hodges at around 8:20 p.m. A tactical team, comprised of both police and deputies from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office were called to the apartment at around 9:45 p.m.

Discussions with Hodges continued for several hours in an effort to convince her to disarm and exit peacefully. At one point they convinced Hodges to come out of the apartment and leave her handgun on the ground outside, but she remained close to the gun.

At around 1:40 a.m., Hodges quickly picked up the handgun again, and advanced toward officers while pointing the firearm in their direction. Two SWAT officers from Wichita police each fired one shot toward Hodges, striking her.

When officers went back in the apartment, they found the teen dead in a bedroom.&nbsp; Kylee Hodges was treated at a local hospital and booked into the Sedgwick County Detention Center.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707836093664.png" alt="Hodges photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Hodges photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A&nbsp;Kansas woman who admitted killing her 14-year-old son before a standoff with police at her apartment is going to prison for the rest of her adult life.&nbsp;&nbsp;On Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced 43-year-old Kylee Hodges of Wichita to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. Hodges waived her right to be present at the sentencing hearing, according to the DA's office and left the courtroom.In June,&nbsp; Hodges pleaded guilty to&nbsp;first-degree murder&nbsp;for the shooting death of&nbsp;Claude Hodges Jr., according to the District Attorney's Office.Just before 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28, police arrived at an apartment at 8405 W. Central in Wichita, to check on 14-year-old Claude Hodges after his father called concerned for his welfare.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1706532733268.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation Jan. 28-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation Jan. 28-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>When they arrived at the apartment they knocked and received no response. They observed a bullet hole in the apartment's exterior wall and also found a fired bullet on the ground near the entrance.Police officers quickly obtained a key and entered the apartment. Upon entering they found a woman, later identified as Kylee Hodges of Wichita, holding a handgun. A shotgun was also nearby. Officers quickly withdrew from the apartment and notified negotiators.The police negotiators began talking with Hodges at around 8:20 p.m. A tactical team, comprised of both police and deputies from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office were called to the apartment at around 9:45 p.m.Discussions with Hodges continued for several hours in an effort to convince her to disarm and exit peacefully. At one point they convinced Hodges to come out of the apartment and leave her handgun on the ground outside, but she remained close to the gun.At around 1:40 a.m., Hodges quickly picked up the handgun again, and advanced toward officers while pointing the firearm in their direction. Two SWAT officers from Wichita police each fired one shot toward Hodges, striking her.When officers went back in the apartment, they found the teen dead in a bedroom.&nbsp; Kylee Hodges was treated at a local hospital and booked into the Sedgwick County Detention Center.&nbsp;

Kan. woman who killed her teen son does not attend sentencing hearing 

JOHNSON COUNTY —Investigators are working to determine the cause of a house fire in Olathe.

Just before 4:30p.m. Tuesday, crews responded to a fire in a home&nbsp;&nbsp;in the 1400 block of N. Mart-Way Drive, according to a social media report. 

&nbsp;Two people safely escaped the home. There were no injuries. The fire started in a downstairs room. Damage to the home is significant. Authorities released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722422030615.png" alt="Photo Olathe FIre" />
 <figcaption>Photo Olathe FIre</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Investigators are working to determine the cause of a house fire in Olathe.Just before 4:30p.m. Tuesday, crews responded to a fire in a home&nbsp;&nbsp;in the 1400 block of N. Mart-Way Drive, according to a social media report. &nbsp;Two people safely escaped the home. There were no injuries. The fire started in a downstairs room. Damage to the home is significant. Authorities released no additional details.

Significant damage after fire at Kansas home

The popular deli meat company Boar's Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/listeria-outbreak-deli-meat-liverwurst-2ab9ad2db304d829807982a53898cdb1">an investigation</a>&nbsp;into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/Recall-023-2024-EXP-Product_Information_Sheet.pdf">new recall</a>&nbsp;includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar's Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.

They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm's Jarratt, Virginia, plant.

The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those who fell ill have been hospitalized. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-July.

The problem was discovered when a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility,” the company said on its website. It has also halted production of ready-to-eat foods at the plant.

The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said.

Consumers who have the recalled products in their homes should not eat them and should discard them or return them to stores for a refund, company officials said. Health officials said refrigerators should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to prevent contamination of other foods.

An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.

Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems and during pregnacy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721435735887.png" alt="FILE - This 2002 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, responsible for the food borne illness listeriosis. (Elizabeth White/CDC via AP, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - This 2002 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, responsible for the food borne illness listeriosis. (Elizabeth White/CDC via AP, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health WriterThe popular deli meat company Boar's Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/listeria-outbreak-deli-meat-liverwurst-2ab9ad2db304d829807982a53898cdb1">an investigation</a>&nbsp;into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/Recall-023-2024-EXP-Product_Information_Sheet.pdf">new recall</a>&nbsp;includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar's Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm's Jarratt, Virginia, plant.The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those who fell ill have been hospitalized. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-July.The problem was discovered when a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility,” the company said on its website. It has also halted production of ready-to-eat foods at the plant.The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said.Consumers who have the recalled products in their homes should not eat them and should discard them or return them to stores for a refund, company officials said. Health officials said refrigerators should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to prevent contamination of other foods.An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems and during pregnacy.

Listeria outbreak: Recall expanded to include 7 million more pounds of deli meats

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 25-year-old&nbsp;Anthony Canaday, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Just before 9a.m. Tuesday, officers were in the area of E 55th and Paseo Boulevard when they heard several sounds of gunshots. Officers began to canvass the area where they believed the gunshots came from when a shooting call was reported nearby, according to Gonzalez.

Officers were flagged down by several people on scene advising someone had been shot. Police located a victim later identified as Canady outside of a vehicle parked in the area unresponsive and suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

 Officers rendered medical aid until EMS arrived and declared the Canady deceased on scene.

The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently unknown and no one is in custody. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel&nbsp; responded to begin gathering evidence and to collect witness statements.This is being investigated as a homicide and is ongoing at this time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722357400169.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 25-year-old&nbsp;Anthony Canaday, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.Just before 9a.m. Tuesday, officers were in the area of E 55th and Paseo Boulevard when they heard several sounds of gunshots. Officers began to canvass the area where they believed the gunshots came from when a shooting call was reported nearby, according to Gonzalez.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722357430446.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Officers were flagged down by several people on scene advising someone had been shot. Police located a victim later identified as Canady outside of a vehicle parked in the area unresponsive and suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Officers rendered medical aid until EMS arrived and declared the Canady deceased on scene.The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently unknown and no one is in custody. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel&nbsp; responded to begin gathering evidence and to collect witness statements.This is being investigated as a homicide and is ongoing at this time.

KCPD IDs 25-year-old victim found dead outside vehicle 

BAGHDAD (AP) — A strike near a base of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia southwest of Baghdad killed at least one militant and wounded two others, two militants familiar with the incident told The Associated Press.

The attack comes days after an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias dubbed “the Islamic Resistance” resumed rocket attacks on U.S. military bases in the country and in eastern Syria.

The militants spoke about the attack on Jurf al-Sakher on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The attack came hours after Israel said it launched a strike in a southern Beirut suburb in Lebanon targeting a Hezbollah militant commander.

The United States has claimed responsibility for strikes targeting Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, but has not immediately commented on the matter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708813391502.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>BAGHDAD (AP) — A strike near a base of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia southwest of Baghdad killed at least one militant and wounded two others, two militants familiar with the incident told The Associated Press.The attack comes days after an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias dubbed “the Islamic Resistance” resumed rocket attacks on U.S. military bases in the country and in eastern Syria.The militants spoke about the attack on Jurf al-Sakher on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The attack came hours after Israel said it launched a strike in a southern Beirut suburb in Lebanon targeting a Hezbollah militant commander.The United States has claimed responsibility for strikes targeting Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, but has not immediately commented on the matter.

Attack kills 1 after rocket attack at U.S. military bases in Syria

JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas man is going to prison for child sex crimes.

On July 25, a Johnson County judge sentenced&nbsp;37-year-old Cameron J. McPheeters of Olathe to just over 41-years in prison for two counts of rape of a child under the age of 14, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

In June McPheeters pleaded guilty to two counts of rape.&nbsp; The crimes occurred in May of 2020, according to the KBI Offender Registry.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722002983096.png" alt="McPheeters-photo Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>McPheeters-photo Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas man is going to prison for child sex crimes.On July 25, a Johnson County judge sentenced&nbsp;37-year-old Cameron J. McPheeters of Olathe to just over 41-years in prison for two counts of rape of a child under the age of 14, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.In June McPheeters pleaded guilty to two counts of rape.&nbsp; The crimes occurred in May of 2020, according to the KBI Offender Registry.

Kansas man going to prison for violent child sex crimes

SALINE COUNTY —Police are investigating a domestic incident that injured a woman in Salina.

Just after 8p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a domestic disturbance call near Ohio and Magnolia Streets, according to Salina Police Captain James Feldman. When officers arrived, they found a 46-year-old woman from Salina in the parking lot of Scooters on Ohio Street.

"She indicated that she got into a domestic incident at a residence in the 2300 block of Aurora Avenue with someone she's involved with," Feldman said. "The victim said that when he [suspect] attempted to leave in a vehicle, she attempted to stop him. She was partially in the vehicle and out of the vehicle."

The driver and suspect, later identified as Troy Zelfer, 35-year-old of Salina, drove off as the woman victim's leg hung outside of the front passenger side of the vehicle. Zelfer drove the vehicle, dragging the victim's leg for approximately two-tenths of a mile.

"He pulled away with her half in half out, dragging her for a short distance. She did have injuries and abrasions on her right leg and left arm," Feldman said.

Zelfer then drove the vehicle to the Scooters Coffee parking lot, 2055 S Ohio Street, before he left the vehicle and the woman behind. He then walked to the nearby Kwik Shop, where officers apprehended him without incident.

&nbsp;Zelfer was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges that include aggravated battery and driving with a suspended license. Additionally, he was found to have two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court, according to Feldman.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722254442222.png" alt="Zelfer photo Saline County" />
 <figcaption>Zelfer photo Saline County</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —Police are investigating a domestic incident that injured a woman in Salina.Just after 8p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a domestic disturbance call near Ohio and Magnolia Streets, according to Salina Police Captain James Feldman. When officers arrived, they found a 46-year-old woman from Salina in the parking lot of Scooters on Ohio Street."She indicated that she got into a domestic incident at a residence in the 2300 block of Aurora Avenue with someone she's involved with," Feldman said. "The victim said that when he [suspect] attempted to leave in a vehicle, she attempted to stop him. She was partially in the vehicle and out of the vehicle."The driver and suspect, later identified as Troy Zelfer, 35-year-old of Salina, drove off as the woman victim's leg hung outside of the front passenger side of the vehicle. Zelfer drove the vehicle, dragging the victim's leg for approximately two-tenths of a mile."He pulled away with her half in half out, dragging her for a short distance. She did have injuries and abrasions on her right leg and left arm," Feldman said.Zelfer then drove the vehicle to the Scooters Coffee parking lot, 2055 S Ohio Street, before he left the vehicle and the woman behind. He then walked to the nearby Kwik Shop, where officers apprehended him without incident.&nbsp;Zelfer was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges that include aggravated battery and driving with a suspended license. Additionally, he was found to have two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court, according to Feldman.

 Police: Kan. man dragged woman with vehicle during dispute

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service's acting director told lawmakers Tuesday that he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/election-biden-trump-campaign-updates-07-13-2024">the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was unsecured and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a nearby roof.

Ronald Rowe Jr. also testified that he recently visited the shooting site and lied down on the roof of the building where shots were fired in order to evaluate the gunman's line of sight during the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year Secret Service veteran, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured," he said.

The testimony was the most detailed catalog to date by the Secret Service of law enforcement failings and miscommunications, with Rowe accepting blame for his own agency's mistakes while also pointedly criticizing local law enforcement for communication breakdowns that resulted in his agency not receiving information that a gunman, later identified as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-thomas-matthew-crooks-shooter-881581c46c07025898027143fc9132e5">20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks</a>, had been seen on the roof of a building less than 150 yards (135 meters) from the rally stage where Trump was speaking.

“Neither the Secret Service counter sniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the building with a firearm,” Rowe said. “It is my understanding those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots.”

He said that the shooting amounted to a “failure on multiple levels,” including a failure of imagination and a “failure to challenge our assumptions.”

“We assumed that the state and locals had it,” Rowe said. “We made an assumption that there was going to be uniformed presence out there, that there would be sufficient eyes to cover that, that there was going to be counter-sniper teams” in the building from whose roof Crooks fired shots.

“And I can assure you,” Rowe added, "that we’re not going to make that mistake again.”

He said he had implemented multiple reforms since taking over as acting director last week, including mandating that every event security plan is vetted by multiple experienced supervisors before being implemented, expanding the use of aerial drones to improve visibility of roofs, dedicating more resources to improve communications at events where the Secret Service is operating. He said he's also directed that federal and local counter snipers work together on roofs.

Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was struck in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment in the assassination attempt, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured before the gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.

The blunt and at times emotional testimony Tuesday, featuring combative exchanges with lawmakers, ensured that an already simmering blame game between federal and local authorities will continue. It also suggested that Rowe, with ready and generally detailed answers, was determined to strike a different posture than that of his predecessor,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-director-trump-rally-8b1b13cece2ff25590c81093032dceb4">Kimberly Cheatle</a>, who resigned last week after facing intense criticism from lawmakers from both major political parties following responses at a congressional hearing that were seen as evasive and lacking in specifics.

Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees was the latest in a series of congressional sessions dedicated to the law enforcement lapses and missed communications that preceded the shooting.

Local law enforcement officers had first observed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-rally-a1bcbaa4a604e09be8cc22893751895b">a suspicious-looking man</a>&nbsp;at the rally site more than an hour before the event and circulated that information, including photographs of a man who turned out to be Crooks. But the officers ultimately lost track of Crooks, who was able to scale the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15-style rife.

Shortly before the shooting, a local officer climbed up to the roof to investigate. Crooks turned and pointed his rifle at the officer, who retreated.

Even though text messages among local snipers revealed anxiety about the man, Rowe said the only thing the Secret Service knew at the time of the shooting was that law enforcement was contending with a suspicious-looking man.

“No information regarding a weapon on a roof was ever passed to our personnel,” Rowe said. At another point, he noted, “It is troubling to me that we did not get that information as quickly as we should have. We didn’t know that there was this incident going on.”

But Rowe's willingness to assign blame to local law enforcement opened him up to harsh criticism from Senate Republicans, who saw him as failing to take sufficient responsibility.

“Isn’t the fact that a former president was shot, that a good American is dead, that other Americans were critically wounded — isn’t that enough mission failure for you to say to the person who decided that that building should not be in the security perimeter, probably ought to be stepped down?” said Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican.

Rowe, raising his voice, responded that he has “lost sleep over this for the last 17 days” and that he would not be rushed “to judgment” by Congress. He assured lawmakers that “people will be held accountable.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said if something like this happened in the military, “a lot of people would be fired. And if a lot of people are not fired, the system failed yet again.”

He added: “Nothing’s going to change until somebody loses their job.”

The FBI, meanwhile, disclosed new details about Crooks, with Deputy Director Paul Abbate saying a social media account believed to be associated with the gunman suspected in the assassination attempt espoused political violence and included antisemitic and anti-immigrant sentiment. The posts were from the 2019-2020 timeframe, when Crooks would have been in high school.

Abbate did not identify the social media platform, saying investigators were still trying to definitively determine that it belonged to Crooks. However, he indicated that it was separate from an account on a different platform called Gab that was active in 2021.

The chief executive of Gab posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, during the Senate hearing that Crooks’s presence on that platform was consistent with being “pro-Biden and in particular pro-Biden’s immigration policy.”

On Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-9c3838fcf9753b3e61caf97804112fca">the FBI revealed</a>&nbsp;that Crooks had looked online for information about mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices and the May assassination attempt of the Slovakian prime minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-fico-slovakia-shot-prime-minister-751051f2a36391919790c62d664a5e6d">Robert Fico</a>.

The FBI also said that Trump has agreed to be interviewed by agents as a crime victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722371639124.png" alt="Secret Service Acting Director during testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Secret Service Acting Director during testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service's acting director told lawmakers Tuesday that he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/election-biden-trump-campaign-updates-07-13-2024">the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was unsecured and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a nearby roof.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Heated exchange between Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Rowe.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenTedCruz</a>: &quot;I believe that the Secret Service leadership made a political decision to deny these requests...&quot; Rowe: &quot;Secret Service agents are not political.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XFpD1ywlkc">pic.twitter.com/XFpD1ywlkc</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818329181823889614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Ronald Rowe Jr. also testified that he recently visited the shooting site and lied down on the roof of the building where shots were fired in order to evaluate the gunman's line of sight during the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722350953670.png" alt="Image of the roof used by the gunman during testimony from acting director of the Secret Service" />
 <figcaption>Image of the roof used by the gunman during testimony from acting director of the Secret Service</figcaption>
 </figure>“What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year Secret Service veteran, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured," he said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are 17 days out from the assassination attempt on Trump. I don&#39;t want conversations and processes- I want answers and accountability. Hiding behind a vague, slow-moving investigation is not going to cut it. We need full reform at the Secret Service and FBI now. <a href="https://t.co/vBwmq4FnCh">pic.twitter.com/vBwmq4FnCh</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1818338263775547853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The testimony was the most detailed catalog to date by the Secret Service of law enforcement failings and miscommunications, with Rowe accepting blame for his own agency's mistakes while also pointedly criticizing local law enforcement for communication breakdowns that resulted in his agency not receiving information that a gunman, later identified as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-thomas-matthew-crooks-shooter-881581c46c07025898027143fc9132e5">20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks</a>, had been seen on the roof of a building less than 150 yards (135 meters) from the rally stage where Trump was speaking.“Neither the Secret Service counter sniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the building with a firearm,” Rowe said. “It is my understanding those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots.”He said that the shooting amounted to a “failure on multiple levels,” including a failure of imagination and a “failure to challenge our assumptions.”“We assumed that the state and locals had it,” Rowe said. “We made an assumption that there was going to be uniformed presence out there, that there would be sufficient eyes to cover that, that there was going to be counter-sniper teams” in the building from whose roof Crooks fired shots.“And I can assure you,” Rowe added, "that we’re not going to make that mistake again.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. Secret Service Acting Director: &quot;Neither the Secret Service counter sniper teams nor members of the former president&#39;s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof...those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/t3OU06Hy0p">pic.twitter.com/t3OU06Hy0p</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818298232792895978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>He said he had implemented multiple reforms since taking over as acting director last week, including mandating that every event security plan is vetted by multiple experienced supervisors before being implemented, expanding the use of aerial drones to improve visibility of roofs, dedicating more resources to improve communications at events where the Secret Service is operating. He said he's also directed that federal and local counter snipers work together on roofs.Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was struck in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment in the assassination attempt, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured before the gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.The blunt and at times emotional testimony Tuesday, featuring combative exchanges with lawmakers, ensured that an already simmering blame game between federal and local authorities will continue. It also suggested that Rowe, with ready and generally detailed answers, was determined to strike a different posture than that of his predecessor,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-director-trump-rally-8b1b13cece2ff25590c81093032dceb4">Kimberly Cheatle</a>, who resigned last week after facing intense criticism from lawmakers from both major political parties following responses at a congressional hearing that were seen as evasive and lacking in specifics.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Rowe: &quot;The attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania was a failure on multiple levels.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/M6aKX5qyx5">pic.twitter.com/M6aKX5qyx5</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818295295119118430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees was the latest in a series of congressional sessions dedicated to the law enforcement lapses and missed communications that preceded the shooting.Local law enforcement officers had first observed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-rally-a1bcbaa4a604e09be8cc22893751895b">a suspicious-looking man</a>&nbsp;at the rally site more than an hour before the event and circulated that information, including photographs of a man who turned out to be Crooks. But the officers ultimately lost track of Crooks, who was able to scale the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15-style rife.Shortly before the shooting, a local officer climbed up to the roof to investigate. Crooks turned and pointed his rifle at the officer, who retreated.Even though text messages among local snipers revealed anxiety about the man, Rowe said the only thing the Secret Service knew at the time of the shooting was that law enforcement was contending with a suspicious-looking man.“No information regarding a weapon on a roof was ever passed to our personnel,” Rowe said. At another point, he noted, “It is troubling to me that we did not get that information as quickly as we should have. We didn’t know that there was this incident going on.”But Rowe's willingness to assign blame to local law enforcement opened him up to harsh criticism from Senate Republicans, who saw him as failing to take sufficient responsibility.“Isn’t the fact that a former president was shot, that a good American is dead, that other Americans were critically wounded — isn’t that enough mission failure for you to say to the person who decided that that building should not be in the security perimeter, probably ought to be stepped down?” said Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican.Rowe, raising his voice, responded that he has “lost sleep over this for the last 17 days” and that he would not be rushed “to judgment” by Congress. He assured lawmakers that “people will be held accountable.”Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said if something like this happened in the military, “a lot of people would be fired. And if a lot of people are not fired, the system failed yet again.”He added: “Nothing’s going to change until somebody loses their job.”The FBI, meanwhile, disclosed new details about Crooks, with Deputy Director Paul Abbate saying a social media account believed to be associated with the gunman suspected in the assassination attempt espoused political violence and included antisemitic and anti-immigrant sentiment. The posts were from the 2019-2020 timeframe, when Crooks would have been in high school.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCornyn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JohnCornyn</a>: &quot;You had a drone system but you had bandwidth problems. The bandwidth apparently was adequate for the shooter&#39;s drone, but not for the Secret Service. Can you explain that? U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Rowe: &quot;I have no explanation for it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/RB1N1MDEoz">pic.twitter.com/RB1N1MDEoz</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818320634729902376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Abbate did not identify the social media platform, saying investigators were still trying to definitively determine that it belonged to Crooks. However, he indicated that it was separate from an account on a different platform called Gab that was active in 2021.The chief executive of Gab posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, during the Senate hearing that Crooks’s presence on that platform was consistent with being “pro-Biden and in particular pro-Biden’s immigration policy.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretService?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretService</a> Acting Director Rowe: &quot;Sir, this could have been our Texas School Book Depository! I have lost sleep over that for the last 17 days.&quot; Sen. Josh <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HawleyMO</a>: &quot;Then fire somebody!&quot; Rowe: &quot;I will not rush to judgement.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/759aoGAgpZ">pic.twitter.com/759aoGAgpZ</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818324738424353150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-9c3838fcf9753b3e61caf97804112fca">the FBI revealed</a>&nbsp;that Crooks had looked online for information about mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices and the May assassination attempt of the Slovakian prime minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-fico-slovakia-shot-prime-minister-751051f2a36391919790c62d664a5e6d">Robert Fico</a>.The FBI also said that Trump has agreed to be interviewed by agents as a crime victim.

🎥Senators slam Secret Service Acting Director for Trump rally security

PARIS (AP) — “The Redemption Tour” ended in a familiar spot for Simone Biles: atop the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games">Olympic</a>&nbsp;podium. Again.

The American gymnastics star and her singular brilliance powered a dominant U.S. women's team in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/gymnastics-olympics-simone-biles-updates">the finals inside a raucous Bercy Arena</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday night.

With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans' total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil and the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest ever in her sport, and among the best in the history of the Olympics.

The outcome — the Americans on top with the rest of the world looking up — was not in doubt from the moment Jordan Chiles began the night by drilling her double-twisting Yurchenko vault.

By the time Biles,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-simone-biles-590bfce552aef32cb12fb0e3bb64ecd3">the left calf</a>&nbsp;that bothered her during qualifying heavily taped, stepped onto the floor for the final event — a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyonce — her fifth Olympic gold medal was well in hand.

The 27-year-old provided the exclamation point anyway, sealing the Americans' third gold in its last four trips to the Games.

The Americans remain peerless (if not flawless, this is gymnastics after all) when at their best.

And over two hours in front of a crowd that included everyone from tennis great Serena Williams and actor Natalie Portman to Biles' husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles left little doubt about anything.

Her status as the sport's greatest of all time. Her ability to move past the “twisties” that derailed her in Tokyo. Her spot in the pantheon of the U.S. Olympic movement.

Three years after removing herself from the same competition to protect herself — a decision that changed the conversation around mental health in sports — Biles pushed her medal total in major competition to a staggering 38 and counting.

Eight of those have come under the Olympic rings, moving her past Shannon Miller for the most by an American gymnast.

Yet her return wasn't so much about winning. That's never really been the point anyway, just a byproduct of her unparalleled excellence. It was about a joy she had lost somewhere along the way.

It seems to have returned. She leaned into the crowd that roared at every flip, every leap and, yes, every twist. With her husband — on break from NFL training camp — waving an American flag while sitting next to her parents, Biles did what she has done so well for so long save for a couple of difficult days in Japan during a pandemic: she dominated.

Yet the 27-year-old hardly did it alone. Lee and Chiles were on the team that earned silver in Tokyo with Biles watching from the sideline. They navigated a series of setbacks both physical and personal to return to this moment and get the gold they so badly wanted.

And there they were on the biggest stage, Chiles doing all four rotations right next to her good friend Biles while doubling as the American's hype woman. Lee mixing her elegance with grit while dazzling on beam and uneven bars, her two best events.

Carey won the floor exercise in Tokyo, but did it with an asterisk of sorts. She had earned her way in through a nominative process the sport's governing body has since abandoned. She was with Team USA in Tokyo but not actually part of the official four-woman squad.

She vowed to write a different ending this time, and the Cheng vault she did on the first rotation scored a 14.800 — second only to Biles — to give the U.S. a commanding lead before Biles even saluted the judges.

The only real drama centered on who would finish next to the Americans on the medal stand.

Italy, which was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gymnastics-simone-biles-0831e6e4649ab23669cb6b2427481f88">surprising second to the U.S. during qualifying</a>, earned its first Olympic team medal since 1928 by holding off Brazil, which took bronze for its first medal in the biggest event in the sport.

Yet there was no question about the top spot. There rarely ever is when Biles is involved.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722365147928.jpeg" alt="Simone Biles, of United States, competes on the uneven bars during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July, 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)" />
 <figcaption>Simone Biles, of United States, competes on the uneven bars during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July, 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)</figcaption>
 </figure>PARIS (AP) — “The Redemption Tour” ended in a familiar spot for Simone Biles: atop the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games">Olympic</a>&nbsp;podium. Again.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">BACK ON TOP! 🥇 The U.S. Women are Olympic Champions! Congratulations to Simone, Jordan, Jade, Sunisa &amp; Hezly - through it all, you did it TOGETHER. <a href="https://t.co/fB60kru7lp">pic.twitter.com/fB60kru7lp</a>&mdash; USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAGym/status/1818354087261614107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The American gymnastics star and her singular brilliance powered a dominant U.S. women's team in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/gymnastics-olympics-simone-biles-updates">the finals inside a raucous Bercy Arena</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday night.With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans' total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil and the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest ever in her sport, and among the best in the history of the Olympics.The outcome — the Americans on top with the rest of the world looking up — was not in doubt from the moment Jordan Chiles began the night by drilling her double-twisting Yurchenko vault.By the time Biles,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-simone-biles-590bfce552aef32cb12fb0e3bb64ecd3">the left calf</a>&nbsp;that bothered her during qualifying heavily taped, stepped onto the floor for the final event — a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyonce — her fifth Olympic gold medal was well in hand.The 27-year-old provided the exclamation point anyway, sealing the Americans' third gold in its last four trips to the Games.The Americans remain peerless (if not flawless, this is gymnastics after all) when at their best.And over two hours in front of a crowd that included everyone from tennis great Serena Williams and actor Natalie Portman to Biles' husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles left little doubt about anything.Her status as the sport's greatest of all time. Her ability to move past the “twisties” that derailed her in Tokyo. Her spot in the pantheon of the U.S. Olympic movement.Three years after removing herself from the same competition to protect herself — a decision that changed the conversation around mental health in sports — Biles pushed her medal total in major competition to a staggering 38 and counting.Eight of those have come under the Olympic rings, moving her past Shannon Miller for the most by an American gymnast.Yet her return wasn't so much about winning. That's never really been the point anyway, just a byproduct of her unparalleled excellence. It was about a joy she had lost somewhere along the way.It seems to have returned. She leaned into the crowd that roared at every flip, every leap and, yes, every twist. With her husband — on break from NFL training camp — waving an American flag while sitting next to her parents, Biles did what she has done so well for so long save for a couple of difficult days in Japan during a pandemic: she dominated.Yet the 27-year-old hardly did it alone. Lee and Chiles were on the team that earned silver in Tokyo with Biles watching from the sideline. They navigated a series of setbacks both physical and personal to return to this moment and get the gold they so badly wanted.And there they were on the biggest stage, Chiles doing all four rotations right next to her good friend Biles while doubling as the American's hype woman. Lee mixing her elegance with grit while dazzling on beam and uneven bars, her two best events.Carey won the floor exercise in Tokyo, but did it with an asterisk of sorts. She had earned her way in through a nominative process the sport's governing body has since abandoned. She was with Team USA in Tokyo but not actually part of the official four-woman squad.She vowed to write a different ending this time, and the Cheng vault she did on the first rotation scored a 14.800 — second only to Biles — to give the U.S. a commanding lead before Biles even saluted the judges.The only real drama centered on who would finish next to the Americans on the medal stand.Italy, which was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gymnastics-simone-biles-0831e6e4649ab23669cb6b2427481f88">surprising second to the U.S. during qualifying</a>, earned its first Olympic team medal since 1928 by holding off Brazil, which took bronze for its first medal in the biggest event in the sport.Yet there was no question about the top spot. There rarely ever is when Biles is involved.