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.

Simone Biles, Team USA power to Olympic gold in women's gymnastics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — William Laws Calley Jr., who as an Army lieutenant led the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4268e3e8a0554d59b71638479503111a">U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre</a>, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, has died. He was 80.

Calley died on April 28, according to his Florida death record, which said he had been living in an apartment in Gainesville. His death was first reported by The Washington Post on Monday, citing his death certificate.

Calley had lived in obscurity in the decades since he was court-martialed and convicted in 1971, the only one of 25 men originally charged to be found guilty in the massacre, which helped turn American opinion against the war in Vietnam.

On March 16, 1968, Calley led American soldiers of the Charlie Company on a mission to confront a crack outfit of their Vietcong enemies. Instead, over several hours, the soldiers killed 504 unresisting civilians, mostly women, children and elderly men, in My Lai and a neighboring community.

The men were angry: Two days earlier, a booby trap had killed a sergeant, blinded a GI and wounded several others while Charlie Company was on patrol.

Soldiers eventually testified to the U.S. Army investigating commission that the murders began soon after Calley led Charlie Company’s first platoon into My Lai that morning. Some were bayoneted to death. Families were herded into bomb shelters and killed with hand grenades. Other civilians slaughtered in a drainage ditch. Women and girls were gang-raped.

It wasn’t until more than a year later that news of the massacre became public. And while the My Lai massacre was the most notorious massacre in modern U.S. military history, it was not an aberration: Estimates of civilians killed during the U.S. ground war in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 range from 1 million to 2 million.

The U.S. military’s own records, filed away for three decades, described 300 other cases of what could fairly be described as war crimes. My Lai stood out because of the shocking one-day death toll, stomach-churning photographs and the gruesome details exposed by a high-level U.S. Army inquiry.

Investigations into the massacre and allegations of a Pentagon coverup were launched after a complaint by a helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson Jr., who saved 16 Vietnamese children in the village and later testified against Calley.

Multiple other soldiers at the scene also spoke out after the scandal broke. Some said civilian deaths were inevitable in a war where the enemy could be anywhere. Others said Calley, who was charged with killing 109 civilians, shouldn’t have been singled out.

“Calley, he didn’t kill the 109 all by himself. There was a company there,” said Herbert Carter, a soldier from Houston. “We went through the village. We didn’t see any VC (Viet Cong). People came out of their hootches (huts) and the guys shot them down and then burned the hootches, or burned the hootches and then shot the people when they came out. ... It went on like this all day. Some of the guys seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it.”

Calley was convicted in 1971 for the murders of 22 people during the rampage. He was sentenced to life in prison but served only three days because President Richard Nixon ordered his sentence reduced. He served three years of house arrest.

After his release, Calley stayed in Columbus and settled into a job at a jewelry store owned by his father-in-law before moving to Atlanta, where he avoided publicity and routinely turned down journalists’ requests for interviews.

Calley broke his silence in 2009, at the urging of a friend, when&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32514139">he spoke to the Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Georgia</a>, near Fort Benning, where he had been court-martialed.

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Calley said, according to an account of the meeting reported by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”

He said his mistake was following orders, which had been his defense when he was tried.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bc21d54ecc344746bc9f076d2a4e2005">His superior officer was acquitted</a>.

William George Eckhardt, the chief prosecutor in the My Lai cases, said in 2009 that he was unaware of Calley ever apologizing before.

“It’s hard to apologize for murdering so many people,” said Eckhardt. “But at least there’s an acknowledgment of responsibility.”

Calley was born in June 8, 1943 in South Florida, where friends called him “Rusty” growing up. He eventually dropped out of Palm Beach Junior College, and worked as a dishwasher, bellhop, railroad switchman, salesman and insurance appraiser before joining the Army in 1966.

At about 5-foot, 3-inches tall and 120 pounds when he was in the Army, Calley didn't stand out. Fellow officer candidates told the AP in 1969 that there was nothing unusual about him. But his military career was advancing until the scandal. Months after the massacre, he returned home, then re-upped for another tour. Eventually, he was wounded, awarded the Purple Heart, and won two Bronze Star medals.

His sister Dawn was living with their father in a mobile home in Hialeah when she told reporters during the trial that her brother was a “sweet, sensitive guy.”

Calley married and had a son after returning to civilian life, but later got divorced. Messages left for his son and ex-wife on Tuesday were not immediately returned.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722361187108.png" alt="FILE - Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., pictured during his court martial at Fort Benning, Ga., on April 23, 1971. Calley, who as an Army lieutenant led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, died on April 28 at a hospice center in Gainesville, Fla., The Washington Post reported Monday July 29, 2024, citing his death certificate. He was 80. (APPhoto/Joe Holloway, Jr., File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., pictured during his court martial at Fort Benning, Ga., on April 23, 1971. Calley, who as an Army lieutenant led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, died on April 28 at a hospice center in Gainesville, Fla., The Washington Post reported Monday July 29, 2024, citing his death certificate. He was 80. (APPhoto/Joe Holloway, Jr., File)</figcaption>
 </figure>GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — William Laws Calley Jr., who as an Army lieutenant led the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4268e3e8a0554d59b71638479503111a">U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre</a>, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, has died. He was 80.Calley died on April 28, according to his Florida death record, which said he had been living in an apartment in Gainesville. His death was first reported by The Washington Post on Monday, citing his death certificate.Calley had lived in obscurity in the decades since he was court-martialed and convicted in 1971, the only one of 25 men originally charged to be found guilty in the massacre, which helped turn American opinion against the war in Vietnam.On March 16, 1968, Calley led American soldiers of the Charlie Company on a mission to confront a crack outfit of their Vietcong enemies. Instead, over several hours, the soldiers killed 504 unresisting civilians, mostly women, children and elderly men, in My Lai and a neighboring community.The men were angry: Two days earlier, a booby trap had killed a sergeant, blinded a GI and wounded several others while Charlie Company was on patrol.Soldiers eventually testified to the U.S. Army investigating commission that the murders began soon after Calley led Charlie Company’s first platoon into My Lai that morning. Some were bayoneted to death. Families were herded into bomb shelters and killed with hand grenades. Other civilians slaughtered in a drainage ditch. Women and girls were gang-raped.It wasn’t until more than a year later that news of the massacre became public. And while the My Lai massacre was the most notorious massacre in modern U.S. military history, it was not an aberration: Estimates of civilians killed during the U.S. ground war in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 range from 1 million to 2 million.The U.S. military’s own records, filed away for three decades, described 300 other cases of what could fairly be described as war crimes. My Lai stood out because of the shocking one-day death toll, stomach-churning photographs and the gruesome details exposed by a high-level U.S. Army inquiry.Investigations into the massacre and allegations of a Pentagon coverup were launched after a complaint by a helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson Jr., who saved 16 Vietnamese children in the village and later testified against Calley.Multiple other soldiers at the scene also spoke out after the scandal broke. Some said civilian deaths were inevitable in a war where the enemy could be anywhere. Others said Calley, who was charged with killing 109 civilians, shouldn’t have been singled out.“Calley, he didn’t kill the 109 all by himself. There was a company there,” said Herbert Carter, a soldier from Houston. “We went through the village. We didn’t see any VC (Viet Cong). People came out of their hootches (huts) and the guys shot them down and then burned the hootches, or burned the hootches and then shot the people when they came out. ... It went on like this all day. Some of the guys seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it.”Calley was convicted in 1971 for the murders of 22 people during the rampage. He was sentenced to life in prison but served only three days because President Richard Nixon ordered his sentence reduced. He served three years of house arrest.After his release, Calley stayed in Columbus and settled into a job at a jewelry store owned by his father-in-law before moving to Atlanta, where he avoided publicity and routinely turned down journalists’ requests for interviews.Calley broke his silence in 2009, at the urging of a friend, when&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32514139">he spoke to the Kiwanis Club in Columbus, Georgia</a>, near Fort Benning, where he had been court-martialed.“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Calley said, according to an account of the meeting reported by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”He said his mistake was following orders, which had been his defense when he was tried.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bc21d54ecc344746bc9f076d2a4e2005">His superior officer was acquitted</a>.William George Eckhardt, the chief prosecutor in the My Lai cases, said in 2009 that he was unaware of Calley ever apologizing before.“It’s hard to apologize for murdering so many people,” said Eckhardt. “But at least there’s an acknowledgment of responsibility.”Calley was born in June 8, 1943 in South Florida, where friends called him “Rusty” growing up. He eventually dropped out of Palm Beach Junior College, and worked as a dishwasher, bellhop, railroad switchman, salesman and insurance appraiser before joining the Army in 1966.At about 5-foot, 3-inches tall and 120 pounds when he was in the Army, Calley didn't stand out. Fellow officer candidates told the AP in 1969 that there was nothing unusual about him. But his military career was advancing until the scandal. Months after the massacre, he returned home, then re-upped for another tour. Eventually, he was wounded, awarded the Purple Heart, and won two Bronze Star medals.His sister Dawn was living with their father in a mobile home in Hialeah when she told reporters during the trial that her brother was a “sweet, sensitive guy.”Calley married and had a son after returning to civilian life, but later got divorced. Messages left for his son and ex-wife on Tuesday were not immediately returned.

William Calley, who led My Lai massacre that shamed US military in Vietnam, has died

By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph Post

Eastern Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner says
several factors weighed in his decision not to run for re-election. Though LaTurner, a Republican, says one factor
weighed more in the decision than others.

“I have four young kids at home. They are 13, 12,
nine, and seven. This is a job that I asked for, a job that I have loved in
many respects, but it takes me away from home, a lot.” Turner tells KFEQ/St.
Joseph Post. “And so, I just think, I have been doing this for a long time in
the state legislature, as a statewide elected official, now in Congress and it’s
kind of gotten to an inflection point for me.”

“I have enjoyed most aspects of this job, but not
all of them. The inability for Washington to get things done has been an enormous
frustration for me,” LaTurner says. “I’ve been frustrated by the party that’s
in the White House and controls the Senate, of course, because I think their
policies are so wrong headed. And I’ve been disappointed in my own party and our
inability to stick together.”

LaTurner served in the Kansas state legislature
before winning election as the Kansas state Treasurer. He won to the Second
Congressional District in Congress in 2020. He won re-election two years ago.

The Second Congressional District covers all of
eastern Kansas outside the Kansas City metropolitan area.

LaTurner says House Republican in-fighting has
ruined efforts to pass legislation in Congress.

“Our inability to stick together and row in the
same direction to pass good conservative policies for the American people has
been incredibly frustrating,” according to LaTurner.

LaTurner isn’t sure about his next steps.

“I don’t know. I still have some time to figure
that out,” LaTurner says. “I know for sure it involves me being home with
family a lot more than I am right now.” 

LaTurner does say he hopes to have the
opportunity to serve later down the road. LaTurner will not endorse anyone as his
successor.

Five Republicans and two Democrats have entered the race. Kansas holds its primary August 6th.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722355598259.jpeg" alt="File photo Congressman Jake LaTurner and family campaigning" />
 <figcaption>File photo Congressman Jake LaTurner and family campaigning</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph PostEastern Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner says
several factors weighed in his decision not to run for re-election. Though LaTurner, a Republican, says one factor
weighed more in the decision than others.“I have four young kids at home. They are 13, 12,
nine, and seven. This is a job that I asked for, a job that I have loved in
many respects, but it takes me away from home, a lot.” Turner tells KFEQ/St.
Joseph Post. “And so, I just think, I have been doing this for a long time in
the state legislature, as a statewide elected official, now in Congress and it’s
kind of gotten to an inflection point for me.”That wasn’t the only reason, though.“I have enjoyed most aspects of this job, but not
all of them. The inability for Washington to get things done has been an enormous
frustration for me,” LaTurner says. “I’ve been frustrated by the party that’s
in the White House and controls the Senate, of course, because I think their
policies are so wrong headed. And I’ve been disappointed in my own party and our
inability to stick together.”LaTurner served in the Kansas state legislature
before winning election as the Kansas state Treasurer. He won to the Second
Congressional District in Congress in 2020. He won re-election two years ago.The Second Congressional District covers all of
eastern Kansas outside the Kansas City metropolitan area.LaTurner says House Republican in-fighting has
ruined efforts to pass legislation in Congress.“Our inability to stick together and row in the
same direction to pass good conservative policies for the American people has
been incredibly frustrating,” according to LaTurner.LaTurner isn’t sure about his next steps.“I don’t know. I still have some time to figure
that out,” LaTurner says. “I know for sure it involves me being home with
family a lot more than I am right now.” LaTurner does say he hopes to have the
opportunity to serve later down the road. LaTurner will not endorse anyone as his
successor.Five Republicans and two Democrats have entered the race. Kansas holds its primary August 6th.

Kan. rep. not running for 3rd term won't endorse anyone as successor

KANSAS CITY— A 70-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with second-degree murder, according to the Jackson County District Attorney's office.

Juan Maiden is charged in connection to a homicide that occurred just after 9:30p.m. July 23.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Kansas City police responded to a shooting at a home and found the front door locked and chose to enter through a bedroom window. They discovered the victim with a gunshot wound to her head in the hallway.

The victim was evacuated through the window and transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The victim's sister told police Maiden shot her unprovoked, according to court documents.

Following a standoff, police found Maiden in the basement with head injuries and he appeared intoxicated.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722171295792.png" alt="Maiden-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Maiden-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY— A 70-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with second-degree murder, according to the Jackson County District Attorney's office.Juan Maiden is charged in connection to a homicide that occurred just after 9:30p.m. July 23.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas City police responded to a shooting at a home and found the front door locked and chose to enter through a bedroom window. They discovered the victim with a gunshot wound to her head in the hallway.The victim was evacuated through the window and transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The victim's sister told police Maiden shot her unprovoked, according to court documents.Following a standoff, police found Maiden in the basement with head injuries and he appeared intoxicated.

70-year-old charged with killing woman at Kansas City home 

MCPHERSON COUNTY — A 14-month old was rescued Sunday afternoon, according to a social media post from Moundridge Police Department.

Just before 2 p.m., Moundridge Police, Fire and EMS were called to a report of a juvenile needing assistance. The child was trapped underground inside a PVC pipe. The pipe was about 12 inches in diameter and 10-12 feet deep. The child was apparently uninjured and upright in the bottom of the pipe.

Emergency crews worked for 15-20 minutes to recover the child. Officer Wagner constructed a makeshift 'catch pole'. This creative solution was instrumental in lifting the child out.

The child was physically OK, though obviously emotionally shaken from the experience.

MCPHERSON COUNTY — A 14-month old was rescued Sunday afternoon, according to a social media post from Moundridge Police Department.Just before 2 p.m., Moundridge Police, Fire and EMS were called to a report of a juvenile needing assistance. The child was trapped underground inside a PVC pipe. The pipe was about 12 inches in diameter and 10-12 feet deep. The child was apparently uninjured and upright in the bottom of the pipe.Emergency crews worked for 15-20 minutes to recover the child. Officer Wagner constructed a makeshift 'catch pole'. This creative solution was instrumental in lifting the child out.The child was physically OK, though obviously emotionally shaken from the experience.

Toddler rescued after trapped in underground pipe

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

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 KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Officers were flagged down by several people on scene advising someone had been shot. Police located a victim 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 victim 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/2024/7/1722357430446.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.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 KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722357400169.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Officers were flagged down by several people on scene advising someone had been shot. Police located a victim 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 victim 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.

Homicide: KCPD found gunshot victim outside vehicle

SALINA —Just before 10p.m. Monday, the Kansas Highway Patrol made a DUI arrest on Interstate 135 just south of Salina, according to a social media report from Trooper Ben Gardner. 

The vehicle was observed speeding and failing to maintain its lane. During the traffic stop, signs of impairment were noted. The driver submitted to a preliminary breath test (PBT), revealing a blood alcohol level of .261—over three times the legal limit of .08 for individuals 21 years and older. 

The driver was arrested and charged with DUI, transporting an open container, speeding, and failing to maintain a single. Gardner reminded, "driving under the influence endangers everyone."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722343914707.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINA —Just before 10p.m. Monday, the Kansas Highway Patrol made a DUI arrest on Interstate 135 just south of Salina, according to a social media report from Trooper Ben Gardner. The vehicle was observed speeding and failing to maintain its lane. During the traffic stop, signs of impairment were noted. The driver submitted to a preliminary breath test (PBT), revealing a blood alcohol level of .261—over three times the legal limit of .08 for individuals 21 years and older. The driver was arrested and charged with DUI, transporting an open container, speeding, and failing to maintain a single. Gardner reminded, "driving under the influence endangers everyone."

KHP: Speeding driver's blood alcohol over 3 times the legal limit

&nbsp;SEDGWICK COUNTY —A&nbsp;Kansas woman who admitted killing her 14-year-old son before a standoff with police at her apartment is scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

In June, Kylee Hodges, 43, Wichita,&nbsp; 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>&nbsp;SEDGWICK COUNTY —A&nbsp;Kansas woman who admitted killing her 14-year-old son before a standoff with police at her apartment is scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.In June, Kylee Hodges, 43, Wichita,&nbsp; 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.<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>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;-------------------

Sentencing day: Kan. woman admitted killing her 14-year-old son

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a child critically injured in a fall from an apartment window has died, according to Kelly Rupert, spokesperson for the Independence Police Department.

Just after 10a.m. Monday, police responded to the Independence Towers Apartments in the 700 block of North Jennings Road in Independence, according to a social media report from police. A 3-year-old boy fell from the 8th story window.&nbsp;

EMS transported the child to a local hospital for treatment of critical injuries. He was later transferred to Children's Mercy where he was pronounced deceased.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722283328393.png" alt="Independence Towers -Google image" />
 <figcaption>Independence Towers -Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a child critically injured in a fall from an apartment window has died, according to Kelly Rupert, spokesperson for the Independence Police Department.Just after 10a.m. Monday, police responded to the Independence Towers Apartments in the 700 block of North Jennings Road in Independence, according to a social media report from police. A 3-year-old boy fell from the 8th story window.&nbsp;EMS transported the child to a local hospital for treatment of critical injuries. He was later transferred to Children's Mercy where he was pronounced deceased.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Child who fell from 8th floor KC area apartment window has died

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday proposed major changes for the U.S. Supreme Court: an enforceable code of ethics, term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment that would limit the justices’ recent decision on presidential immunity.

There’s almost no chance of the proposal passing a closely divided Congress with Election Day looming, but the ideas could still spark conversation with public confidence in the court hitting an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-poll-abortion-confidence-declining-0ff738589bd7815bf0eab804baa5f3d1">all-time low</a>&nbsp;amid ethical revelations about some justices. It also comes against the backdrop of a contentious presidential election and growing Democratic outrage about recent decisions from the conservative-majority court.

Here’s a look at how the ideas, how they might work, and the possible stumbling blocks:

Limiting how long justices serve on the nation’s highest court has broad support among Americans, polling indicates.

A poll from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ketanji-brown-jackson-us-supreme-court-government-and-politics-only-on-ap-8adc9a08c9e8001c8ef0455906542a60">The Associated Press-NORC Center</a>&nbsp;for Public Affairs Research in July 2022 found 67% of Americans support a proposal to set a specific number of years that justices serve instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans.

Biden’s proposal would limit justices to 18-year terms, a system that he says would make nominations more predictable, less arbitrary, and reduce the chances that a single president could shape the court for generations to come.

There’s a big problem: The Constitution gives all federal judges lifetime tenure, unless they resign, retire or are removed.

There are ideas about how to impose term limits without an amendment — but if such a law passed and were challenged in court the justices could end up ruling on it and it's unclear how they'd come down, said Charles Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University and expert in judicial ethics.

The Supreme Court didn't have a formal code of ethics&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-code-conflicts-clarence-thomas-64d393ceb6f05402d762dca06f0f4187">until last year, when the justices adopted one</a>&nbsp;in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, like Clarence Thomas.

It still lacks a means of enforcement — something Biden says is “common sense.” Members of Congress, for example, generally can’t accept gifts worth more than $50.

Anyone can file complaints against other federal judges, who are subject to censure and reprimand. Justice Elena Kagan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-elena-kagan-ethics-code-0de5fc0fb31eaab57202cf96b4e9c3e7">voiced support for</a>&nbsp;adding an enforcement mechanism to the Supreme Court ethical code in a public appearance last week.

Still, making the high court's ethical code enforceable raises thorny questions about how it might be enforced, and by whom.

Lower courts say their discipline process isn’t intended to directly police their code of ethics, maintaining the code is too broadly phrased for violations to directly translate into discipline, Geyh said.

That ethical code is overseen by the Judicial Conference, which is headed up by Chief Justice John Roberts. He “might be reluctant to use whatever power the conference has against his colleagues,” Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics expert at NYU School of Law, said in an email.

Biden is also calling for a constitutional amendment limiting the Supreme Court's recent decision giving former president Donald Trump — and all other presidents — broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

The amendment would “make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office,” Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. “We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators.”

It wouldn't be the first time - the Constitution has been amended about five times to in US history to overturn a Supreme Court decision, Geyh said.

But constitutional amendments have even higher hurdles than new laws. The proposal must get support from two-thirds of both the House and Senate and then be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures.

No new amendments have passed in more than 30 years. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has called Biden's proposal a “dangerous gambit” that would be “dead on arrival in the House.”

Biden has resisted other calls to reform the Supreme Court

A former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden has long resisted calls to reform the Supreme Court.

In 2021, he fulfilled a campaign promise by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-judiciary-term-limits-congress-f5362dc896887a9ed7b09e7450863ada">convening a commission t</a>&nbsp;o study potential changes to the court. It was not charged with making recommendations and cautioned that excessive change could potentially erode democracy.

The latest proposals come years later, and amid growing outrage among Democrats about high court opinions that overturned landmark decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers. There's also a hotly contested presidential election against Trump underway.

Even if Biden's ideas aren't likely to pass, they could draw voter attention. Vice president Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed for president after dropping out of the race, backed the proposal.

It's being blasted, though, by conservatives like activist Leonard Leo, who said in a statement: “It’s about Democrats destroying a court they don’t agree with."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722274534146.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday proposed major changes for the U.S. Supreme Court: an enforceable code of ethics, term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment that would limit the justices’ recent decision on presidential immunity.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden unveils proposed changes for the U.S. Supreme Court including a &quot;No One is Above the Law&quot; Amendment, term limits for Supreme Court justices and a Code of Conduct. <a href="https://t.co/g8oHNBtAh3">pic.twitter.com/g8oHNBtAh3</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818062000561238338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>There’s almost no chance of the proposal passing a closely divided Congress with Election Day looming, but the ideas could still spark conversation with public confidence in the court hitting an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-poll-abortion-confidence-declining-0ff738589bd7815bf0eab804baa5f3d1">all-time low</a>&nbsp;amid ethical revelations about some justices. It also comes against the backdrop of a contentious presidential election and growing Democratic outrage about recent decisions from the conservative-majority court.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden outlines U.S. Supreme Court rulings in recent years he says have undermined civil rights in America. <a href="https://t.co/G2VD7abY2i">pic.twitter.com/G2VD7abY2i</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1818060907978658131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Here’s a look at how the ideas, how they might work, and the possible stumbling blocks:<h2>How would justices’ terms be limited?</h2>Limiting how long justices serve on the nation’s highest court has broad support among Americans, polling indicates.A poll from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ketanji-brown-jackson-us-supreme-court-government-and-politics-only-on-ap-8adc9a08c9e8001c8ef0455906542a60">The Associated Press-NORC Center</a>&nbsp;for Public Affairs Research in July 2022 found 67% of Americans support a proposal to set a specific number of years that justices serve instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans.Biden’s proposal would limit justices to 18-year terms, a system that he says would make nominations more predictable, less arbitrary, and reduce the chances that a single president could shape the court for generations to come.There’s a big problem: The Constitution gives all federal judges lifetime tenure, unless they resign, retire or are removed.There are ideas about how to impose term limits without an amendment — but if such a law passed and were challenged in court the justices could end up ruling on it and it's unclear how they'd come down, said Charles Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University and expert in judicial ethics.<h2>How would a code of ethics be enforced?</h2>The Supreme Court didn't have a formal code of ethics&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-code-conflicts-clarence-thomas-64d393ceb6f05402d762dca06f0f4187">until last year, when the justices adopted one</a>&nbsp;in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, like Clarence Thomas.It still lacks a means of enforcement — something Biden says is “common sense.” Members of Congress, for example, generally can’t accept gifts worth more than $50.Anyone can file complaints against other federal judges, who are subject to censure and reprimand. Justice Elena Kagan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-elena-kagan-ethics-code-0de5fc0fb31eaab57202cf96b4e9c3e7">voiced support for</a>&nbsp;adding an enforcement mechanism to the Supreme Court ethical code in a public appearance last week.Still, making the high court's ethical code enforceable raises thorny questions about how it might be enforced, and by whom.Lower courts say their discipline process isn’t intended to directly police their code of ethics, maintaining the code is too broadly phrased for violations to directly translate into discipline, Geyh said.That ethical code is overseen by the Judicial Conference, which is headed up by Chief Justice John Roberts. He “might be reluctant to use whatever power the conference has against his colleagues,” Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics expert at NYU School of Law, said in an email.<h2>What about presidential immunity?</h2>Biden is also calling for a constitutional amendment limiting the Supreme Court's recent decision giving former president Donald Trump — and all other presidents — broad immunity from criminal prosecution.The amendment would “make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office,” Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. “We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators.”It wouldn't be the first time - the Constitution has been amended about five times to in US history to overturn a Supreme Court decision, Geyh said.But constitutional amendments have even higher hurdles than new laws. The proposal must get support from two-thirds of both the House and Senate and then be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures.No new amendments have passed in more than 30 years. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has called Biden's proposal a “dangerous gambit” that would be “dead on arrival in the House.”<h2>Biden has resisted other calls to reform the Supreme Court</h2>A former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden has long resisted calls to reform the Supreme Court.In 2021, he fulfilled a campaign promise by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-judiciary-term-limits-congress-f5362dc896887a9ed7b09e7450863ada">convening a commission t</a>&nbsp;o study potential changes to the court. It was not charged with making recommendations and cautioned that excessive change could potentially erode democracy.The latest proposals come years later, and amid growing outrage among Democrats about high court opinions that overturned landmark decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers. There's also a hotly contested presidential election against Trump underway.Even if Biden's ideas aren't likely to pass, they could draw voter attention. Vice president Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed for president after dropping out of the race, backed the proposal.It's being blasted, though, by conservatives like activist Leonard Leo, who said in a statement: “It’s about Democrats destroying a court they don’t agree with."

🎥Biden decries 'extremism' on the Supreme Court; read his plan for changes

KANSAS CITY—One person died in an accident just before 7p.m. Sunday in Kansas City.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a Mercedes 300D was eastbound on 63rd Street in Kansas City at a high rate of speed, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchins.

 In the area of 63rd and Hardesty, the driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The vehicle traveled off the roadway to the right and traveled approximately 120 feet down the grassy embankment into the gorge. 

As the Mercedes traveled down the embankment, it overturned several times, ejecting the unrestrained driver from the vehicle.

 The driver and sole occupant of the Mercedes was declared deceased at the scene, according to Becchina. This is fatality #54 compared to #49 at this time last year and the investigation is ongoi

KANSAS CITY—One person died in an accident just before 7p.m. Sunday in Kansas City.A preliminary investigation revealed that a Mercedes 300D was eastbound on 63rd Street in Kansas City at a high rate of speed, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchins. In the area of 63rd and Hardesty, the driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The vehicle traveled off the roadway to the right and traveled approximately 120 feet down the grassy embankment into the gorge. As the Mercedes traveled down the embankment, it overturned several times, ejecting the unrestrained driver from the vehicle. The driver and sole occupant of the Mercedes was declared deceased at the scene, according to Becchina. This is fatality #54 compared to #49 at this time last year and the investigation is ongoi

Driver dies after car rolls down KC embankment into gorge

LYON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a juvenile on multiple allegations after a weekend arrest.

Just after 4a.m. Sunday, Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to the 400 block of Exchange Street, Neosho Rapids, for a report of an abandoned white Ford F150, parked in the roadway, according to Lyon County Sheriff's Sgt. Zachary M. Shafer.

While deputies were investigating this call another call was received at approximately 4:19a.m., in the 1600 block of K130, reporting a loud bang and a suspicious man leaving the area, walking. Deputies arrived on scene and determined a black Chevrolet Silverado, was driven off the roadway and struck a house. 

At approximately 4:30a..m., deputies received another report of a man walking on Interstate 35, matching the description of the suspicious suspect from the 1600 block of Kansas 130.

Through the investigation it was determined, a juvenile male, stole the white Ford F150, from the Emporia area and drove to the Neosho Rapids area where he stole the black Chevrolet Silverado. He continued northbound on K130, where for an unknown reason he lost control of the Chevrolet Silverado, went off the roadway into a field and then struck a house. The suspect then left the scene, where he was located by deputies, walking on the Interstate.

The juvenile was transported to the Lyon County Juvenile Intake Office, where he was confined, pending formal charges through the Lyon County Attorney’s Office, for Felony Theft, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, No Driver’s License, and Interference with Law Enforcement. 

LYON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a juvenile on multiple allegations after a weekend arrest.Just after 4a.m. Sunday, Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to the 400 block of Exchange Street, Neosho Rapids, for a report of an abandoned white Ford F150, parked in the roadway, according to Lyon County Sheriff's Sgt. Zachary M. Shafer.While deputies were investigating this call another call was received at approximately 4:19a.m., in the 1600 block of K130, reporting a loud bang and a suspicious man leaving the area, walking. Deputies arrived on scene and determined a black Chevrolet Silverado, was driven off the roadway and struck a house. At approximately 4:30a..m., deputies received another report of a man walking on Interstate 35, matching the description of the suspicious suspect from the 1600 block of Kansas 130.Through the investigation it was determined, a juvenile male, stole the white Ford F150, from the Emporia area and drove to the Neosho Rapids area where he stole the black Chevrolet Silverado. He continued northbound on K130, where for an unknown reason he lost control of the Chevrolet Silverado, went off the roadway into a field and then struck a house. The suspect then left the scene, where he was located by deputies, walking on the Interstate.The juvenile was transported to the Lyon County Juvenile Intake Office, where he was confined, pending formal charges through the Lyon County Attorney’s Office, for Felony Theft, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, No Driver’s License, and Interference with Law Enforcement.

Sheriff: Juvenile stole two pickups before arrest in Kansas

YORK COUNTY —Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol located 77 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and arrested two people during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near York, according to a media release.

At approximately 9:15 a.m. Saturday, a trooper stopped a Hyundai Sonata for speeding on Interstate 80 near York. During the traffic stop, the trooper discovered that the vehicle was not insured.&nbsp;

Prior to towing the vehicle, troopers performed an inventory of the vehicle and discovered numerous container bags of suspected methamphetamine. The total weight of the bags was 77 pounds.

The driver, Rosita Vizcarra, 28, and passenger, Julio Garcia-Guerrero, 26, both of Omaha, were arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession with intent to deliver. Both remain in the York County Jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722280995060.jpeg" alt="Photo Nebraska State Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Photo Nebraska State Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>YORK COUNTY —Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol located 77 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and arrested two people during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near York, according to a media release.At approximately 9:15 a.m. Saturday, a trooper stopped a Hyundai Sonata for speeding on Interstate 80 near York. During the traffic stop, the trooper discovered that the vehicle was not insured.&nbsp;Prior to towing the vehicle, troopers performed an inventory of the vehicle and discovered numerous container bags of suspected methamphetamine. The total weight of the bags was 77 pounds.The driver, Rosita Vizcarra, 28, and passenger, Julio Garcia-Guerrero, 26, both of Omaha, were arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession with intent to deliver. Both remain in the York County Jail.

Troopers find 77 pounds of meth during traffic stop

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">an investigation into his attempted assassination</a>&nbsp;in Pennsylvania earlier this month, a special agent said on Monday in disclosing how the gunman prior to the shooting had researched mass attacks and explosive devices.

The expected interview with the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is part of the FBI’s standard protocol to speak with victims during the course of its criminal investigations. The FBI said on Friday that Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-bullet-shrapnel-ronny-jackson-christopher-wray-cb780b9d1a078f0be4191682e75101cf">struck in the ear by a bullet or a fragment of one</a>&nbsp;during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” said Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office. “It is a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of crime, under any other circumstance.”

Through more than 450 interviews, the FBI has fleshed out a portrait of the gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Rojek%20disclosed%20the%20planned%20conversation%20with%20Trump%20as%20he%20revealed%20new%20details%20about%20the%20gunman,%20including%20internet%20searches%20that%20reveal%20an%20interest%20in%20mass%20shootings,%20power%20plants,%20improvised%20explosive%20devices%20and%20the%20ttempted%20assassination%20of%20Slovakia%E2%80%99s%20prime%20minister%20earlier%20this%20year.">Thomas Matthew Crooks</a>, that reveals him to be a “highly intelligent” but reclusive 20-year-old whose primary social circle was his family and who maintained few friends and acquaintances throughout his life, Rojek said. Even in online gaming platforms that Crooks visited, his interactions with peers appeared to have been minimal, the FBI said.

His parents have been “extremely cooperative,” with the investigation, Rojek said. They have said they had no advance knowledge of the shooting, a statement the FBI considers credible.

The FBI has not uncovered a motive as to why he chose to target Trump, but investigators believe the shooting was the result of extensive planning, including the purchase under an alias in recent months of chemical precursors that investigators believe were used to create the explosive devices found in his car and his home, and the deployment of a drone about 200 yards (180 meters) from the rally site in the hours before the event in an apparent act of surveillance.

The day before the shooting, the FBI says, Crooks visited a local shooting range and practiced with the gun that would be used in the attack.

After the shooting, authorities found two explosive devices in Crooks’ car and a third in his room at home. The devices recovered from the car — consisting of ammunition boxes filled with explosive material with wires, receivers and ignition devices — were capable of exploding but did not because the receivers were in the “off” position, Rojek said. How much damage they could have done is unclear.

The FBI has said that Crooks had shown an online interest in prominent public figures, searching online for information about individuals including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-shooting-federal-investigation-2a90bdfd23ba9c3569cb9c29a459e87b">President Joe Biden.</a>&nbsp;In addition, Rojek said, Crooks looked up information about mass shootings, improvised explosive devices, power plants and the attempted assassination in May of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-assassination-fico-terror-charges-f36b861b4eaf0301e9e3d1b060ddb144">Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico</a>.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last week that on July 6, the day Crooks registered to attend the Trump rally, he googled:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-assassination-attempt-shooting-f1ff0a636f3e2e1a28762c400852167e">“How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”</a>&nbsp;That's a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, the shooter who killed President John F. Kennedy from a sniper’s perch in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720913971898.png" alt="Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)" />
 <figcaption>Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">an investigation into his attempted assassination</a>&nbsp;in Pennsylvania earlier this month, a special agent said on Monday in disclosing how the gunman prior to the shooting had researched mass attacks and explosive devices.The expected interview with the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is part of the FBI’s standard protocol to speak with victims during the course of its criminal investigations. The FBI said on Friday that Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-bullet-shrapnel-ronny-jackson-christopher-wray-cb780b9d1a078f0be4191682e75101cf">struck in the ear by a bullet or a fragment of one</a>&nbsp;during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” said Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office. “It is a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of crime, under any other circumstance.”Through more than 450 interviews, the FBI has fleshed out a portrait of the gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Rojek%20disclosed%20the%20planned%20conversation%20with%20Trump%20as%20he%20revealed%20new%20details%20about%20the%20gunman,%20including%20internet%20searches%20that%20reveal%20an%20interest%20in%20mass%20shootings,%20power%20plants,%20improvised%20explosive%20devices%20and%20the%20ttempted%20assassination%20of%20Slovakia%E2%80%99s%20prime%20minister%20earlier%20this%20year.">Thomas Matthew Crooks</a>, that reveals him to be a “highly intelligent” but reclusive 20-year-old whose primary social circle was his family and who maintained few friends and acquaintances throughout his life, Rojek said. Even in online gaming platforms that Crooks visited, his interactions with peers appeared to have been minimal, the FBI said.His parents have been “extremely cooperative,” with the investigation, Rojek said. They have said they had no advance knowledge of the shooting, a statement the FBI considers credible.The FBI has not uncovered a motive as to why he chose to target Trump, but investigators believe the shooting was the result of extensive planning, including the purchase under an alias in recent months of chemical precursors that investigators believe were used to create the explosive devices found in his car and his home, and the deployment of a drone about 200 yards (180 meters) from the rally site in the hours before the event in an apparent act of surveillance.The day before the shooting, the FBI says, Crooks visited a local shooting range and practiced with the gun that would be used in the attack.After the shooting, authorities found two explosive devices in Crooks’ car and a third in his room at home. The devices recovered from the car — consisting of ammunition boxes filled with explosive material with wires, receivers and ignition devices — were capable of exploding but did not because the receivers were in the “off” position, Rojek said. How much damage they could have done is unclear.The FBI has said that Crooks had shown an online interest in prominent public figures, searching online for information about individuals including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-shooting-federal-investigation-2a90bdfd23ba9c3569cb9c29a459e87b">President Joe Biden.</a>&nbsp;In addition, Rojek said, Crooks looked up information about mass shootings, improvised explosive devices, power plants and the attempted assassination in May of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-assassination-fico-terror-charges-f36b861b4eaf0301e9e3d1b060ddb144">Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico</a>.FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last week that on July 6, the day Crooks registered to attend the Trump rally, he googled:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-assassination-attempt-shooting-f1ff0a636f3e2e1a28762c400852167e">“How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”</a>&nbsp;That's a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, the shooter who killed President John F. Kennedy from a sniper’s perch in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.New details, meanwhile, were emerging about law enforcement security lapses that preceded the shooting, with Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, releasing text messages from members of the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit that showed how local officers had communicated with each other about a suspicious-looking man who turned out to be Crooks lurking around more than an hour before the shooting.“Kid learning around building we are in. AGR I believe it is,” one officer wrote to other counter-snipers, including a photograph of Crooks. “I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.”AGR is a reference to a complex of buildings that form AGR International Inc, a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry. Crooks scaled the roof of one of the buildings of the compound and fired eight shots at the rally stage with an AR-style rifle and purchased legally by his father years earlier.Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” and he appeared in the days later with a bandage on the ear. One rallygoer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rally-fatal-shooting-corey-comperatore-2c4930b7749cab1c53fc006a58450ed4">Corey Comperatore</a>, was killed, and two others were injured. Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper.In an interview with ABC News, a Beaver County officer who sounded the alarm said that after sending the text, “I assumed that there would be somebody coming out to speak with this individual or find out what's going on.”Another officer told ABC News that the group was supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service counter-snipers whenever they arrived but that never happened.An email to the Secret Service seeking comment was not immediately returned Monday.