REPUBLIC COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has secured the arrest of a man connected to the death of a Belleville infant.

On Thursday, Jan. 2 at approximately 11 a.m., William McLaughlin, 23, of Belleville, was arrested on a KBI warrant for first-degree murder and felony abuse of a child. The charges are connected to the death of McLaughlin’s three-month-old daughter.

The infant was initially brought to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25. She had suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead in an Omaha hospital on Dec. 29.

Following&nbsp;the arrest, McLaughlin was booked into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Nebraska. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest.&nbsp;

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

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

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

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735921300083.png" alt="McLaughlin photo Republic County" />
 <figcaption>McLaughlin photo Republic County</figcaption>
 </figure>REPUBLIC COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has secured the arrest of a man connected to the death of a Belleville infant.On Thursday, Jan. 2 at approximately 11 a.m., William McLaughlin, 23, of Belleville, was arrested on a KBI warrant for first-degree murder and felony abuse of a child. The charges are connected to the death of McLaughlin’s three-month-old daughter.The infant was initially brought to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25. She had suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead in an Omaha hospital on Dec. 29.Following&nbsp;the arrest, McLaughlin was booked into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Nebraska. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest.&nbsp;-----------REPUBLIC COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating a suspected&nbsp;child abuse case in Belleville. &nbsp;On Thursday morning, the&nbsp;Belleville Police Department&nbsp;contacted the&nbsp;KBI to investigate after an unresponsive&nbsp;three-month-old&nbsp;infant was transported from the Republic County hospital to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.The child’s parents brought her to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25, and hospital staff later contacted the Belleville Police Department.A pediatrician at the Omaha hospital indicated the child has no brain activity due to severe injuries she had sustained. Late Thursday afternoon, KBI reported the infant remains on life support.

KBI: Father jailed after 3-month-old dies from alleged child abuse

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday announced that in 2025, Kansans are projected to save $156 million due to the reduction in the state sales tax rate from 2% to zero and the “Axe the Food Tax” legislation she signed in 2022. According to projections from the Kansas Department of Revenue, reducing the state sales tax on groceries from 2% to zero will save shoppers $13 million per month this year.

“The complete elimination of the state sales tax on food is a win for Kansas,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“By axing the food tax once and for all, the average family of four will save $500 per year on groceries. I’m proud that we’ve put more money back into Kansans’ pockets thanks to this commonsense legislation.”

After working tirelessly to put the state on solid financial footing, in 2021 Governor Kelly called on the Kansas Legislature to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries as soon as possible. The Legislature ultimately passed legislation that gradually reduced the state sales tax on groceries over three years.&nbsp;

In 2023, the state sales tax rate on groceries went down from 6.5% to 4%, saving consumers $187.7 million per year. At the end of 2024, it was projected that shoppers saved nearly $570 million due to the reductions in the state sales tax rate on food and food ingredients during the two years the reduction has been in effect.&nbsp;

The state sales tax reduction applies to food, food ingredients, and certain prepared foods. When looking at a receipt, shoppers will see two tax rates, one for qualifying purchases and one for all other items.&nbsp;

The total elimination of the state sales tax on qualifying items went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday announced that in 2025, Kansans are projected to save $156 million due to the reduction in the state sales tax rate from 2% to zero and the “Axe the Food Tax” legislation she signed in 2022. According to projections from the Kansas Department of Revenue, reducing the state sales tax on groceries from 2% to zero will save shoppers $13 million per month this year.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">BIG NEWS: The food tax has been axed once and for all! 🪓 Kansans, say goodbye to the state sales tax on food at the grocery store — it&#39;s gone for good. <a href="https://t.co/YYvxRYIFSz">pic.twitter.com/YYvxRYIFSz</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1874840574437495178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“The complete elimination of the state sales tax on food is a win for Kansas,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“By axing the food tax once and for all, the average family of four will save $500 per year on groceries. I’m proud that we’ve put more money back into Kansans’ pockets thanks to this commonsense legislation.”After working tirelessly to put the state on solid financial footing, in 2021 Governor Kelly called on the Kansas Legislature to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries as soon as possible. The Legislature ultimately passed legislation that gradually reduced the state sales tax on groceries over three years.&nbsp;In 2023, the state sales tax rate on groceries went down from 6.5% to 4%, saving consumers $187.7 million per year. At the end of 2024, it was projected that shoppers saved nearly $570 million due to the reductions in the state sales tax rate on food and food ingredients during the two years the reduction has been in effect.&nbsp;The state sales tax reduction applies to food, food ingredients, and certain prepared foods. When looking at a receipt, shoppers will see two tax rates, one for qualifying purchases and one for all other items.&nbsp;The total elimination of the state sales tax on qualifying items went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Governor:  Food tax axed once and for all in Kansas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The highly decorated U.S. Army soldier inside the Tesla Cybertruck that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">burst into flames</a>&nbsp;outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel shot himself in the head before the explosion and likely planned to cause more damage but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the rudimentary explosive, officials said Thursday.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man in the driver's seat, who officials believe is Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado. The shot appeared to be self-inflicted, officials said.

Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck. The explosion “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said.

“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-extremism-pentagon-veterans-terrorism-capitol-riot-jan-6-0c1fdd7b6b761e9c9e8556a9b9e45dc9">type of military experience</a>,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Among other charred items found inside the truck were a second firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.

Investigators have not definitively identified the remains as Livelsberger, but the IDs and tattoos on the body “give a strong indication that it’s him,” the sheriff said.

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.

He was awarded a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.

McMahill said Livelsberger rented the Tesla electric vehicle in Denver on Saturday and the sheriff displayed a map showing that it was charged in the Colorado town of Monument near Colorado Springs on Monday. On New Year’s Eve, it was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, and the towns of Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Gallup in New Mexico, along the Interstate 40 corridor.

(Click below to watch police video of the explosion)

Then on Wednesday, the day of the explosion, it was charged in the Arizona towns of Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman before video showed it on the Las Vegas Strip about 7:30 a.m.

The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.

The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.

Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.

Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.

Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."

"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.

Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.

Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington. Associated Press writers Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735849426172.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LAS VEGAS (AP) — The highly decorated U.S. Army soldier inside the Tesla Cybertruck that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">burst into flames</a>&nbsp;outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel shot himself in the head before the explosion and likely planned to cause more damage but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the rudimentary explosive, officials said Thursday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Las Vegas Police on Cybertruck Incident: &quot;The subject inside wasn&#39;t able to be removed for a very long period of time because he was burnt beyond recognition...the individual had sustained a gunshot wound to the head prior to the detonation of the vehicle.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XrPi0v1Jge">pic.twitter.com/XrPi0v1Jge</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1874903063397294311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man in the driver's seat, who officials believe is Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado. The shot appeared to be self-inflicted, officials said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735849318503.png" alt="Among items found in the truck -image Las Vegas police" />
 <figcaption>Among items found in the truck -image Las Vegas police</figcaption>
 </figure>Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck. The explosion “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735849348874.jpeg" alt="Among the weapons recovered -image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Among the weapons recovered -image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-extremism-pentagon-veterans-terrorism-capitol-riot-jan-6-0c1fdd7b6b761e9c9e8556a9b9e45dc9">type of military experience</a>,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735778174814.png" alt="Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Among other charred items found inside the truck were a second firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.Investigators have not definitively identified the remains as Livelsberger, but the IDs and tattoos on the body “give a strong indication that it’s him,” the sheriff said.Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.He was awarded a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.McMahill said Livelsberger rented the Tesla electric vehicle in Denver on Saturday and the sheriff displayed a map showing that it was charged in the Colorado town of Monument near Colorado Springs on Monday. On New Year’s Eve, it was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, and the towns of Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Gallup in New Mexico, along the Interstate 40 corridor.(Click below to watch police video of the explosion)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLasVegasMetro%2Fvideos%2F1763169784264920%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=570" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Then on Wednesday, the day of the explosion, it was charged in the Arizona towns of Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman before video showed it on the Las Vegas Strip about 7:30 a.m.The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.""All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.___Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington. Associated Press writers Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

🎥New details in case of explosion in cybertruck outside Trump hotel

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Attorney General’s Office blocked millions in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law.&nbsp;

Voters in the Greeley County school district, headquartered in Tribune near the state’s westernmost edge, approved in May a $4.6 million school bond for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds.&nbsp;

“I feel like we have ignored a core tenet of our society and our government as a whole,” said John Niehues, the district superintendent. “You know, it’s the will of the people.”

The Attorney General’s Office determines whether any bond issue across the state meets legal standards. The Greeley County schools decision relied on a 2023 elections reform&nbsp;<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406185329_890627/" target="_blank">bill</a>. It created a state law requiring county election officials to publish notice of an election three weeks in advance on a county election website, in addition to a traditional newspaper notice.&nbsp;

However, Greeley County, with a population of about 1,200, doesn’t have a website.

The office found the county clerk’s “non-compliance with the website notification” was equal to a failure to follow the law, said Danedri Herbert, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.&nbsp;

“This determination is purely one of compliance verification and not a judgment on the merits of or need for the bond in question,” she said.&nbsp;

In years past, when school districts or election officials were in similar situations, they relied on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/chapters/ch25/025_007_0016.html" target="_blank">another state law</a>&nbsp;for resolution. It says “the real will of the people may not be defeated by any technical irregularity of any officer, whenever the greater number of votes were in favor of a question submitted.”

Niehues, who has been at the district for about nine years and superintendent for four, said he was going to be OK no matter the result of the bond election. But with that acceptance also came mixed emotions.

“I don’t like that I’m the tip of the spear on this — that we chose the smallest county in Kansas to make a point,” he said.

Leading up to the May 21 primary, Niehues engaged the community to inform them about the bond, which would replace an old one and avoid tax increases for local property owners. Answers to frequently asked questions and in-depth information about the bond were — and still are — visibly posted on the school district&nbsp;<a href="https://tribuneschools.org/35934_1" target="_blank">website</a>.

“There was no way anyone in Greeley County could not have known about this school bond,” said Jerri Young, the county clerk, who has acted as the county’s elections official for about 15 years.&nbsp;

The elections law was poorly written, Young said. State law doesn’t require Kansas counties to operate a website, and no funding was attached to the 2023 bill to ensure they did.

“I still don’t have one,” she said.&nbsp;

Young said she met with Attorney General Kris Kobach and office staff. She said she felt the decision had been made before the meeting began.

Outgoing state Sen. John Doll, a Garden City Republican whose district encompasses Greeley County, supported the 2023 elections bill at the time of its passage. Before leaving office, he said, he has attempted to help the district and the county remedy the situation without success. He said he didn’t consider how stringently the Attorney General’s Office would interpret it, even when small communities like Greeley County use their schools as sources of information.

The 25-year bond issue would have funded a new gymnasium, renovations in the existing gym and a new accessible playground. A private, anonymous donor also promised to cover about 10% of the project, which totals more than $4.7 million.&nbsp;

All now hangs in the balance as local officials wait to see if the 2025 legislative session might bring change.&nbsp;

The district had limited options in how to proceed once the Attorney General’s Office refused to release the bond funds. The district could still take legal action, which Niehues isn’t fully in favor of. The Legislature could remedy the requirement through new or amended legislation. Or the district could hold another election, but there would be no guarantee that a majority of voters would approve a bond question a second time.&nbsp;

“We did everything,” Young, the county clerk, said, “and the people voted. It was the will of the people.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735849758103.png" alt="The Greeley County Schools campus in Tribune. (Greeley County Schools)" />
 <figcaption>The Greeley County Schools campus in Tribune. (Greeley County Schools)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Attorney General’s Office blocked millions in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law.&nbsp;Voters in the Greeley County school district, headquartered in Tribune near the state’s westernmost edge, approved in May a $4.6 million school bond for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds.&nbsp;“I feel like we have ignored a core tenet of our society and our government as a whole,” said John Niehues, the district superintendent. “You know, it’s the will of the people.”The Attorney General’s Office determines whether any bond issue across the state meets legal standards. The Greeley County schools decision relied on a 2023 elections reform&nbsp;<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406185329_890627/" target="_blank">bill</a>. It created a state law requiring county election officials to publish notice of an election three weeks in advance on a county election website, in addition to a traditional newspaper notice.&nbsp;However, Greeley County, with a population of about 1,200, doesn’t have a website.The office found the county clerk’s “non-compliance with the website notification” was equal to a failure to follow the law, said Danedri Herbert, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.&nbsp;“This determination is purely one of compliance verification and not a judgment on the merits of or need for the bond in question,” she said.&nbsp;In years past, when school districts or election officials were in similar situations, they relied on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/chapters/ch25/025_007_0016.html" target="_blank">another state law</a>&nbsp;for resolution. It says “the real will of the people may not be defeated by any technical irregularity of any officer, whenever the greater number of votes were in favor of a question submitted.”Niehues, who has been at the district for about nine years and superintendent for four, said he was going to be OK no matter the result of the bond election. But with that acceptance also came mixed emotions.“I don’t like that I’m the tip of the spear on this — that we chose the smallest county in Kansas to make a point,” he said.Leading up to the May 21 primary, Niehues engaged the community to inform them about the bond, which would replace an old one and avoid tax increases for local property owners. Answers to frequently asked questions and in-depth information about the bond were — and still are — visibly posted on the school district&nbsp;<a href="https://tribuneschools.org/35934_1" target="_blank">website</a>.“There was no way anyone in Greeley County could not have known about this school bond,” said Jerri Young, the county clerk, who has acted as the county’s elections official for about 15 years.&nbsp;The elections law was poorly written, Young said. State law doesn’t require Kansas counties to operate a website, and no funding was attached to the 2023 bill to ensure they did.“I still don’t have one,” she said.&nbsp;Young said she met with Attorney General Kris Kobach and office staff. She said she felt the decision had been made before the meeting began.Outgoing state Sen. John Doll, a Garden City Republican whose district encompasses Greeley County, supported the 2023 elections bill at the time of its passage. Before leaving office, he said, he has attempted to help the district and the county remedy the situation without success. He said he didn’t consider how stringently the Attorney General’s Office would interpret it, even when small communities like Greeley County use their schools as sources of information.The 25-year bond issue would have funded a new gymnasium, renovations in the existing gym and a new accessible playground. A private, anonymous donor also promised to cover about 10% of the project, which totals more than $4.7 million.&nbsp;All now hangs in the balance as local officials wait to see if the 2025 legislative session might bring change.&nbsp;The district had limited options in how to proceed once the Attorney General’s Office refused to release the bond funds. The district could still take legal action, which Niehues isn’t fully in favor of. The Legislature could remedy the requirement through new or amended legislation. Or the district could hold another election, but there would be no guarantee that a majority of voters would approve a bond question a second time.&nbsp;“We did everything,” Young, the county clerk, said, “and the people voted. It was the will of the people.”

Kansas AG blocks school bond funds in state’s smallest county

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22ERIC%20TUCKER,%20JIM%20MUSTIAN,%20KEVIN%20McGILL%20and%20JACK%20BROOK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By ERIC TUCKER, JIM MUSTIAN, KEVIN McGILL and JACK BROOK Associated Press</a>

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-crash-islamic-state-lone-wolves-4bb6446c484737fbe9dd1b9c26a899a9">U.S. Army veteran</a>&nbsp;who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers acted alone, the FBI said Thursday, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in carrying out the deadly attack, which officials say was an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group.

The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he aligned himself with IS and told viewers that he had joined the militant group before last summer.

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division.

The attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-killed-crash-terrorist-attack-9f2fbcc3e48d8b391590f60969e80e61">killed 14 people</a>, including an 18-year-old woman who had ambitions of becoming a nurse. Authorities initially put the death toll at 15, which included Jabbar, who was fatally shot in a firefight with police.

Officials had said Wednesday that they were seeking additional potential suspects in the attack, which occurred when Jabbar steered around a police blockade and plowed into a crowd.

But Raia said the current assessment is that he acted alone, without any conspirators.

Authorities recovered a black flag of the Islamic State in the truck, and President Joe Biden said he was told by the FBI that Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, had posted videos to social media hours before the carnage that showed he was motivated by the militant group and expressed a desire to kill.

He was shot to death by police, and the FBI said Wednesday that it believed he did not act alone. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other explosive devices elsewhere in the French Quarter.

Officials fanned out to serve search warrants and spent hours at a Houston-area home thought to be connected to the investigation. But as of Thursday morning, no additional arrests were known to have been made, and it was unclear if the FBI was still actively looking for more suspects.

The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre scene of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt.

Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the dead.

But by Thursday, a still-reeling city was inching back toward normal operations. Authorities finished processing the scene early in the morning, removing the last of the bodies, and Bourbon Street was set to reopen at some point later in the day, according to an official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, initially set for Wednesday night and postponed by a day in the interest of national security, was still on for Thursday. And the city planned to host the Super Bowl next month.

Federal officials were investigating Jabbar's potential associations with any terror organizations as they hunted for additional clues in what's believed to be the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years.

Local officials, meanwhile, faced more questions about security protocols in the city leading up to the attack, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-vehicle-ramming-attacks-8af368ea95bea1eec9bc15ebaf43f7ec">latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon</a>&nbsp;to carry out mass violence.

Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-new-orleans-7001f6f459065b18646fe0d253bd0d34">in preparation for the Super Bowl</a>.

Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.

The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said.

“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” she added.

Also on Wednesday, there were deadly explosions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fireworks-accident-two-dead-honolulu-1075a875d2f881516dde4e412d21fd7d">Honolulu</a>&nbsp;and outside a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">Las Vegas</a>&nbsp;hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden said the FBI was looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.

A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Islamic State group was on the truck's trailer hitch, the FBI said.

“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning," U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. "If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”

Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.

Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remained an active crime scene.

“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence, and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. "This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”

Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David, addressed the victims and the people of New Orleans: “I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you as you mourn and as you heal.”

FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war. In the last year, the agency has disrupted other potential attacks, including in October when it arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma for an alleged Election Day plot targeting large crowds.

Tucker reported from Washington, and Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Alanna Durkin Richer, Tara Copp and Zeke Miller in Washington; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware; Colleen Long in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22ERIC%20TUCKER,%20JIM%20MUSTIAN,%20KEVIN%20McGILL%20and%20JACK%20BROOK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By ERIC TUCKER, JIM MUSTIAN, KEVIN McGILL and JACK BROOK Associated Press</a>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-crash-islamic-state-lone-wolves-4bb6446c484737fbe9dd1b9c26a899a9">U.S. Army veteran</a>&nbsp;who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers acted alone, the FBI said Thursday, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in carrying out the deadly attack, which officials say was an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia on New Orleans Attack: &quot;This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act...We do not assess at this point that anyone else is involved in this attack except for Shamsud-Din Jabbar.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/DF2H2YKDO2">pic.twitter.com/DF2H2YKDO2</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1874859484360687948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he aligned himself with IS and told viewers that he had joined the militant group before last summer.“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735738471176.png" alt="Photo courtesy WDSU TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WDSU TV</figcaption>
 </figure>The attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-killed-crash-terrorist-attack-9f2fbcc3e48d8b391590f60969e80e61">killed 14 people</a>, including an 18-year-old woman who had ambitions of becoming a nurse. Authorities initially put the death toll at 15, which included Jabbar, who was fatally shot in a firefight with police.Officials had said Wednesday that they were seeking additional potential suspects in the attack, which occurred when Jabbar steered around a police blockade and plowed into a crowd.But Raia said the current assessment is that he acted alone, without any conspirators.Authorities recovered a black flag of the Islamic State in the truck, and President Joe Biden said he was told by the FBI that Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, had posted videos to social media hours before the carnage that showed he was motivated by the militant group and expressed a desire to kill.He was shot to death by police, and the FBI said Wednesday that it believed he did not act alone. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other explosive devices elsewhere in the French Quarter.Officials fanned out to serve search warrants and spent hours at a Houston-area home thought to be connected to the investigation. But as of Thursday morning, no additional arrests were known to have been made, and it was unclear if the FBI was still actively looking for more suspects.The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre scene of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt.Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the dead.But by Thursday, a still-reeling city was inching back toward normal operations. Authorities finished processing the scene early in the morning, removing the last of the bodies, and Bourbon Street was set to reopen at some point later in the day, according to an official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, initially set for Wednesday night and postponed by a day in the interest of national security, was still on for Thursday. And the city planned to host the Super Bowl next month.Federal officials were investigating Jabbar's potential associations with any terror organizations as they hunted for additional clues in what's believed to be the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years.Local officials, meanwhile, faced more questions about security protocols in the city leading up to the attack, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-vehicle-ramming-attacks-8af368ea95bea1eec9bc15ebaf43f7ec">latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon</a>&nbsp;to carry out mass violence.Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-new-orleans-7001f6f459065b18646fe0d253bd0d34">in preparation for the Super Bowl</a>.Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said.“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” she added.Also on Wednesday, there were deadly explosions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fireworks-accident-two-dead-honolulu-1075a875d2f881516dde4e412d21fd7d">Honolulu</a>&nbsp;and outside a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">Las Vegas</a>&nbsp;hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden said the FBI was looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Islamic State group was on the truck's trailer hitch, the FBI said.“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning," U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. "If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remained an active crime scene.“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence, and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. "This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David, addressed the victims and the people of New Orleans: “I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you as you mourn and as you heal.”FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war. In the last year, the agency has disrupted other potential attacks, including in October when it arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma for an alleged Election Day plot targeting large crowds.___Tucker reported from Washington, and Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Alanna Durkin Richer, Tara Copp and Zeke Miller in Washington; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware; Colleen Long in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

🎥FBI reverses position in deadly New Orleans rampage investigation

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

Just after 4p.m. December 30, a sheriff's deputy attempted to stop a 2011 Hyundai Genesis after it allegedly failed to yield to a law enforcement vehicle nears 126th and U.S. 75 Hwy, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. A pursuit ensued northbound on U.S. 75.

Deputies were able to stop the vehicle just south of 150th on 75 Hwy. 

The driver, Ismail Rafie, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, possession of a hallucinogenic drug and drug paraphernalia. 

 The passenger, Amir Bachouche, 27, of Arlington, Texas was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on a requested charge of possession of a hallucinogenic drug and drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735751578845.png" alt="Bachouche photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Bachouche photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on drug allegations.Just after 4p.m. December 30, a sheriff's deputy attempted to stop a 2011 Hyundai Genesis after it allegedly failed to yield to a law enforcement vehicle nears 126th and U.S. 75 Hwy, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. A pursuit ensued northbound on U.S. 75.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735751528710.png" alt="Rafie photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Rafie photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Deputies were able to stop the vehicle just south of 150th on 75 Hwy. The driver, Ismail Rafie, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, possession of a hallucinogenic drug and drug paraphernalia. The passenger, Amir Bachouche, 27, of Arlington, Texas was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on a requested charge of possession of a hallucinogenic drug and drug paraphernalia.

New York driver jailed in Kansas on drug allegations after chase

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person who died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, officials said Thursday.

Two law enforcement officials identified the man inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck as Matthew Livelsberger. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Livelsberger was a member of the Army’s elite Green Berets, a special forces unit and guerrilla warfare experts, according to an Army statement. He has served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died, the statement said. The Green Berets work to counter terrorists abroad using unconventional techniques.

Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to Army special forces command.

The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was not acting alone.

Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, also spent time at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty, but one official said so far there is no overlap in their assignments there.

The investigation so far has not shown the incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans are related, and authorities don’t think the men knew each other, the two law enforcement officials said.

Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735777581543.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person who died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, officials said Thursday.(Click below to watch police video of the explosion)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLasVegasMetro%2Fvideos%2F1763169784264920%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=570" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Two law enforcement officials identified the man inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck as Matthew Livelsberger. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735777500419.jpeg" alt="Fire crews on the scene after the explosion on Wednesday.-image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Fire crews on the scene after the explosion on Wednesday.-image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Livelsberger was a member of the Army’s elite Green Berets, a special forces unit and guerrilla warfare experts, according to an Army statement. He has served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died, the statement said. The Green Berets work to counter terrorists abroad using unconventional techniques.Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to Army special forces command.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735778174814.png" alt="Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was not acting alone.Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, also spent time at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty, but one official said so far there is no overlap in their assignments there.The investigation so far has not shown the incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans are related, and authorities don’t think the men knew each other, the two law enforcement officials said.Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded.Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.""All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.

 Driver in Tesla explosion at Trump Hotel was US Army Green Beret

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating alleged theft by deception at a business in Riley County.

Just before 2p.m. Tuesday, officers filed a report of theft by deception in the 300 block of Main Street in Riley, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

Meat Works of Kansas reported the business was deceived by email for the purchase of 15,000 pounds of ground beef by an unknown subject. 

Total estimated loss associated with this report is $60,000. 

Anyone with information can contact&nbsp;<a href="https://rileycountypolice.org/287/Crime-Stoppers">Crime Stoppers</a>. Using Crime Stoppers allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735831295761.png" alt="Meat Works Google image" />
 <figcaption>Meat Works Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating alleged theft by deception at a business in Riley County.Just before 2p.m. Tuesday, officers filed a report of theft by deception in the 300 block of Main Street in Riley, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.Meat Works of Kansas reported the business was deceived by email for the purchase of 15,000 pounds of ground beef by an unknown subject. Total estimated loss associated with this report is $60,000. Anyone with information can contact&nbsp;<a href="https://rileycountypolice.org/287/Crime-Stoppers">Crime Stoppers</a>. Using Crime Stoppers allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Email scam involving 15,000 pounds of ground beef at Kan. business

SUMNER COUNTY —Two people died in an accident that occurred early Thursday morning in Sumner County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2028 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Michael Keefer, 63, Rose Hill, was southbound on the Kansas Turnpike at the Mulvane exit.

The Jeep struck a 2020 Chevy Express van and trailer driven by Tiburcio Gonzalez, 55, Circle Pines, Minnesota, that was overturned in the southbound lanes

Ernestina Eumana-Alvarez, 58 and a boy identified as Christian Gutierrez, both of Minneapolis, Minnesota, died. The KHP could not verify the child's age.

EMS transported Gonzalez, five other adults and a 1-year-old boy in the van to area hospitals. Keefer and two passengers in the Jeep had minor injuries. The boy who died was not in a child safety seat, according to the KHP.&nbsp;

 Despite the report of a cattle truck involved, according to the Mulvane Fire and Rescue, the KHP did include the vehicle in the crash report.

SUMNER COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred early Thursday in Sumner County.

According to Mulvane Fire and Rescue, the multiple vehicle accident including a semi hauling cattle on the Kansas Turnpike closed southbound traffic at the Mulvane exit.&nbsp; Two people were pinned in vehicles and 6 people were transported to local area hospitals.&nbsp;

A total of 12 people were treated for injuries. Two refused transport, according to Mulvane Fire and Rescue.

Check the post for additional details including the names of the victims as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735824759796.png" alt="Photo Mulvane Fire and Rescue" />
 <figcaption>Photo Mulvane Fire and Rescue</figcaption>
 </figure>SUMNER COUNTY —Two people died in an accident that occurred early Thursday morning in Sumner County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2028 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Michael Keefer, 63, Rose Hill, was southbound on the Kansas Turnpike at the Mulvane exit.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735824812709.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Jeep struck a 2020 Chevy Express van and trailer driven by Tiburcio Gonzalez, 55, Circle Pines, Minnesota, that was overturned in the southbound lanesErnestina Eumana-Alvarez, 58 and a boy identified as Christian Gutierrez, both of Minneapolis, Minnesota, died. The KHP could not verify the child's age.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735824791793.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>EMS transported Gonzalez, five other adults and a 1-year-old boy in the van to area hospitals. Keefer and two passengers in the Jeep had minor injuries. The boy who died was not in a child safety seat, according to the KHP.&nbsp; Despite the report of a cattle truck involved, according to the Mulvane Fire and Rescue, the KHP did include the vehicle in the crash report.---------------SUMNER COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred early Thursday in Sumner County.According to Mulvane Fire and Rescue, the multiple vehicle accident including a semi hauling cattle on the Kansas Turnpike closed southbound traffic at the Mulvane exit.&nbsp; Two people were pinned in vehicles and 6 people were transported to local area hospitals.&nbsp;A total of 12 people were treated for injuries. Two refused transport, according to Mulvane Fire and Rescue.Check the post for additional details including the names of the victims as they become available.

KHP IDs woman, boy who died in crash on the Kansas Turnpike

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating the first homicide of 2025 in Kansas City.

Just before 3a.m. patrol officers were dispatched to the 3100 block of Elmwood in Kansas City on a reported shooting, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

When they arrived to the area they were directed to a residence on Elmwood. Officers located a man later identified as 41-year-old Calvin L. Bushnell suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel responded and pronounced the him deceased. 

An additional adult male shooting victim was also located. He was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries.This is being investigated as a homicide. 

The preliminary investigation revealed there were several people gathered at a residence prior to shots being fired. Investigators are trying to determine what led up to the victims being struck.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735739093640.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating the first homicide of 2025 in Kansas City.Just before 3a.m. patrol officers were dispatched to the 3100 block of Elmwood in Kansas City on a reported shooting, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.When they arrived to the area they were directed to a residence on Elmwood. Officers located a man later identified as 41-year-old Calvin L. Bushnell suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel responded and pronounced the him deceased. An additional adult male shooting victim was also located. He was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries.This is being investigated as a homicide. The preliminary investigation revealed there were several people gathered at a residence prior to shots being fired. Investigators are trying to determine what led up to the victims being struck.

Police: 1 dead, 1 injured in first Kansas City homicide of 2025

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A U.S. Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-killed-crash-terrorist-attack-9f2fbcc3e48d8b391590f60969e80e61">killing 15 people</a>, had posted videos to social media hours before the carnage saying he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-crash-islamic-state-lone-wolves-4bb6446c484737fbe9dd1b9c26a899a9">inspired by the Islamic State group</a>&nbsp;and expressing a desire to kill, the president said.

The FBI said it was investigating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">early Wednesday’s attack</a>&nbsp;in which the driver steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police as a terrorist act and did not believe he acted alone.

Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle — which bore the flag of the Islamic State group — along with other explosive devices elsewhere in the city’s famed French Quarter.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening that the FBI found the videos the driver posted to social media. He called the attack a “despicable” and “heinous act.”

The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre scene of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt. A college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sugar-bowl-mass-casualty-650b5773a37f0eaa2b03f4412c835674">was postponed until Thursday</a>.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the people killed.

“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.

The attack is the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-vehicle-ramming-attacks-8af368ea95bea1eec9bc15ebaf43f7ec">latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon</a>&nbsp;to carry out mass violence and the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years.

The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians, Kirkpatrick said, and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, and said it was working to determine any potential associations with terrorist organizations.

“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a news conference.

Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

The bulletin, relying on preliminary information gathered soon after the attack, also cited surveillance footage that it said showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.

Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-new-orleans-7001f6f459065b18646fe0d253bd0d34">in preparation for the Super Bowl in February</a>.

Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.

Investigators recovered a handgun and AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

There were also deadly explosions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fireworks-accident-two-dead-honolulu-1075a875d2f881516dde4e412d21fd7d">Honolulu</a>&nbsp;and outside a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">Las Vegas</a>&nbsp;hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. President Joe Biden said the FBI was looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.

“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. "This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”

Nearby, life went on as normal in the city known to some for a motto that translates to “let the good times roll.” At a cafe a block from where the truck came to rest, people crowded in for breakfast as upbeat pop music played. Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in an earlier written statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”

Tucker reported from Washington, D.C. and Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Alanna Durkin Richer, Tara Copp and Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware; Colleen Long in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A U.S. Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-killed-crash-terrorist-attack-9f2fbcc3e48d8b391590f60969e80e61">killing 15 people</a>, had posted videos to social media hours before the carnage saying he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-crash-islamic-state-lone-wolves-4bb6446c484737fbe9dd1b9c26a899a9">inspired by the Islamic State group</a>&nbsp;and expressing a desire to kill, the president said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden on New Orleans Attack: &quot;I&#39;ve directed my team to make sure every resource is made available to federal, state and local law enforcement to complete the investigation in New Orleans quickly and to make sure there is no remaining threat to the American people.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wXzAV8lPme">pic.twitter.com/wXzAV8lPme</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1874611759413375032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The FBI said it was investigating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">early Wednesday’s attack</a>&nbsp;in which the driver steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police as a terrorist act and did not believe he acted alone.Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle — which bore the flag of the Islamic State group — along with other explosive devices elsewhere in the city’s famed French Quarter.President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening that the FBI found the videos the driver posted to social media. He called the attack a “despicable” and “heinous act.”The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre scene of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt. A college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sugar-bowl-mass-casualty-650b5773a37f0eaa2b03f4412c835674">was postponed until Thursday</a>.Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the people killed.“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.The attack is the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-vehicle-ramming-attacks-8af368ea95bea1eec9bc15ebaf43f7ec">latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon</a>&nbsp;to carry out mass violence and the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years.The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians, Kirkpatrick said, and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, and said it was working to determine any potential associations with terrorist organizations.“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a news conference.Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.The bulletin, relying on preliminary information gathered soon after the attack, also cited surveillance footage that it said showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-new-orleans-7001f6f459065b18646fe0d253bd0d34">in preparation for the Super Bowl in February</a>.Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.Investigators recovered a handgun and AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.There were also deadly explosions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fireworks-accident-two-dead-honolulu-1075a875d2f881516dde4e412d21fd7d">Honolulu</a>&nbsp;and outside a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-vehicle-fire-las-vegas-ad4c171c7a6af64f08db93d9fdc2d749">Las Vegas</a>&nbsp;hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. President Joe Biden said the FBI was looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Islamic State group was on the truck's trailer hitch, the FBI said.“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning," U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. "If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remained an active crime scene.“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. "This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”Nearby, life went on as normal in the city known to some for a motto that translates to “let the good times roll.” At a cafe a block from where the truck came to rest, people crowded in for breakfast as upbeat pop music played. Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened.Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David, addressed the victims and the people of New Orleans: “I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you as you mourn and as you heal.”“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in an earlier written statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war. In the last year, the agency has disrupted other potential attacks, including in October when it arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma for an alleged Election Day plot targeting large crowds.___Tucker reported from Washington, D.C. and Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Alanna Durkin Richer, Tara Copp and Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware; Colleen Long in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

🎥Biden: New Orleans attack suspect posted videos ‘inspired by ISIS’ 

KANSAS CITY —Kansas City fire crews&nbsp;avoided disaster when a roof partially collapsed at a vacant structure fire on New Year's Day.

Just after 11a.m. Wednesday, crews responded to a reported building fire in the 5100 block of E. 27th Street in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

 Crews reported heavy smoke and fire from a two-story vacant building as they arrived. 

After several minutes of interior operations, the Incident Commander made the decision to evacuate the structure and transition to a defensive operation. 

Five to ten minutes after the evacuation was completed there was a collapse of the roof on the west end of the structure. No firefighters were injured during the collapse or throughout the operation. 

The fire was placed under control just before noon. . The cause of the fire is under investigation by KCFD.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735815467847.jpeg" alt="Photos KCFD" />
 <figcaption>Photos KCFD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Kansas City fire crews&nbsp;avoided disaster when a roof partially collapsed at a vacant structure fire on New Year's Day.Just after 11a.m. Wednesday, crews responded to a reported building fire in the 5100 block of E. 27th Street in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735815505248.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure> Crews reported heavy smoke and fire from a two-story vacant building as they arrived. After several minutes of interior operations, the Incident Commander made the decision to evacuate the structure and transition to a defensive operation. Five to ten minutes after the evacuation was completed there was a collapse of the roof on the west end of the structure. No firefighters were injured during the collapse or throughout the operation. The fire was placed under control just before noon. . The cause of the fire is under investigation by KCFD.

KC fire crews avoid disaster while battling New Year's Day blaze

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Tuesday that he's planning to attend the funeral of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-dies-18c198c20352c835bca3eec276020dd7">former President Jimmy Carter</a>.

Asked about it as he walked into a New Year's Eve party at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-musk-brand-bukele-golf-elon-zuckerberg-4a7dfb1cec7607962ed5ca8d3ddfa347">Mar-a-Lago club</a>&nbsp;in Florida, Trump responded, "I'll be there.” Pressed on whether he'd spoken to members of Carter's family, Trump said he'd rather not say.

Funeral services honoring Carter, who died Sunday at 100, will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-jimmy-carter-funeral-services-d8ec9471cda40e8e0e377850f64c9905">be held</a>&nbsp;in Georgia and Washington, beginning Jan. 4 and concluding Jan. 9.

Trump was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-jimmy-carter-2024-election-6d58fb7dee75422ff555239013a6b52f">frequent and fierce critic of Carter</a>&nbsp;on the campaign trail ahead of November's election, using the rising inflation rates of the 1970s to unfavorably compare President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;to Carter and his administration.

But the president-elect was gracious about the former president in posts on his social media site after Carter's death Sunday, writing that the nation “owed him a debt of gratitude.”

“While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for,” Trump wrote of Carter. “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”

Wearing a tuxedo as he entered the festivities, Trump took a few minutes of questions from reporters on various topics. He was asked about the possibility of a ceasefire in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza</a>, but said only, “We’re going to see what happens."

The president-elect added of hostages seized more than a year ago by Hamas, “I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon."

Trump also said he thought 2025 would be a “great year” and "we’re going to do fantastically well as a country.”

“There’s a whole light over the whole world, not just our country. They’re a lot of happy people,” Trump said of recent weeks.

Asked about his resolutions for the new year, Trump said, “I just want everybody to be happy, healthy and well.”

Trump later took the stage to briefly address the crowd ringing in the new year at Mar-a-Lago and promised “to do a great job as your president.”

Biden, for his part, spent New Year’s Eve celebrating the wedding of his niece Missy Owens in Greenville, Delaware, followed by the reception in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Biden and first lady Jill Biden cut short their traditional holiday trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to attend the ceremony.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Tuesday that he's planning to attend the funeral of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-dies-18c198c20352c835bca3eec276020dd7">former President Jimmy Carter</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Q: &quot;Do you plan to go to President Carter&#39;s funeral?&quot; President-elect Trump: &quot;I do. I&#39;ll be there. We were invited.&quot; Q: &quot;Have you spoken to any Carter family members?&quot; Trump: &quot;I&#39;d rather not say.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XUeX7OpC0b">pic.twitter.com/XUeX7OpC0b</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1874271651002482889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Asked about it as he walked into a New Year's Eve party at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-musk-brand-bukele-golf-elon-zuckerberg-4a7dfb1cec7607962ed5ca8d3ddfa347">Mar-a-Lago club</a>&nbsp;in Florida, Trump responded, "I'll be there.” Pressed on whether he'd spoken to members of Carter's family, Trump said he'd rather not say.Funeral services honoring Carter, who died Sunday at 100, will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-jimmy-carter-funeral-services-d8ec9471cda40e8e0e377850f64c9905">be held</a>&nbsp;in Georgia and Washington, beginning Jan. 4 and concluding Jan. 9.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President-elect Trump: &quot;They better let the hostages come back soon.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/AwGK04RrP5">pic.twitter.com/AwGK04RrP5</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1874272191291789621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-jimmy-carter-2024-election-6d58fb7dee75422ff555239013a6b52f">frequent and fierce critic of Carter</a>&nbsp;on the campaign trail ahead of November's election, using the rising inflation rates of the 1970s to unfavorably compare President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;to Carter and his administration.But the president-elect was gracious about the former president in posts on his social media site after Carter's death Sunday, writing that the nation “owed him a debt of gratitude.”“While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for,” Trump wrote of Carter. “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”Wearing a tuxedo as he entered the festivities, Trump took a few minutes of questions from reporters on various topics. He was asked about the possibility of a ceasefire in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza</a>, but said only, “We’re going to see what happens."The president-elect added of hostages seized more than a year ago by Hamas, “I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon."Trump also said he thought 2025 would be a “great year” and "we’re going to do fantastically well as a country.”“There’s a whole light over the whole world, not just our country. They’re a lot of happy people,” Trump said of recent weeks.Asked about his resolutions for the new year, Trump said, “I just want everybody to be happy, healthy and well.”Trump later took the stage to briefly address the crowd ringing in the new year at Mar-a-Lago and promised “to do a great job as your president.”Biden, for his part, spent New Year’s Eve celebrating the wedding of his niece Missy Owens in Greenville, Delaware, followed by the reception in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Biden and first lady Jill Biden cut short their traditional holiday trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to attend the ceremony.

🎥Trump talks American hostages, Jimmy Carter funeral and more

SHAWNEE COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a police chase in Shawnee County.

Just after 1p.m. December 29, a sheriff's deputy attempted to stop a white 2015 Hyundai Sonata for failing to obey a traffic control device in the area of SW Topeka Boulevard and SW Huntoon Street, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

 The driver of the vehicle refused to stop, prompting a short pursuit. After a brief distance, the pursuit was terminated. The Hyundai was found in the parking lot of a business in the 2000 block of SW Topeka Blvd. where three individuals fled the scene on foot and one passenger remained inside the vehicle.

Upon investigation, it was determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen from a Topeka residence on December 28. 

Deputies located a bag containing illegal drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. Mark A. Starkebaum, 35, of Topeka, was apprehended in the 2500 block of South Kansas Avenue and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Interference with law enforcement officers, Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic, or certain stimulant drug, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Identity theft

Starkebaum was also arrested on two outstanding felony warrants from Shawnee County and one misdemeanor warrant from the City of Topeka.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735658111782.png" alt="Starkebaum-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Starkebaum-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a police chase in Shawnee County.Just after 1p.m. December 29, a sheriff's deputy attempted to stop a white 2015 Hyundai Sonata for failing to obey a traffic control device in the area of SW Topeka Boulevard and SW Huntoon Street, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The driver of the vehicle refused to stop, prompting a short pursuit. After a brief distance, the pursuit was terminated. The Hyundai was found in the parking lot of a business in the 2000 block of SW Topeka Blvd. where three individuals fled the scene on foot and one passenger remained inside the vehicle.Upon investigation, it was determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen from a Topeka residence on December 28. Deputies located a bag containing illegal drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. Mark A. Starkebaum, 35, of Topeka, was apprehended in the 2500 block of South Kansas Avenue and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Interference with law enforcement officers, Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic, or certain stimulant drug, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Identity theftStarkebaum was also arrested on two outstanding felony warrants from Shawnee County and one misdemeanor warrant from the City of Topeka.

Wanted Kansas suspect caught driving reported stolen vehicle

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found stuffed into the back of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday, killing a suspect inside the vehicle and sparking an intense investigation into possible terrorism.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials said that a person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck and seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.

By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities were still working to get the body out of the vehicle and start processing the evidence inside. President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion.

“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not.”

Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, but are not releasing the name until investigators determine if it is the same person who died.

McMahill said video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by CEO Elon Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey, arriving in Las Vegas about 7:30 AM. then driving about an hour later into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where it sat 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred.

Video presented at an afternoon news conference showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, cannisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.

Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735777500419.jpeg" alt="Fire crews on the scene after the explosion on Wednesday.-image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Fire crews on the scene after the explosion on Wednesday.-image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>(Click below to watch police video of the explosion)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLasVegasMetro%2Fvideos%2F1763169784264920%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=570" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735777581543.png" alt="Image of the Tesla Truck seconds before the blast-photo Law Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Image of the Tesla Truck seconds before the blast-photo Law Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Appears likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way. <a href="https://t.co/MM6ehJO3SG">https://t.co/MM6ehJO3SG</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1874587141491335237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion. <a href="https://t.co/HRjb87YbaJ">https://t.co/HRjb87YbaJ</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1874579547452269054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">UPDATE ON CYBER TRUCK EXPLOSION Sheriff Kevin McMahill provided an initial briefing regarding the explosion of a Cyber Truck in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas this morning. Key details: - At approximately 8:40 a.m., reports were received of a vehicle explosion. - One person… <a href="https://t.co/woCvwR1Qvq">https://t.co/woCvwR1Qvq</a> <a href="https://t.co/BLf5jQsRzm">pic.twitter.com/BLf5jQsRzm</a>&mdash; LVMPD (@LVMPD) <a href="https://twitter.com/LVMPD/status/1874572577500516778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>LAS VEGAS (AP) — Firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found stuffed into the back of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday, killing a suspect inside the vehicle and sparking an intense investigation into possible terrorism.Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials said that a person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck and seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities were still working to get the body out of the vehicle and start processing the evidence inside. President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion.“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not.”Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, but are not releasing the name until investigators determine if it is the same person who died.McMahill said video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by CEO Elon Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey, arriving in Las Vegas about 7:30 AM. then driving about an hour later into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where it sat 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred.Video presented at an afternoon news conference showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, cannisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”In an earlier post on the platform Musk said that his entire senior term was investigating the explosion, adding, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”Musk has recently become a member of Trump's inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk were in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at Trump’s estate in South Florida.Musk spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support the former president. He was at Trump’s resort on election night and has been a frequent guest there. Trump has named Musk, the world’s richest man, to co-lead a new effort to find ways to cut the government’s size and spending.“This is a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump Tower,” McMahill said when reporters asked about possible political connections. “So there’s obviously things to be concerned about and it’s something we continue to look at.”The truck explosion came hours after a driver&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was not acting alone.“We are absolutely investigating any connectivity to what happened in New Orleans as well as other attacks that have been occurring around the world,” McMahill said. “We aren't ruling anything out.”In a statement, Turo said it was working with authorities.“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat," the statement said.In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, said she heard three explosions.“The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away,” Bruce said.Her travel companion, Alcides Antunes, showed video he took of flames lapping the sides of the silver-colored vehicle.The 64-story hotel is just off the Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1874514306848440399">posted about the fire</a>&nbsp;on the social media platform X. He praised the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”___LAS VEGAS (AP) — One person died and seven others were injured Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that appeared to be carrying fireworks caught fire and exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel, authorities said.Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials told a news conference that a person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck and they were working to get the body out. Seven people nearby had minor injuries and several were taken to a hospital.The fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokeswoman said in a statement.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735778174814.png" alt="Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police" />
 <figcaption>Police found remains of fireworks, gas canisters, lighter fluid and other explosives in the bed of the cybertruck-image Las Vegas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>According to a law enforcement official, the truck was rented via the Turo app and appeared to have a load of fireworks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.A Turo spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1735770979279.png" alt="Guests were evacuated from the Trump Las Vegas Hotel after the blast-photo courtesy KLAS " />
 <figcaption>Guests were evacuated from the Trump Las Vegas Hotel after the blast-photo courtesy KLAS </figcaption>
 </figure>Law enforcement officials have not ruled out terrorism as a possible motive, a person familiar with the matter said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, told reporters. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion came hours after a driver&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-1685016388d65039ce62e720aab2ba14">rammed a truck into a crowd</a>&nbsp;in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people before being shot to death by police.“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a statement on X, adding: "We’ve never seen anything like this.”In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, said she heard three explosions.“The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away,” Bruce said.Her travel companion, Alcides Antunes, showed video he took of flames lapping the sides of the silver-colored vehicle.The 64-story hotel is just off the Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas. The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their…&mdash; Eric Trump (@EricTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricTrump/status/1874514306848440399?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1874514306848440399">posted about the fire</a>&nbsp;on the social media platform X. He praised the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”___