KANSAS CITY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a house fire that sent woman to the hospital.

Just before 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Kansas City Fire Department crew responded on a mutual aid fire with Raytown Fire Department in 9200 block of E. 61 Street in Raytown, according to KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

First crews on scene at the story and half residence reported light smoke showing. The calling party indicated that an elderly occupant with limited mobility was located upstairs in the home.

Raytown Fire quickly located the woman and removed her from the residence, where she was evaluated by EMS and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation related to smoke inhalation.

 Along with the resident, a mama dog and her five puppies were located and removed from the smokey conditions. The fire was quickly located in the sub-basement and extinguished. No other injuries were reported.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718043070152.png" alt="Photo KCFD" />
 <figcaption>Photo KCFD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a house fire that sent woman to the hospital.Just before 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Kansas City Fire Department crew responded on a mutual aid fire with Raytown Fire Department in 9200 block of E. 61 Street in Raytown, according to KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.First crews on scene at the story and half residence reported light smoke showing. The calling party indicated that an elderly occupant with limited mobility was located upstairs in the home.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718043148703.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Raytown Fire quickly located the woman and removed her from the residence, where she was evaluated by EMS and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation related to smoke inhalation. Along with the resident, a mama dog and her five puppies were located and removed from the smokey conditions. The fire was quickly located in the sub-basement and extinguished. No other injuries were reported.

Woman hospitalized, puppies rescued after KC area house fire

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — For newly crowned Miss Kansas America, Alexis Smith, she really enjoyed bringing her friends on to the stage with her at the pageant.

"I've been performing ventriloquism for 19 years," Smith said. "You know, when you're not in pageants, you don't have that aspect of being on stage and getting to perform for others, and so coming back to the Miss Kansas organization and being able to bring my friends back out and be able to perform for Pratt community and my family, friends, and everybody that is there to support us was incredibly special."

Smith's platform is domestic violence awareness and prevention.

"Respect Reclaimed: Advocating for Healthy Relationships, it stems from my own personal experience with domestic violence," Smith said. "It started at the age of 14 for me, but it's something that was in my family before that and I just fell into that cycle of abuse, but I recognize that healthy relationships are important in all facets of life and those characteristics of a healthy relationship can be applied in all facets of life, so I chose that platform to be able to help reduce domestic violence in our communities while also focusing on the importance of healthy relationships."

Smith also will have to talk to her job about being more flexible with her schedule now that she's won the Miss Kansas crown.

"I work as a cardiothoracic ICU nurse here in my hometown," Smith said. "The biggest part of my job is being empathetic and being able to be there, not only for the patient, but for the families, and there are unfortunately times where, you know, in one of my rooms, there is a patient that is going through their process of the end of their life, and in another room, there's a patient that's having a speedy recovery with families that are laughing and are very joyful to see their family member recover. So the biggest thing in that part of my job is to remember that I get to be that rock for those families and for that patient. And I think just my ability to really empathize and be a caring individual is what makes that job easier for them."

Smith wants to go on and become a&nbsp;Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, which is a doctoral program

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718101435215.png" alt="Miss Kansas 2024 Alexis Smith-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Miss Kansas 2024 Alexis Smith-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL&nbsp;Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — For newly crowned Miss Kansas America, Alexis Smith, she really enjoyed bringing her friends on to the stage with her at the pageant."I've been performing ventriloquism for 19 years," Smith said. "You know, when you're not in pageants, you don't have that aspect of being on stage and getting to perform for others, and so coming back to the Miss Kansas organization and being able to bring my friends back out and be able to perform for Pratt community and my family, friends, and everybody that is there to support us was incredibly special."Smith's platform is domestic violence awareness and prevention."Respect Reclaimed: Advocating for Healthy Relationships, it stems from my own personal experience with domestic violence," Smith said. "It started at the age of 14 for me, but it's something that was in my family before that and I just fell into that cycle of abuse, but I recognize that healthy relationships are important in all facets of life and those characteristics of a healthy relationship can be applied in all facets of life, so I chose that platform to be able to help reduce domestic violence in our communities while also focusing on the importance of healthy relationships."Smith also will have to talk to her job about being more flexible with her schedule now that she's won the Miss Kansas crown."I work as a cardiothoracic ICU nurse here in my hometown," Smith said. "The biggest part of my job is being empathetic and being able to be there, not only for the patient, but for the families, and there are unfortunately times where, you know, in one of my rooms, there is a patient that is going through their process of the end of their life, and in another room, there's a patient that's having a speedy recovery with families that are laughing and are very joyful to see their family member recover. So the biggest thing in that part of my job is to remember that I get to be that rock for those families and for that patient. And I think just my ability to really empathize and be a caring individual is what makes that job easier for them."Smith wants to go on and become a&nbsp;Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, which is a doctoral program

New Miss Kansas throwing her voice across the state

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donald Trump on Monday urged a staunchly pro-life Christian group to stand up for “innocent life,” ambiguously revisiting an issue that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/democrats-abortion-ivf-reproductive-rights-roe-40a80fbe83a99f37d15699c47579636d">Democrats want to make a focus</a>&nbsp;of this year’s presidential election.

The former president and presumptive Republican nominee’s pre-recorded message praised the work of those attending the event hosted by The Danbury Institute, which is meeting in Indianapolis in conjunction with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-southern-baptists-women-pastors-saddleback-3b40fd925377a9e3aa2ecb4a4072a4a6">annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention</a>. The newly-formed institute is an association of churches, Christians and organizations that wants to eradicate abortion in its entirety.

A panel of in-person speakers doubled-down on that anti-abortion stance on Monday, and a top Southern Baptist leader called for a hardline position against in vitro fertilization. Albert Mohler, the president of the SBC’s flagship seminary, said IVF is a “commodification of the embryo” that assaults human dignity. He criticized pastors as well as politicians showing openness to it including in Alabama, which shielded IVF providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits after a state Supreme Court ruling said frozen embryos are children.

“We’re about to find out how pro-life the pro-life movement is,” Mohler said.

Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the overturning of a federally guaranteed right to abortion — having nominated three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade — but has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">resisted supporting a national abortion ban</a>&nbsp;and says he wants to leave the issue to the states. At odds with Mohler's view, Trump does support IVF access.

In his recorded remarks, Trump thanked the audience for their “tremendous devotion to God and Country” and said everyone needs to pull together to preserve their values, including religious liberty, free speech, innocent life and America's heritage and traditions.

“You just can’t vote Democrat. They’re against religion. They’re against your religion in particular,” Trump said. “You cannot vote for Democrats and you have to get out and vote.”

Both Southern Baptists and Republicans at large are split on abortion politics, with some calling for immediate, complete abortion bans and others more open to incremental tactics. Polls over the last several years have found a majority of Americans support some access to abortion, and abortion-rights groups have won several statewide votes since Roe was overturned, including in conservative-led states like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-abortion-vote-recount-e874f56806a9d63b473b24580ad7ea0c">Kansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>.

Like the GOP, the Southern Baptist Convention has moved steadily to the right since the 1980s, and its members were in the vanguard of the wider religious movement that strongly supported Republican presidents from Ronald Reagan to Trump. The Conservative Baptist Network, one of the event’s sponsors, wants to move the conservative denomination even further to the right.

Although they criticized President Bill Clinton’s sexual behavior in the 1990s, Southern Baptists and other evangelicals have supported Trump. That has continued despite allegations of sexual misconduct, multiple divorces and now his conviction on 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Trump gave his address on the same day he was appearing virtually for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-probation-interview-hush-money-ff76617722766fb305d32d84a2bf3600">required pre-sentencing interview</a>&nbsp;with New York probation officers.

Many Southern Baptists say they see him as the only alternative to a Democratic agenda they abhor.

H. Sharayah Colter, spokesperson for The Danbury Institute, said in a statement that the presidential race was a “binary choice” and said Trump has “demonstrated a willingness to protect the value of life even when politically unpopular.”

And Mohler, who leads Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and once an outspoken Clinton critic, wrote a column after Trump's conviction attacking Democrats for supporting transgender rights.

“Say what you will about Donald Trump and his sex scandals, he doesn’t confuse male and female,” wrote Mohler. On Monday, he denounced Trump’s prosecution and conviction, other speakers tapped into themes of Christian nationalism, a fusion of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-founders-christian-nation-conservative-beliefs-4ea388e8d80c54016a6a4460cbef9b82">American and Christian</a>&nbsp;identity.

Trump has said he would not sign a national abortion ban and in an interview on the Fox News Channel last week, when commenting on the way some states are enshrining abortion rights and others are restricting them, said that “the people are deciding and in many ways, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”

For over a year until he announced his position this spring, Trump had backed away from endorsing any specific national limit on abortion, unlike many other Republicans who eventually ended their presidential campaigns. Trump has repeatedly said the issue&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">can be politically tricky</a>&nbsp;and suggested he would “negotiate” a policy that would include exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

Democrats and President Joe Biden’s campaign&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-senate-reproductive-care-8325160d68579ff2bbf89cfee5acd481">have tried to tie Trump</a>&nbsp;to the most conservative state-level bans on abortion as well as a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-clinic-lawsuit-immunity-things-know-0d16d3be139f42c96bc3ab35c4467f55">restricted access to in vitro fertilization</a>&nbsp;and other fertility procedures that are broadly popular.

“Four more years of Donald Trump means empowering organizations like The Danbury Institute who want to ban abortion nationally and punish women who have abortions,” said Sarafina Chitika, a spokesperson for Biden’s campaign. “Trump brags that he is responsible for overturning Roe, he thinks the extreme state bans happening now because of him are ‘working very brilliantly,’ and if he’s given the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban. These are the stakes this November.”

When asked about his appearance before The Danbury Institute, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has been very clear: he supports the rights of states to determine the laws on this issue and supports the three exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donald Trump on Monday urged a staunchly pro-life Christian group to stand up for “innocent life,” ambiguously revisiting an issue that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/democrats-abortion-ivf-reproductive-rights-roe-40a80fbe83a99f37d15699c47579636d">Democrats want to make a focus</a>&nbsp;of this year’s presidential election.The former president and presumptive Republican nominee’s pre-recorded message praised the work of those attending the event hosted by The Danbury Institute, which is meeting in Indianapolis in conjunction with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-southern-baptists-women-pastors-saddleback-3b40fd925377a9e3aa2ecb4a4072a4a6">annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention</a>. The newly-formed institute is an association of churches, Christians and organizations that wants to eradicate abortion in its entirety.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Danbury Institute is grateful to Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, for his willingness to bring a virtual message to attendees of the Life &amp; Liberty Forum June 10th in Indianapolis. Be sure to secure your seat for this lunch event today:… <a href="https://t.co/x0ykiGhg0F">pic.twitter.com/x0ykiGhg0F</a>&mdash; The Danbury Institute (@DanburyInst) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanburyInst/status/1798362067126153564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A panel of in-person speakers doubled-down on that anti-abortion stance on Monday, and a top Southern Baptist leader called for a hardline position against in vitro fertilization. Albert Mohler, the president of the SBC’s flagship seminary, said IVF is a “commodification of the embryo” that assaults human dignity. He criticized pastors as well as politicians showing openness to it including in Alabama, which shielded IVF providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits after a state Supreme Court ruling said frozen embryos are children.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Learn more about The Danbury Institute at <a href="https://t.co/laWNvimcUx">https://t.co/laWNvimcUx</a> <a href="https://t.co/31Cpp9SV5q">pic.twitter.com/31Cpp9SV5q</a>&mdash; The Danbury Institute (@DanburyInst) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanburyInst/status/1799122562162761904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We’re about to find out how pro-life the pro-life movement is,” Mohler said.Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the overturning of a federally guaranteed right to abortion — having nominated three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade — but has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">resisted supporting a national abortion ban</a>&nbsp;and says he wants to leave the issue to the states. At odds with Mohler's view, Trump does support IVF access.In his recorded remarks, Trump thanked the audience for their “tremendous devotion to God and Country” and said everyone needs to pull together to preserve their values, including religious liberty, free speech, innocent life and America's heritage and traditions.“You just can’t vote Democrat. They’re against religion. They’re against your religion in particular,” Trump said. “You cannot vote for Democrats and you have to get out and vote.”Both Southern Baptists and Republicans at large are split on abortion politics, with some calling for immediate, complete abortion bans and others more open to incremental tactics. Polls over the last several years have found a majority of Americans support some access to abortion, and abortion-rights groups have won several statewide votes since Roe was overturned, including in conservative-led states like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-abortion-vote-recount-e874f56806a9d63b473b24580ad7ea0c">Kansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>.Like the GOP, the Southern Baptist Convention has moved steadily to the right since the 1980s, and its members were in the vanguard of the wider religious movement that strongly supported Republican presidents from Ronald Reagan to Trump. The Conservative Baptist Network, one of the event’s sponsors, wants to move the conservative denomination even further to the right.Although they criticized President Bill Clinton’s sexual behavior in the 1990s, Southern Baptists and other evangelicals have supported Trump. That has continued despite allegations of sexual misconduct, multiple divorces and now his conviction on 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Trump gave his address on the same day he was appearing virtually for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-probation-interview-hush-money-ff76617722766fb305d32d84a2bf3600">required pre-sentencing interview</a>&nbsp;with New York probation officers.Many Southern Baptists say they see him as the only alternative to a Democratic agenda they abhor.H. Sharayah Colter, spokesperson for The Danbury Institute, said in a statement that the presidential race was a “binary choice” and said Trump has “demonstrated a willingness to protect the value of life even when politically unpopular.”And Mohler, who leads Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and once an outspoken Clinton critic, wrote a column after Trump's conviction attacking Democrats for supporting transgender rights.“Say what you will about Donald Trump and his sex scandals, he doesn’t confuse male and female,” wrote Mohler. On Monday, he denounced Trump’s prosecution and conviction, other speakers tapped into themes of Christian nationalism, a fusion of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-founders-christian-nation-conservative-beliefs-4ea388e8d80c54016a6a4460cbef9b82">American and Christian</a>&nbsp;identity.Trump has said he would not sign a national abortion ban and in an interview on the Fox News Channel last week, when commenting on the way some states are enshrining abortion rights and others are restricting them, said that “the people are deciding and in many ways, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”For over a year until he announced his position this spring, Trump had backed away from endorsing any specific national limit on abortion, unlike many other Republicans who eventually ended their presidential campaigns. Trump has repeatedly said the issue&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">can be politically tricky</a>&nbsp;and suggested he would “negotiate” a policy that would include exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.Democrats and President Joe Biden’s campaign&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-senate-reproductive-care-8325160d68579ff2bbf89cfee5acd481">have tried to tie Trump</a>&nbsp;to the most conservative state-level bans on abortion as well as a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-clinic-lawsuit-immunity-things-know-0d16d3be139f42c96bc3ab35c4467f55">restricted access to in vitro fertilization</a>&nbsp;and other fertility procedures that are broadly popular.“Four more years of Donald Trump means empowering organizations like The Danbury Institute who want to ban abortion nationally and punish women who have abortions,” said Sarafina Chitika, a spokesperson for Biden’s campaign. “Trump brags that he is responsible for overturning Roe, he thinks the extreme state bans happening now because of him are ‘working very brilliantly,’ and if he’s given the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban. These are the stakes this November.”When asked about his appearance before The Danbury Institute, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has been very clear: he supports the rights of states to determine the laws on this issue and supports the three exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.”

Trump tells pro-life Christian group to stand up for 'innocent life'

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a Monday morning homicide near the Kansas City Power and Light District have identified the man who died as 28-year-old&nbsp;McKinley Johnson, according to KCPD Officer Jake Becchina.

Just before 1a.m., police responded to report of a shooting near Truman Road and Grand Boulevard, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.&nbsp; First responders found Johnson on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot trauma. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

Police also found two other shooting victims in a parking area behind a business. The two women were transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Since there was a large crowd on the scene, police are hopeful someone may have information leading to an arrest.

Detectives were on the scene to gather evidence, talk with witnesses and review surveillance footage.&nbsp; Anyone who may have information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.&nbsp;

Just before 1a.m., police responded to report of a shooting near&nbsp;Truman Road and Grand Boulevard, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.&nbsp; 

First responders found a man on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot trauma. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718032045365.png" alt="Photo KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Photo KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a Monday morning homicide near the Kansas City Power and Light District have identified the man who died as 28-year-old&nbsp;McKinley Johnson, according to KCPD Officer Jake Becchina.Just before 1a.m., police responded to report of a shooting near Truman Road and Grand Boulevard, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.&nbsp; First responders found Johnson on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot trauma. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.Police also found two other shooting victims in a parking area behind a business. The two women were transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp; &nbsp;Since there was a large crowd on the scene, police are hopeful someone may have information leading to an arrest.Detectives were on the scene to gather evidence, talk with witnesses and review surveillance footage.&nbsp; Anyone who may have information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.&nbsp;Just before 1a.m., police responded to report of a shooting near&nbsp;Truman Road and Grand Boulevard, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.&nbsp; First responders found a man on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot trauma. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.Police also found two other shooting victims in a parking area behind a business. The two women were transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp; &nbsp;Since there was a large crowd on the scene, police are hopeful someone may have information leading to an arrest.Detectives were on the scene to gather evidence, talk with witnesses and review surveillance footage.&nbsp; Anyone who may have information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.&nbsp;

Police ID victim in deadly shooting near KC Power & Light District 

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday turned down a clemency request for condemned inmate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/execution-date-set-missouri-inmate-hosier-58f9b156cf4fd640e04b90c7253f3a1c">David Hosier</a>, a move that likely clears the way for his execution.

Hosier, 69, faces lethal injection Tuesday for the 2009 deaths of a Jefferson City couple, Angela and Rodney Gilpin. Randy Dampf, a Jefferson City police officer at the time of the killings and now an investigator for the county prosecutor, said Hosier had a romantic relationship with Angela Gilpin and was angry with her for breaking it off.

“Ms. Angela Gilpin had her life stolen by David Hosier because he could not accept it when she ended their romantic involvement. He displays no remorse for his senseless violence,” Parson, a Republican and a former county sheriff who has overseen 10 executions since taking office in 2018, said in a statement. “For these heinous acts, Hosier earned maximum punishment under the law.”

Larry Komp, a federal public defender and one of Hosier's attorneys, said no court appeals are pending.

Hosier, in an earlier phone interview with The Associated Press, had expressed displeasure with his lawyers' clemency petition, which focused on the trauma of his Indiana State Police sergeant father being killed in the line of duty when Hosier was 16. Hosier thought it should have focused on the lack of fingerprints, DNA or eyewitnesses tying him to the Gilpins' deaths. Glen Hosier was shot to death by a murder suspect in 1971 after entering a home.

“They did exactly the opposite of what I wanted them to do,” Hosier said of the clemency petition. “I told them I didn’t want the ‘boo-hoo, woe is me.’ All that stuff happened 53 years ago, OK? It has nothing to do with why I’m sitting here right now.”

Komp called Parson’s decision disappointing.

“It sends the wrong message to execute and marginalize a veteran and an individual harmed by the tragedy of his father being killed in the line of duty, which spun his life into a different direction," Komp said in an email. “The context of his life history with the paucity of evidence related to his guilt makes this a compounding of tragedies, nothing is gained by killing him.”

Hosier spent four years in active duty in the Navy and later worked as a firefighter and EMT in Jefferson City. He acknowledged his 2009 affair with Angela Gilpin and that she ended it and reconciled with her husband. In September 2009, they were shot to death near the doorway of their apartment.

Detective Jason Miles said Hosier made numerous comments to other people threatening to harm Angela Gilpin in the days before the killings.

After the shootings, police found an application for a protective order in Angela Gilpin’s purse, and another document in which she expressed fear that Hosier might shoot her and her husband.

Hosier was an immediate suspect, but police couldn’t find him. They used cellphone data to track him to Oklahoma. A chase ensued when an Oklahoma officer tried to stop Hosier’s car. When he got out, he told the officers, “Shoot me, and get it over with,” court records show.

Officers found 15 guns, a bulletproof vest, 400 rounds of ammunition and other weapons in Hosier’s car. The weapons included a submachine gun made from a kit that investigators maintain was used in the killings, though tests on it were inconclusive.

A note was found in the front seat of Hosier’s vehicle. “If you are going with someone do not lie to them,” it read in part. “Be honest with them if there is something wrong. If you do not this could happen to YOU!!”

Hosier said he wasn’t fleeing to Oklahoma but was simply on a long drive to clear his mind. He had the guns because he likes to hunt, he said. He didn’t recall a note in the car.

Hosier wheezed at times when he spoke to AP, and his voice was weak. In mid-May, he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-david-hosier-aeb2662ce734588d305094df0e07e8f9">taken from the prison to a hospital</a>&nbsp;— a rare move for death row inmates. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He said he’s on medication but continues to feel poorly.

The Missouri Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9e3ed855389a4c1b8f92a495bf499b55">upheld his conviction</a>&nbsp;in 2019.

The execution would be the second in Missouri this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-brian-dorsey-1a7801bb6fc42e666d95daa68a2b2ce1">Brian Dorsey</a>&nbsp;was executed in April for killing his cousin and her husband in 2006.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576064195527.png" alt="Hosier photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Hosier photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday turned down a clemency request for condemned inmate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/execution-date-set-missouri-inmate-hosier-58f9b156cf4fd640e04b90c7253f3a1c">David Hosier</a>, a move that likely clears the way for his execution.Hosier, 69, faces lethal injection Tuesday for the 2009 deaths of a Jefferson City couple, Angela and Rodney Gilpin. Randy Dampf, a Jefferson City police officer at the time of the killings and now an investigator for the county prosecutor, said Hosier had a romantic relationship with Angela Gilpin and was angry with her for breaking it off.“Ms. Angela Gilpin had her life stolen by David Hosier because he could not accept it when she ended their romantic involvement. He displays no remorse for his senseless violence,” Parson, a Republican and a former county sheriff who has overseen 10 executions since taking office in 2018, said in a statement. “For these heinous acts, Hosier earned maximum punishment under the law.”Larry Komp, a federal public defender and one of Hosier's attorneys, said no court appeals are pending.Hosier, in an earlier phone interview with The Associated Press, had expressed displeasure with his lawyers' clemency petition, which focused on the trauma of his Indiana State Police sergeant father being killed in the line of duty when Hosier was 16. Hosier thought it should have focused on the lack of fingerprints, DNA or eyewitnesses tying him to the Gilpins' deaths. Glen Hosier was shot to death by a murder suspect in 1971 after entering a home.“They did exactly the opposite of what I wanted them to do,” Hosier said of the clemency petition. “I told them I didn’t want the ‘boo-hoo, woe is me.’ All that stuff happened 53 years ago, OK? It has nothing to do with why I’m sitting here right now.”Komp called Parson’s decision disappointing.“It sends the wrong message to execute and marginalize a veteran and an individual harmed by the tragedy of his father being killed in the line of duty, which spun his life into a different direction," Komp said in an email. “The context of his life history with the paucity of evidence related to his guilt makes this a compounding of tragedies, nothing is gained by killing him.”Hosier spent four years in active duty in the Navy and later worked as a firefighter and EMT in Jefferson City. He acknowledged his 2009 affair with Angela Gilpin and that she ended it and reconciled with her husband. In September 2009, they were shot to death near the doorway of their apartment.Detective Jason Miles said Hosier made numerous comments to other people threatening to harm Angela Gilpin in the days before the killings.After the shootings, police found an application for a protective order in Angela Gilpin’s purse, and another document in which she expressed fear that Hosier might shoot her and her husband.Hosier was an immediate suspect, but police couldn’t find him. They used cellphone data to track him to Oklahoma. A chase ensued when an Oklahoma officer tried to stop Hosier’s car. When he got out, he told the officers, “Shoot me, and get it over with,” court records show.Officers found 15 guns, a bulletproof vest, 400 rounds of ammunition and other weapons in Hosier’s car. The weapons included a submachine gun made from a kit that investigators maintain was used in the killings, though tests on it were inconclusive.A note was found in the front seat of Hosier’s vehicle. “If you are going with someone do not lie to them,” it read in part. “Be honest with them if there is something wrong. If you do not this could happen to YOU!!”Hosier said he wasn’t fleeing to Oklahoma but was simply on a long drive to clear his mind. He had the guns because he likes to hunt, he said. He didn’t recall a note in the car.Hosier wheezed at times when he spoke to AP, and his voice was weak. In mid-May, he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-david-hosier-aeb2662ce734588d305094df0e07e8f9">taken from the prison to a hospital</a>&nbsp;— a rare move for death row inmates. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He said he’s on medication but continues to feel poorly.The Missouri Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9e3ed855389a4c1b8f92a495bf499b55">upheld his conviction</a>&nbsp;in 2019.The execution would be the second in Missouri this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-brian-dorsey-1a7801bb6fc42e666d95daa68a2b2ce1">Brian Dorsey</a>&nbsp;was executed in April for killing his cousin and her husband in 2006.

Execution Tuesday: Gov. denies clemency for man who killed ex-lover

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 4a.m. June 8, a&nbsp;Jackson County Sheriff Deputies responded to an incident at the Red Roof Inn 115 U.S. Highway 75 in Holton, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 Later deputies served a search warrant on a room at the motel for illegal drug and or narcotics use. The resident of this room was identified as Jason Logan Gray, 43, of Holton.

Gray was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and criminal use of a firearm.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717859432438.png" alt="Gray-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Gray-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just after 4a.m. June 8, a&nbsp;Jackson County Sheriff Deputies responded to an incident at the Red Roof Inn 115 U.S. Highway 75 in Holton, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. Later deputies served a search warrant on a room at the motel for illegal drug and or narcotics use. The resident of this room was identified as Jason Logan Gray, 43, of Holton.Gray was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and criminal use of a firearm.

Sheriff: Deputies made fentanyl bust at Kansas motel

WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely watched&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-lilly-amyloid-donanemab-1a031c94e3bdf05051377e848c3f730b">Alzheimer's drug from Eli Lilly</a>&nbsp;won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment's expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease.

Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug's ability to slow the disease outweighs its risks, including side effects like brain swelling and bleeding that will have to be monitored.

“I thought the evidence was very strong in the trial showing the effectiveness of the drug,” said panel member Dean Follmann, a National Institutes of Health statistician.

The FDA will make the final decision on approval later this year. If the agency agrees with the panel's recommendation, the drug, donanemab, would only be the second Alzheimer’s drug cleared in the U.S. that's been shown to convincingly slow cognitive decline and memory problems due to Alzheimer's. The FDA approved a similar infused drug,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-fda-approval-medicare-leqembi-a9c8b770aa1868a59889143c3bc9d127">Leqembi, from Japanese drugmaker Eisai last year</a>.

The slowdown seen with both drugs amounts to several months and experts disagree on whether patients or their loved ones will be able to detect the difference.

But Lilly's approach to studying its once-a-month treatment prompted questions from FDA reviewers.

Patients in the company's study were grouped based on their levels of a brain protein, called tau, that predicts severity of cognitive problems. That led FDA to question whether patients might need to be screened via brain scans for tau before getting the drug. But most panelists thought there was enough evidence of the drug's benefit to prescribe it broadly, without screening for the protein.

“Imposing a requirement for tau imaging is not necessary and would raise serious practical and access concerns to the treatment,” said Dr. Thomas Montine of Stanford University, who chaired the panel and summarized its opinion.

At a high level, Lilly’s results mirrored those of Leqembi, with both medications showing a modest slowing of cognitive problems in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The Indianapolis-based company conducted a 1,700-patient study showing patients who received monthly IV infusions of its drug declined about 35% more slowly than those who got a sham treatment.

The FDA had been widely expected to approve the drug in March. But instead the agency said it would ask its panel of neurology experts to publicly review the company’s data, an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eli-lilly-fda-donanemab-alzheimer-439f1849d0b43a4ae783d2a0dd62a538">unexpected delay that surprised analysts and investors.</a>

Several unusual approaches in how Lilly tested its drug led to the meeting.

One change was measuring patients' tau, and excluding patients with very low or no levels of the protein. But panelists said there was enough data from other measures to feel confident that nearly all patients could benefit from the drug, regardless of their levels.

In another key difference, Lilly studied taking patients off its drug when they reached very low levels of amyloid, a sticky brain plaque that's a contributor to Alzheimer's.

Lilly scientists suggested stopping treatment is a key advantage for its drug, which could reduce side effects and costs. But FDA staff said Lilly provided little data supporting the optimal time to stop or how quickly patients might need to restart treatment.

Despite those questions, many panelists thought the possibility of stopping doses held promise.

“It’s a huge cost savings for the society, we’re talking about expensive treatment, expensive surveillance,” said Dr. Tanya Simuni of Northwestern University. She and other experts said patients would need to be tracked and tested to see how they fare and whether they need to resume treatment.

The main safety issue with donanemab was brain swelling and bleeding, a problem common to all amyloid-targeting drugs. Most cases identified in Lilly's trial were mild.

Three deaths in the donanemab study were linked to the drug, according to the FDA, all involving brain swelling or bleeding. One of the deaths was caused by a stroke, a life-threatening complication that occurs more frequently among Alzheimer's patients.

FDA's panel agreed that those the risks could be addressed by warning labels and education for doctors as well as medical scans to identify patients at greater risk of stroke.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718055622798.png" alt="Photo courtesy National Library of Medicine" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy National Library of Medicine</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely watched&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-lilly-amyloid-donanemab-1a031c94e3bdf05051377e848c3f730b">Alzheimer's drug from Eli Lilly</a>&nbsp;won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment's expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease.Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug's ability to slow the disease outweighs its risks, including side effects like brain swelling and bleeding that will have to be monitored.“I thought the evidence was very strong in the trial showing the effectiveness of the drug,” said panel member Dean Follmann, a National Institutes of Health statistician.The FDA will make the final decision on approval later this year. If the agency agrees with the panel's recommendation, the drug, donanemab, would only be the second Alzheimer’s drug cleared in the U.S. that's been shown to convincingly slow cognitive decline and memory problems due to Alzheimer's. The FDA approved a similar infused drug,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-fda-approval-medicare-leqembi-a9c8b770aa1868a59889143c3bc9d127">Leqembi, from Japanese drugmaker Eisai last year</a>.The slowdown seen with both drugs amounts to several months and experts disagree on whether patients or their loved ones will be able to detect the difference.But Lilly's approach to studying its once-a-month treatment prompted questions from FDA reviewers.Patients in the company's study were grouped based on their levels of a brain protein, called tau, that predicts severity of cognitive problems. That led FDA to question whether patients might need to be screened via brain scans for tau before getting the drug. But most panelists thought there was enough evidence of the drug's benefit to prescribe it broadly, without screening for the protein.“Imposing a requirement for tau imaging is not necessary and would raise serious practical and access concerns to the treatment,” said Dr. Thomas Montine of Stanford University, who chaired the panel and summarized its opinion.At a high level, Lilly’s results mirrored those of Leqembi, with both medications showing a modest slowing of cognitive problems in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The Indianapolis-based company conducted a 1,700-patient study showing patients who received monthly IV infusions of its drug declined about 35% more slowly than those who got a sham treatment.The FDA had been widely expected to approve the drug in March. But instead the agency said it would ask its panel of neurology experts to publicly review the company’s data, an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eli-lilly-fda-donanemab-alzheimer-439f1849d0b43a4ae783d2a0dd62a538">unexpected delay that surprised analysts and investors.</a>Several unusual approaches in how Lilly tested its drug led to the meeting.One change was measuring patients' tau, and excluding patients with very low or no levels of the protein. But panelists said there was enough data from other measures to feel confident that nearly all patients could benefit from the drug, regardless of their levels.In another key difference, Lilly studied taking patients off its drug when they reached very low levels of amyloid, a sticky brain plaque that's a contributor to Alzheimer's.Lilly scientists suggested stopping treatment is a key advantage for its drug, which could reduce side effects and costs. But FDA staff said Lilly provided little data supporting the optimal time to stop or how quickly patients might need to restart treatment.Despite those questions, many panelists thought the possibility of stopping doses held promise.“It’s a huge cost savings for the society, we’re talking about expensive treatment, expensive surveillance,” said Dr. Tanya Simuni of Northwestern University. She and other experts said patients would need to be tracked and tested to see how they fare and whether they need to resume treatment.The main safety issue with donanemab was brain swelling and bleeding, a problem common to all amyloid-targeting drugs. Most cases identified in Lilly's trial were mild.Three deaths in the donanemab study were linked to the drug, according to the FDA, all involving brain swelling or bleeding. One of the deaths was caused by a stroke, a life-threatening complication that occurs more frequently among Alzheimer's patients.FDA's panel agreed that those the risks could be addressed by warning labels and education for doctors as well as medical scans to identify patients at greater risk of stroke.

FDA advisors Ok Alzheimer's drug that can slow disease 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Two men drowned over the weekend at a lake in Sedgwick County.

Just after 1 a.m. Sunday, sheriff's deputies&nbsp;were dispatched to Lake Afton,&nbsp;located east of the intersection of Viola Road or 263rd Street W and MacArthur Road- 39th St. S,  on a report of a possible drowning, according to a statement from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office.

Deputies were advised by campers at the lake that a Wichita man later identified as 40-year-old Wesley C. Simmons&nbsp; was yelling for help from the water.&nbsp; 

Three campers, including 23-year-old Zachary V. Viramontez from Douglas went into the water to attempt to help Simmons.&nbsp; The campers were unsuccessful in rescuing Simmons from the water and during their efforts, the other campers lost sight of both Simmons and Viramontez.

Deputies, Fire and EMS arrived on scene and began rescue efforts and later recovery efforts.&nbsp; Just after 11:00 a.m. Sunday, Fire Rescue recovered both bodies from the lake.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717963445048.png" alt="First responders on the scene Sunday-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene Sunday-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Two men drowned over the weekend at a lake in Sedgwick County.Just after 1 a.m. Sunday, sheriff's deputies&nbsp;were dispatched to Lake Afton,&nbsp;located east of the intersection of Viola Road or 263rd Street W and MacArthur Road- 39th St. S, on a report of a possible drowning, according to a statement from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office.Deputies were advised by campers at the lake that a Wichita man later identified as 40-year-old Wesley C. Simmons&nbsp; was yelling for help from the water.&nbsp; Three campers, including 23-year-old Zachary V. Viramontez from Douglas went into the water to attempt to help Simmons.&nbsp; The campers were unsuccessful in rescuing Simmons from the water and during their efforts, the other campers lost sight of both Simmons and Viramontez.Deputies, Fire and EMS arrived on scene and began rescue efforts and later recovery efforts.&nbsp; Just after 11:00 a.m. Sunday, Fire Rescue recovered both bodies from the lake.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sheriff: Kansas man drowned attempting water rescue

HUTCHINSON, Kan. —After serving on the Hutchinson City Council for more than a decade&nbsp;and working for a broadband startup, Jade Piros de Carvalho was tapped by the state's lieutenant governor to head Kansas' newly formed Office of Broadband Development.&nbsp; In March of 2023 she was also recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Year honorees. Now she's out of a job.

According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jadepiros_broadband-digitalequity-internetforall-activity-7204604084618723329-DRXD?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop">LinkedIn post</a>&nbsp;she made on June 7, former Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho was let go from her position as the leader of Kansas Office of Broadband Development.

"As you may have heard, I am no longer with KOBD," Piros de Carvalho said. "I will dearly miss the team and the entire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/kansas-department-of-commerce/">Kansas Department of Commerce</a>&nbsp;staff. If you are a Kansan, you need to know how hard the Commerce team works for the state."

Piros de Carvalho didn't go deeply into details, but here is her description of what caused her termination.

"This was not my decision," Piros de Carvalho said. "Tuesday brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. At 9:00 a.m. I was taking a selfie with the Governor and listening to her sing my praises to a room full of my peers at the National Governors Association broadband workshop. It was truly a career high. I adore her. By that afternoon, I was told that my job was on the line. I said the wrong thing to the wrong person, who made a phone call and I was gone."

She won't name the person who overheard her.

"We live in a very litigious society so you will not pry the person’s name out of me," Piros de Carvalho said. "I’m not interested in being sued."

Piros de Carvalho is going to take time with her family this summer while she considers what's next.

"I’m just not sure I’m built to last in the public sector," Piros de Carvalho said. "I don’t like to move slowly and I don’t like to parse my words. But I also can’t get out of bed every morning for a job that doesn’t make a positive difference in the world."

Piros de Carvalho left Hutchinson two years ago for the post in Topeka.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718038796350.png" alt="Jade Piros de Carvalho from a Forward Ever interview with Gary Shorman in March of 2023" />
 <figcaption>Jade Piros de Carvalho from a Forward Ever interview with Gary Shorman in March of 2023</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. —After serving on the Hutchinson City Council for more than a decade&nbsp;and working for a broadband startup, Jade Piros de Carvalho was tapped by the state's lieutenant governor to head Kansas' newly formed Office of Broadband Development.&nbsp; In March of 2023 she was also recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Year honorees. Now she's out of a job.According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jadepiros_broadband-digitalequity-internetforall-activity-7204604084618723329-DRXD?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop">LinkedIn post</a>&nbsp;she made on June 7, former Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho was let go from her position as the leader of Kansas Office of Broadband Development."As you may have heard, I am no longer with KOBD," Piros de Carvalho said. "I will dearly miss the team and the entire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/kansas-department-of-commerce/">Kansas Department of Commerce</a>&nbsp;staff. If you are a Kansan, you need to know how hard the Commerce team works for the state."Piros de Carvalho didn't go deeply into details, but here is her description of what caused her termination."This was not my decision," Piros de Carvalho said. "Tuesday brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. At 9:00 a.m. I was taking a selfie with the Governor and listening to her sing my praises to a room full of my peers at the National Governors Association broadband workshop. It was truly a career high. I adore her. By that afternoon, I was told that my job was on the line. I said the wrong thing to the wrong person, who made a phone call and I was gone."She won't name the person who overheard her."We live in a very litigious society so you will not pry the person’s name out of me," Piros de Carvalho said. "I’m not interested in being sued."Piros de Carvalho is going to take time with her family this summer while she considers what's next."I’m just not sure I’m built to last in the public sector," Piros de Carvalho said. "I don’t like to move slowly and I don’t like to parse my words. But I also can’t get out of bed every morning for a job that doesn’t make a positive difference in the world."Piros de Carvalho left Hutchinson two years ago for the post in Topeka.

USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree let go by State of Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jonathan Dekel-Chen dreams of the moment when his abducted 35-year-old son, Sagui, is reunited with his wife and three young children, including a daughter born two months after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">devastating attack on Israel that initiated the war.</a>

Ruby Chen longs to recover the remains of his 19-year-old son, Itay — a soldier who Israeli intelligence says was killed in the Oct. 7 attack — so that he can be buried and his “soul” finally given “a place to rest” in accordance with Jewish practices.

For many Americans, the Israeli-Hamas war is seen through the daily reports of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-rafah-latest-06-05-2024-950a8f8aacb672c7c6f3c2d75f7b499b">Israeli ground incursions and airstrikes in Gaza</a>&nbsp;and warnings of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-famine-0056ceecdb4ae3bee5f64c54ab034c7e">looming famine</a>. There are college campuses riven by protests and great uncertainty over cease-fire prospects.

But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-american-hostages-ceasefire-308ec1f89ef14f7db261fa304be9f944">families of the Americans taken hostage</a>&nbsp;are laser-focused on one thing: their loved ones. They fear that with all the tumult of the war, Americans often forget about their fellow citizens who remain missing. They’re doing whatever they can to make sure they aren’t forgotten and to keep pushing to get them -- or their remains -- back home.

“For most of us, we are doers. So we wake up in the morning and we say, what are we doing today? What’s on the agenda?” said Ronen Neutra, whose son, Omer, a soldier, was among those taken. “What can I do to make sure that my son will come back home today?

The families were in Washington last week for meetings with U.S. government officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose Justice Department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-americans-killed-kidnapped-justice-department-investigation-64d851f794a6de4cbda40968dca50320">investigating the deaths and kidnapping of Americans</a>&nbsp;at the hands of Hamas. The meetings came at a sensitive time as the Biden administration endeavors to get Israel and Hamas to commit to a cease-fire deal to end the eight-month-old war.

Speaking as a group Wednesday to The Associated Press, the families recounted their shared sadness, angst and uncertainty but also their hopes for a resolution that would result in the release of scores of hostages, including their loved ones. Eight Americans are believed to be held by Hamas, including three who were killed.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-58169a607d4a7c4d7fc34f43160076b8">three-part proposal</a>&nbsp;announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden calls for a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of hostages — first, women, the elderly and the wounded and later, all remaining captives, including male soldiers like Neutra, who was ambushed and pulled from a tank on Oct. 7.

“The only way they are going to emerge alive from these tunnels is through some sort of negotiated agreement with the devil, which is Hamas,” said Dekel-Chen, whose son was kidnapped while protecting his kibbutz, Nir Oz, which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-hostages-0c14750240138853a70e38b0c09ef157">endured a disproportionate toll</a>&nbsp;of murders and hostage-taking by Hamas.

“Hamas clearly has to be forced to or coerced to enter negotiations and complete them,” he said, and must decide whether it's about “perpetual warfare and perpetual suffering of its own people” or about “some better future.” The Israeli government, for its part, must “stay the course” and “put aside any kind of narrow political interests” for the good of the country, he said.

That won't necessarily be easy, given the possibility that a cease-fire deal would shatter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and make him more vulnerable to a conviction in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-netanyahu-corruption-trial-courts-4e18ed8f34e65707bd47e37696da4705">his corruption trial</a>.

Netanyahu says he is committed to bringing the hostages home, but also says he won't end the war without destroying Hamas. He and hard-liners in his coalition fear a full Israeli withdrawal before reaching this goal could allow Hamas to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">claim victory</a>&nbsp;and reconstitute itself.

The meetings with American officials were the latest in a series of sit-downs that began last fall, shortly after the Hamas attack in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages.

The resulting Israeli assault on Gaza has displaced most of the territory's population and killed over 36,000 Palestinians, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Health Ministry</a>, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel has drawn global criticism, with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-palestinians-court-ceasefire-01d093d21a1eadaa31af5708cf1cbf38">U.N. court</a>&nbsp;ordering Israel to halt its offensive in the southern city of Rafah, while American universities from Columbia to Stanford have been convulsed by protests.

In Israel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-protests-humanitarian-aid-pier-41c0e8c110323eb5d57f811ea18492cd">thousands have protested the government</a>, criticizing Netanyahu over his approach to the war and demanding he do more to bring back more hostages believed to be alive, along with the remains of 43 pronounced dead. Many hostage families have been at the forefront of the protest movement.&nbsp;

On Saturday Israeli troops did rescued four hostages who were kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, in the largest such hostage recovery operation since the war with Hamas began in Gaza.

The American hostage families were measured in discussing the Israeli government's approach, placing the onus more on Hamas.

And they say the warm embrace they have received from U.S. officials exposes a disconnect with the general American public, which they consider to be more apathetic to their plight and ignorant of the fact that so many hostages remain in captivity.

“I think there’s also a lack of knowledge,” Chen said. “I think the majority of the U.S people are not aware that on October 7th, this was also attack on the United States."

Compounding the sadness eight months into the war is a steady drip of somber Israeli government announcements of additional hostage fatalities — most recently on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-06-03-2024-d31eda4128b438739d69dda0d4f7f72b">when the military declared</a>&nbsp;four hostages who'd been kidnapped on Oct. 7 as now dead. Adding to the pain, the four men had been seen alive in videos released by Hamas, meaning they died in captivity, possibly from Israeli fire.

Chen spent months hoping his son, an NBA-loving soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, was alive only to learn earlier this year that he had been killed.

“He was taken hostage even though he was killed. Who does that? Savages. Who takes dead people as bargaining chips?" he said.

Andrea Weinstein received similar news after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-hostages-biden-7e8115b6a4fa51495970ec8b7f8172eb">Israeli government in late December</a>&nbsp;disclosed the deaths of her sister, Judy — previously thought to be among the living hostages — and her husband, Gad Haggai. Weinstein, a teacher with a creative spirit who used puppets to help students find their voices, was on a morning walk with her husband when the attack unfolded, her sister said.

Optimistic feelings come in cycles for Omer Neutra's mother, Orna, who said she could not have imagined eight months ago that the family would still be in the same position. She is hopeful but also guarded.

“October 6, it was a different life,” she said. “Nothing is the same for us.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710266231699.png" alt="&nbsp;Itay's father Ruby Chen testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/organization/?161/Middle-East">Middle East</a>, North Africa, and Central Asia. Witnesses emotionally detailed their last conversations with loved ones and urged Congress to help bring hostages home.-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Itay's father Ruby Chen testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/organization/?161/Middle-East">Middle East</a>, North Africa, and Central Asia. Witnesses emotionally detailed their last conversations with loved ones and urged Congress to help bring hostages home.-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Jonathan Dekel-Chen dreams of the moment when his abducted 35-year-old son, Sagui, is reunited with his wife and three young children, including a daughter born two months after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">devastating attack on Israel that initiated the war.</a>Ruby Chen longs to recover the remains of his 19-year-old son, Itay — a soldier who Israeli intelligence says was killed in the Oct. 7 attack — so that he can be buried and his “soul” finally given “a place to rest” in accordance with Jewish practices.For many Americans, the Israeli-Hamas war is seen through the daily reports of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-rafah-latest-06-05-2024-950a8f8aacb672c7c6f3c2d75f7b499b">Israeli ground incursions and airstrikes in Gaza</a>&nbsp;and warnings of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-famine-0056ceecdb4ae3bee5f64c54ab034c7e">looming famine</a>. There are college campuses riven by protests and great uncertainty over cease-fire prospects.But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-american-hostages-ceasefire-308ec1f89ef14f7db261fa304be9f944">families of the Americans taken hostage</a>&nbsp;are laser-focused on one thing: their loved ones. They fear that with all the tumult of the war, Americans often forget about their fellow citizens who remain missing. They’re doing whatever they can to make sure they aren’t forgotten and to keep pushing to get them -- or their remains -- back home.“For most of us, we are doers. So we wake up in the morning and we say, what are we doing today? What’s on the agenda?” said Ronen Neutra, whose son, Omer, a soldier, was among those taken. “What can I do to make sure that my son will come back home today?The families were in Washington last week for meetings with U.S. government officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose Justice Department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-americans-killed-kidnapped-justice-department-investigation-64d851f794a6de4cbda40968dca50320">investigating the deaths and kidnapping of Americans</a>&nbsp;at the hands of Hamas. The meetings came at a sensitive time as the Biden administration endeavors to get Israel and Hamas to commit to a cease-fire deal to end the eight-month-old war.Speaking as a group Wednesday to The Associated Press, the families recounted their shared sadness, angst and uncertainty but also their hopes for a resolution that would result in the release of scores of hostages, including their loved ones. Eight Americans are believed to be held by Hamas, including three who were killed.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-58169a607d4a7c4d7fc34f43160076b8">three-part proposal</a>&nbsp;announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden calls for a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of hostages — first, women, the elderly and the wounded and later, all remaining captives, including male soldiers like Neutra, who was ambushed and pulled from a tank on Oct. 7.“The only way they are going to emerge alive from these tunnels is through some sort of negotiated agreement with the devil, which is Hamas,” said Dekel-Chen, whose son was kidnapped while protecting his kibbutz, Nir Oz, which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-hostages-0c14750240138853a70e38b0c09ef157">endured a disproportionate toll</a>&nbsp;of murders and hostage-taking by Hamas.“Hamas clearly has to be forced to or coerced to enter negotiations and complete them,” he said, and must decide whether it's about “perpetual warfare and perpetual suffering of its own people” or about “some better future.” The Israeli government, for its part, must “stay the course” and “put aside any kind of narrow political interests” for the good of the country, he said.That won't necessarily be easy, given the possibility that a cease-fire deal would shatter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and make him more vulnerable to a conviction in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-netanyahu-corruption-trial-courts-4e18ed8f34e65707bd47e37696da4705">his corruption trial</a>.Netanyahu says he is committed to bringing the hostages home, but also says he won't end the war without destroying Hamas. He and hard-liners in his coalition fear a full Israeli withdrawal before reaching this goal could allow Hamas to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">claim victory</a>&nbsp;and reconstitute itself.The meetings with American officials were the latest in a series of sit-downs that began last fall, shortly after the Hamas attack in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages.So much has changed since then.The resulting Israeli assault on Gaza has displaced most of the territory's population and killed over 36,000 Palestinians, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Health Ministry</a>, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel has drawn global criticism, with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-palestinians-court-ceasefire-01d093d21a1eadaa31af5708cf1cbf38">U.N. court</a>&nbsp;ordering Israel to halt its offensive in the southern city of Rafah, while American universities from Columbia to Stanford have been convulsed by protests.In Israel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-protests-humanitarian-aid-pier-41c0e8c110323eb5d57f811ea18492cd">thousands have protested the government</a>, criticizing Netanyahu over his approach to the war and demanding he do more to bring back more hostages believed to be alive, along with the remains of 43 pronounced dead. Many hostage families have been at the forefront of the protest movement.&nbsp;On Saturday Israeli troops did rescued four hostages who were kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, in the largest such hostage recovery operation since the war with Hamas began in Gaza.The American hostage families were measured in discussing the Israeli government's approach, placing the onus more on Hamas.And they say the warm embrace they have received from U.S. officials exposes a disconnect with the general American public, which they consider to be more apathetic to their plight and ignorant of the fact that so many hostages remain in captivity.“I think there’s also a lack of knowledge,” Chen said. “I think the majority of the U.S people are not aware that on October 7th, this was also attack on the United States."Compounding the sadness eight months into the war is a steady drip of somber Israeli government announcements of additional hostage fatalities — most recently on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-06-03-2024-d31eda4128b438739d69dda0d4f7f72b">when the military declared</a>&nbsp;four hostages who'd been kidnapped on Oct. 7 as now dead. Adding to the pain, the four men had been seen alive in videos released by Hamas, meaning they died in captivity, possibly from Israeli fire.Chen spent months hoping his son, an NBA-loving soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, was alive only to learn earlier this year that he had been killed.“He was taken hostage even though he was killed. Who does that? Savages. Who takes dead people as bargaining chips?" he said.Andrea Weinstein received similar news after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-hostages-biden-7e8115b6a4fa51495970ec8b7f8172eb">Israeli government in late December</a>&nbsp;disclosed the deaths of her sister, Judy — previously thought to be among the living hostages — and her husband, Gad Haggai. Weinstein, a teacher with a creative spirit who used puppets to help students find their voices, was on a morning walk with her husband when the attack unfolded, her sister said.Their bodies remain in Gaza.Optimistic feelings come in cycles for Omer Neutra's mother, Orna, who said she could not have imagined eight months ago that the family would still be in the same position. She is hopeful but also guarded.“October 6, it was a different life,” she said. “Nothing is the same for us.”

Families of US hostages in Gaza plead: Don't forget your fellow citizens

SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just before 10a.m.&nbsp; June 6, a sheriff's deputy conducted a traffic stop of a white 2023 GMC Terrain for a traffic violation on eastbound Interstate 470 Highway near SW Burlingame Road, according to Shawnee County Deputy Shayna Anderson.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle deputies discovered a large amount of illegal drugs.

John W. Roberts II, 46, of Indiana, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of a hallucinogenic drug with intent to distribute and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717793619055.png" alt="Roberts-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Roberts-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just before 10a.m.&nbsp; June 6, a sheriff's deputy conducted a traffic stop of a white 2023 GMC Terrain for a traffic violation on eastbound Interstate 470 Highway near SW Burlingame Road, according to Shawnee County Deputy Shayna Anderson.During a subsequent search of the vehicle deputies discovered a large amount of illegal drugs.John W. Roberts II, 46, of Indiana, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of a hallucinogenic drug with intent to distribute and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.

Indiana man accused of selling drugs in Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the U.N. World Food Program said Sunday the program has “paused” its distribution of humanitarian aid from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-pier-aid-palestinians-00e83d1b302a23b5920c72e859430c15">an American-built pier</a>&nbsp;off Gaza, saying she was “concerned about the safety of our people" after what had been one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">deadliest days of the war there</a>.

Saturday saw both an Israeli military assault that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-hostages-casualties-1458f5a1dfe7bd4d908231bb7090a559">freed four hostages</a>&nbsp;but left 274 Palestinians and one Israeli commando dead, and, Cindy McCain said, two of WFP's warehouses in Gaza had been “rocketed” and a staffer injured.

Sunday's U.N. announcement of the pause appears the latest setback for the U.S. sea route, set up to try to bring more aid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hunger-un-07afb7fe4a1654f54b81b944a0dab535">to Gaza's starving people</a>.

The U.S. Agency for International Development described the pause as a step to allow for a security review by the humanitarian community in Gaza. USAID works with the World Food Program and their humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid coming from the U.S.-operated pier.

Completed in mid-May, the U.S. pier was operational for only about a week before being knocked offline by storm damage for two weeks. After repairs, it returned to operation again Saturday, bringing in 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of food and other aid, before McCain said her agency was pausing its humanitarian work there.

The U.N. agency gave no further details, including how long the pause would last. WFP spokespeople did not respond to requests for further details.

Asked about the pier operation during an appearance on CBS's “Face the Nation" McCain said: “Right now we’re paused.”

“I’m concerned about the safety of our people after the incident yesterday,” McCain said, without elaboration. “We also, two of our warehouses, the warehouse complex were rocketed yesterday.”

“We’ve stepped back for the moment,” she said, and want “to make sure that we’re on safe terms and on safe ground before we’ll restart. But the rest of the country is operational. We’re doing ... everything we can in the north and the south.”

USAID said in a statement to The Associated Press that it was working with other U.S. government officials and with humanitarian groups in Gaza “to ensure that aid can safely and effectively resume movement following completion of the security review that the humanitarian community is currently undertaking.”

President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-gaza-humanitarian-aid-port-us-military-israel-25fb6d71bc951d7491de3ab99733a749">Joe Biden in March announced</a>&nbsp;in his State of the Union address that he had directed the U.S. military to set up the temporary pier. The U.S. project was meant to bring in a limited amount of aid into Gaza, where Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have brought more than 1 million of Gaza's 2.3 million people near the point of famine.

Saturday's return to operation for the U.S. pier project came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-8-6-2024-a5d1ef04763a5ed17de2d050ebc5d490">assault that rescued four hostages</a>, who had been taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack that launched the war in Gaza.

Pushing back against social media claims after the Israeli military operation, U.S. Central Command&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/1799578307001717226">said in a tweet</a>&nbsp;Saturday that neither the pier nor any of its equipment, personnel or other assets were used in the Israeli operation. It noted that Israel used an area south of the pier “to safely return hostages.”

A core principle of humanitarian groups holds that their work must be independent of the mission of combatants in a conflict zone, so as to keep aid operations and aid workers from becoming targets.

USAID said in a separate statement Saturday that no humanitarian workers were involved in the Israeli operation.

Speaking of the “rocketing” of the WFP warehouses, McCain said Sunday that one staffer was injured but “everybody else is fine.”

“That’s why a cease-fire is necessary. That’s why we need to stop this,” so that aid from her program and other organizations can flow into Gaza “at scale.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717793045172.png" alt="FILE photo U.S Central Command" />
 <figcaption>FILE photo U.S Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the U.N. World Food Program said Sunday the program has “paused” its distribution of humanitarian aid from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-pier-aid-palestinians-00e83d1b302a23b5920c72e859430c15">an American-built pier</a>&nbsp;off Gaza, saying she was “concerned about the safety of our people" after what had been one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">deadliest days of the war there</a>.Saturday saw both an Israeli military assault that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-hostages-casualties-1458f5a1dfe7bd4d908231bb7090a559">freed four hostages</a>&nbsp;but left 274 Palestinians and one Israeli commando dead, and, Cindy McCain said, two of WFP's warehouses in Gaza had been “rocketed” and a staffer injured.Sunday's U.N. announcement of the pause appears the latest setback for the U.S. sea route, set up to try to bring more aid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hunger-un-07afb7fe4a1654f54b81b944a0dab535">to Gaza's starving people</a>.The U.S. Agency for International Development described the pause as a step to allow for a security review by the humanitarian community in Gaza. USAID works with the World Food Program and their humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid coming from the U.S.-operated pier.Completed in mid-May, the U.S. pier was operational for only about a week before being knocked offline by storm damage for two weeks. After repairs, it returned to operation again Saturday, bringing in 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of food and other aid, before McCain said her agency was pausing its humanitarian work there.The U.N. agency gave no further details, including how long the pause would last. WFP spokespeople did not respond to requests for further details.Asked about the pier operation during an appearance on CBS's “Face the Nation" McCain said: “Right now we’re paused.”“I’m concerned about the safety of our people after the incident yesterday,” McCain said, without elaboration. “We also, two of our warehouses, the warehouse complex were rocketed yesterday.”“We’ve stepped back for the moment,” she said, and want “to make sure that we’re on safe terms and on safe ground before we’ll restart. But the rest of the country is operational. We’re doing ... everything we can in the north and the south.”USAID said in a statement to The Associated Press that it was working with other U.S. government officials and with humanitarian groups in Gaza “to ensure that aid can safely and effectively resume movement following completion of the security review that the humanitarian community is currently undertaking.”President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-gaza-humanitarian-aid-port-us-military-israel-25fb6d71bc951d7491de3ab99733a749">Joe Biden in March announced</a>&nbsp;in his State of the Union address that he had directed the U.S. military to set up the temporary pier. The U.S. project was meant to bring in a limited amount of aid into Gaza, where Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have brought more than 1 million of Gaza's 2.3 million people near the point of famine.Saturday's return to operation for the U.S. pier project came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-8-6-2024-a5d1ef04763a5ed17de2d050ebc5d490">assault that rescued four hostages</a>, who had been taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack that launched the war in Gaza.Pushing back against social media claims after the Israeli military operation, U.S. Central Command&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/1799578307001717226">said in a tweet</a>&nbsp;Saturday that neither the pier nor any of its equipment, personnel or other assets were used in the Israeli operation. It noted that Israel used an area south of the pier “to safely return hostages.”A core principle of humanitarian groups holds that their work must be independent of the mission of combatants in a conflict zone, so as to keep aid operations and aid workers from becoming targets.USAID said in a separate statement Saturday that no humanitarian workers were involved in the Israeli operation.Speaking of the “rocketing” of the WFP warehouses, McCain said Sunday that one staffer was injured but “everybody else is fine.”“That’s why a cease-fire is necessary. That’s why we need to stop this,” so that aid from her program and other organizations can flow into Gaza “at scale.”

Repaired $230 million US pier in Gaza faces another setback

FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged violent sex crime and have made an arrest.

On Friday,&nbsp;Garden City Police arrested 28-year-old Jayce Morales following a rape investigation, according to a media release.

Earlier Friday, police were dispatched to the north part of Garden City and met with a woman who alleged an altercation had just occurred between her and Morales, who is known to her. 

The investigation revealed that the woman woke up to Morales sexually assaulting her before he left the scene. Morales was later located and taken into custody.

Morales is being held in Finney County Jail on requested charges of Rape and Domestic Battery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717874820134.png" alt="Morales from an April arrest in Ford County" />
 <figcaption>Morales from an April arrest in Ford County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged violent sex crime and have made an arrest.On Friday,&nbsp;Garden City Police arrested 28-year-old Jayce Morales following a rape investigation, according to a media release.Earlier Friday, police were dispatched to the north part of Garden City and met with a woman who alleged an altercation had just occurred between her and Morales, who is known to her. The investigation revealed that the woman woke up to Morales sexually assaulting her before he left the scene. Morales was later located and taken into custody.Morales is being held in Finney County Jail on requested charges of Rape and Domestic Battery.

Police make arrest after SW Kansas rape investigation

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The City of Wichita reported on Monday that recovery efforts following the recent cyber security incident are progressing well. 

According to a statement from the city, most public facing systems are now back in service with some limited exceptions.

Water metering, billing and payment processing systems are coming back online. Customers should expect to begin receiving updated statements this week. Auto-payments are functioning as normal, and customers should now have access to their utility accounts online. Bills may be paid via credit card, cash, check and money order by coming to City Hall, accessing your water account online at https://link.wichita.gov, by calling (316) 265-1300 or mailing payment.

Please be aware, due to the cyber incident, which impaired processing bills and payments, some June bills will be for more than 60 days of service. If necessary, please speak with a representative by calling (316) 265-1300 for a payment arrangement and to work out a plan to get your account caught up on payment activity.

Please <a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert">click here to see</a> frequently asked questions about water bill payments if you experience any glitches when accessing your account.

o Available: Public Wi-Fi is available at all locations; Libby (eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines) are available; materials can be checked in/out manually;

o Not available: Hold requests and renewals; customer account information; online catalog, automated materials handler at the Advanced Learning Library, online databases (Kanopy/LinkedIn Learning);

o For the complete list of what services are currently available or not at the Library, visit www.wichita.gov/alert.

- Airport: Public flight and gate display information is not yet online but is expected soon;

- Municipal Court: Public search of warrants is expected to be online Monday, June 10. While most Court systems are online, we encourage residents to please call (316) 268-4345 to verify the information regarding their court date, fees or other information.

- Unless specifically noted, all other resident-facing systems should be functioning as of June 10, 2024. If residents experience other system outages,<a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert"> click here for updates.</a>

The City’s Information Technology team continues to work tirelessly to remediate remaining system outages.

We appreciate customer patience as there may be intermittent service interruptions over the coming days and weeks as recovery activity continues.

For the latest updates, FAQs and contact information on any other systems of interest,<a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert"> please click here.</a>

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The City of Wichita reported on Monday that recovery efforts following the recent cyber security incident are progressing well. According to a statement from the city, most public facing systems are now back in service with some limited exceptions.Water metering, billing and payment processing systems are coming back online. Customers should expect to begin receiving updated statements this week. Auto-payments are functioning as normal, and customers should now have access to their utility accounts online. Bills may be paid via credit card, cash, check and money order by coming to City Hall, accessing your water account online at https://link.wichita.gov, by calling (316) 265-1300 or mailing payment.Please be aware, due to the cyber incident, which impaired processing bills and payments, some June bills will be for more than 60 days of service. If necessary, please speak with a representative by calling (316) 265-1300 for a payment arrangement and to work out a plan to get your account caught up on payment activity.Please <a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert">click here to see</a> frequently asked questions about water bill payments if you experience any glitches when accessing your account.Remaining City service updates:- Wichita Public Library:o Available: Public Wi-Fi is available at all locations; Libby (eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines) are available; materials can be checked in/out manually;o Not available: Hold requests and renewals; customer account information; online catalog, automated materials handler at the Advanced Learning Library, online databases (Kanopy/LinkedIn Learning);o For the complete list of what services are currently available or not at the Library, visit www.wichita.gov/alert.- Airport: Public flight and gate display information is not yet online but is expected soon;- Municipal Court: Public search of warrants is expected to be online Monday, June 10. While most Court systems are online, we encourage residents to please call (316) 268-4345 to verify the information regarding their court date, fees or other information.- Unless specifically noted, all other resident-facing systems should be functioning as of June 10, 2024. If residents experience other system outages,<a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert"> click here for updates.</a>The City’s Information Technology team continues to work tirelessly to remediate remaining system outages.We appreciate customer patience as there may be intermittent service interruptions over the coming days and weeks as recovery activity continues.For the latest updates, FAQs and contact information on any other systems of interest,<a href="https://www.wichita.gov/1199/Alert"> please click here.</a>

City of Wichita slowly restoring services after cyberattack

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Monday morning homicide near the Kansas City Power and Light District.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718022865935.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Monday morning homicide near the Kansas City Power and Light District.Just before 1a.m., police responded to report of a shooting near&nbsp;Truman Road and Grand Boulevard, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.&nbsp; First responders found a man on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot trauma. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718022337961.png" alt="Google map" />
 <figcaption>Google map</figcaption>
 </figure>Police also found two other shooting victims in a parking area behind a business. The two women were transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp; &nbsp;Since there was a large crowd on the scene, police are hopeful someone may have information leading to an arrest.Detectives were on the scene to gather evidence, talk with witnesses and review surveillance footage.&nbsp; Anyone who may have information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.&nbsp;

Shooting near KC Power & Light District: 1 dead, 2 injured

MONTGOMERY COUNTY—A bear at a Kansas zoo caused some excitement over the weekend.

On Sunday, the staff at Ralph Mitchell Zoo, 400 Mickey Mantle Way in Independence,&nbsp; discovered one of its three Siberian bear sisters had apparently decided zoo life had become unbearable and made an unsuccessful attempt to tunnel out of her enclosure, according to a media release from the city.

While the bear never made it out of the enclosure confines, she did manage to dig under the viewing platform and slip barely out of sight of staff for very brief period of time. Staff quickly responded to the situation, coaxed the bear back into the security of her pen and are taking steps to reinforce the enclosure to eliminate any chance of a future breakout.

   To fully ensure public safety while the bear was misbehaving, staff cleared the zoo of all visitors and locked the secondary enclosure within five minutes of discovering the dig, and within 10 minutes, had the bear back safely secured in the enclosure. Per protocol, the Independence Police Department was notified of the issue and responded to the zoo to provide any necessary assistance.

   “Safety of our visitors is always our number one priority, followed by the well-being of our animals, so I am very thankful for the quick actions of the zoo staff and responding officers to avert danger,” said Independence City Manager Kelly Passauer.

    The bear sisters will be off public exhibit for the next few days as staff continue to make modifications and reinforcements to their enclosure.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717981520148.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY—A bear at a Kansas zoo caused some excitement over the weekend.On Sunday, the staff at Ralph Mitchell Zoo, 400 Mickey Mantle Way in Independence,&nbsp; discovered one of its three Siberian bear sisters had apparently decided zoo life had become unbearable and made an unsuccessful attempt to tunnel out of her enclosure, according to a media release from the city.While the bear never made it out of the enclosure confines, she did manage to dig under the viewing platform and slip barely out of sight of staff for very brief period of time. Staff quickly responded to the situation, coaxed the bear back into the security of her pen and are taking steps to reinforce the enclosure to eliminate any chance of a future breakout. To fully ensure public safety while the bear was misbehaving, staff cleared the zoo of all visitors and locked the secondary enclosure within five minutes of discovering the dig, and within 10 minutes, had the bear back safely secured in the enclosure. Per protocol, the Independence Police Department was notified of the issue and responded to the zoo to provide any necessary assistance. “Safety of our visitors is always our number one priority, followed by the well-being of our animals, so I am very thankful for the quick actions of the zoo staff and responding officers to avert danger,” said Independence City Manager Kelly Passauer. The bear sisters will be off public exhibit for the next few days as staff continue to make modifications and reinforcements to their enclosure.

Bear attempted to tunnel out of enclosure at Kansas zoo

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating incidents that disrupted the annual Downtown Days festival in Lee's Summit.

&nbsp;During the weekend Downtown Days festival, the Lee’s Summit Police Department had a large contingent of officers present during all hours of the festival. 

Just after 10p.m. Saturday, po lice were alerted to the sound of shots fired in the area of SW 3rd and Jefferson just outside of the festival boundary. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718015072324.png" alt="Downtown Days in Lee's Summit -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Downtown Days in Lee's Summit -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating incidents that disrupted the annual Downtown Days festival in Lee's Summit.&nbsp;During the weekend Downtown Days festival, the Lee’s Summit Police Department had a large contingent of officers present during all hours of the festival. Just after 10p.m. Saturday, po lice were alerted to the sound of shots fired in the area of SW 3rd and Jefferson just outside of the festival boundary. Officers responded quickly to the area and did not locate any suspects or victims; all parties involved had quickly left the area. In addition to this incident, officers did handle several small disturbance calls within the festival. Officers also observed several members of the juvenile crowd attempting to create artificial panic incidents by running and acting as if an emergency was occurring. During one of these incidents, an elderly woman was pushed to the ground by the running crowd; she was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. Officers worked the festival through its conclusion on Sunday.&nbsp; No other injuries were reported.