WASHINGTON (AP) —A California infant has died and at least 10 other people have been sickened in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that include chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank and pork hock, federal health officials reported Friday.

<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/Recall-030-2024-EXP-Product-List.pdf">Click here to view the full product list</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/food_label_pdf/2024-11/Recall-030-2024-EXP-Labels.pdf">Click herre to view labels</a>.

Yu Shang Food, Inc., of Spartanburg, South Carolina,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/yu-shang-food-inc--recalls-ready-eat-meat-and-poultry-products-due-possible-0" target="_blank">has recalled</a>&nbsp;more than 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry products tied to the outbreak, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Some products were initially recalled on Nov. 9.

The foods were shipped to retail locations nationwide and available online, and illnesses have been reported in four states. The problem was discovered in October after routine tests detected listeria in the foods and the production environment.

Of the 11 people sickened, nine were hospitalized, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said. A California woman who was pregnant with twins was sickened and both infants died, the CDC said, but listeria was only found in a sample from one of the infants, so that child and the mother were included in the count but the other infant wasn’t.

Interviews with people who were sickened and laboratory findings pointed to the Yu Shang Food products.

Although the foods have been recalled, some may still be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. The products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase. Refrigerators, containers and other surfaces that may have touched the foods should be cleaned and sanitized.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-boars-head-ecoli-listeria-food-safety-1256564e2ec8baf6a96b27c7102e833e">People get sick with listeria poisoning</a>&nbsp;when they eat foods contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms can be mild and include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious illness can include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

Listeria poisoning is tricky, because symptoms can start quickly, within a few hours or days after eating contaminated food. But they also can take weeks or up to three months to show up. Those most vulnerable to getting sick include the very young, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.

A different listeria outbreak tied to recalled Boar’s Head deli meats&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boars-head-deli-meat-listeria-208ee7005b36ba17242fc4872746b268">has ended, CDC officials said this week</a>. That outbreak killed 10 people this summer and sickened dozens of others.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732538527724.png" alt="Images from the FDA" />
 <figcaption>Images from the FDA</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —A California infant has died and at least 10 other people have been sickened in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that include chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank and pork hock, federal health officials reported Friday.<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/Recall-030-2024-EXP-Product-List.pdf">Click here to view the full product list</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/food_label_pdf/2024-11/Recall-030-2024-EXP-Labels.pdf">Click herre to view labels</a>.Yu Shang Food, Inc., of Spartanburg, South Carolina,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/yu-shang-food-inc--recalls-ready-eat-meat-and-poultry-products-due-possible-0" target="_blank">has recalled</a>&nbsp;more than 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry products tied to the outbreak, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Some products were initially recalled on Nov. 9.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732538552072.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The foods were shipped to retail locations nationwide and available online, and illnesses have been reported in four states. The problem was discovered in October after routine tests detected listeria in the foods and the production environment.Of the 11 people sickened, nine were hospitalized, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said. A California woman who was pregnant with twins was sickened and both infants died, the CDC said, but listeria was only found in a sample from one of the infants, so that child and the mother were included in the count but the other infant wasn’t.Interviews with people who were sickened and laboratory findings pointed to the Yu Shang Food products.Although the foods have been recalled, some may still be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. The products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase. Refrigerators, containers and other surfaces that may have touched the foods should be cleaned and sanitized.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-boars-head-ecoli-listeria-food-safety-1256564e2ec8baf6a96b27c7102e833e">People get sick with listeria poisoning</a>&nbsp;when they eat foods contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms can be mild and include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious illness can include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.Listeria poisoning is tricky, because symptoms can start quickly, within a few hours or days after eating contaminated food. But they also can take weeks or up to three months to show up. Those most vulnerable to getting sick include the very young, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.A different listeria outbreak tied to recalled Boar’s Head deli meats&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boars-head-deli-meat-listeria-208ee7005b36ba17242fc4872746b268">has ended, CDC officials said this week</a>. That outbreak killed 10 people this summer and sickened dozens of others.<h2>___</h2>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Infant dead, others sick in listeria outbreak tied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/s.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">return to the White House</a>&nbsp;will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term.

In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to abandon their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief.

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors wrote in one of their filings.

Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”

Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, welcomed the decision to drop the prosecutions against the president-elect, describing it as a “major victory for the rule of law.”

"The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country,” Cheung said in a statement.

Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will re-enter the White House free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead.

The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat</a>&nbsp;to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House.

The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial.

The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden.

The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency.

The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings.

In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714517455009.png" alt="File photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/s.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">return to the White House</a>&nbsp;will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732563427933.png" alt="Trump" />
 <figcaption>Trump</figcaption>
 </figure>The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison. These prosecutions were always political. Now it&#39;s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again. <a href="https://t.co/18dB65naNG">https://t.co/18dB65naNG</a>&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1861122371093930365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to abandon their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief.“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors wrote in one of their filings.Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, welcomed the decision to drop the prosecutions against the president-elect, describing it as a “major victory for the rule of law.”"The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country,” Cheung said in a statement.Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will re-enter the White House free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead.The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat</a>&nbsp;to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House.The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial.The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden.The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency.The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings.In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort.

Justice Dept. ending election interference, classified docs cases against Trump

<a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/11/21/man-who-scammed-ranchers-desperate-for-hay-during-drought-to-pay-back-100k/">Republished with permission from Cowboy State Daily.</a>

A Logan, Kansas, man who scammed ranchers in Wyoming and Montana desperate for hay during a drought was sentenced to probation Wednesday. He also must pay back more than $100,000 to his victims.

By&nbsp;<a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/author/david-madison-for-cowboy-state-daily/">David Madison</a> <a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/">Cowboy State Daily</a>

When severe drought in 2021 made ranchers in Crook County, Wyoming, desperate to secure hay for their cattle before winter, a Kansas man spotted an opportunity and designed a scheme that preyed on stockgrowers worried they wouldn’t have enough cattle feed.&nbsp;

The scam involved hay bought in Nebraska, shipped by a company from Kansas and caused ranchers in Wyoming and Montana to lose more than $100,000.

The man behind it all was Jory Parks, who was sentenced to five years ofprobation Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Billings, Montana. Judge Susan Watters spared Parks a prison sentence of up to 20 years so he could pay restitution to his victims.&nbsp;

Instead, Parks was given 20 years to make his victims whole through $500 monthly payments against his $103,721 debt.&nbsp;

“He took advantage of their need for hay, told lies and stole their money over and over again,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Hargrove in a pre-sentencing memo. In a presentence investigation report, the prosecution cited a guideline sentence of eight to 14 months of imprisonment.&nbsp;

“The victims’ desperation in this case was central to the success of Parks’ fraud scheme,” Hargrove wrote. “Experiencing a significant drought in the summer of 2021, ranchers in Montana and across the region suffered significant hardships.

“He knew livestock was going to die and peoples’ livelihoods hung in the balance. It was against this backdrop that Parks contracted with ranchers ... to sell them hay, demanded down payments to secure their shipments, and then never delivered or only delivered a fraction of what they purchased.”

That’s what happened to Katalina Pfeil, who raises cattle on her family ranch in Sundance, Wyoming.

By the end of the summer in 2021, Pfeil knew the dryland ranch would not put up enough hay to get their cattle through the winter. So,she started searching on Facebook for anyone selling hay at an affordable price.&nbsp;

“By this point, any hay that was in the region was incredibly expensive. I mean, we're talking towards $300 a ton just to feed your animals when the year before it had been $90 a ton,” Pfeil told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday after Parks was sentenced. “We were desperate, just like everybody else in our region, and I had discovered that down in Nebraska was a bunch of very reasonable hay, and it was worth the effort to get it trucked in.”

Parks responded to Pfeil’s posts on Facebook in October 2021, just a couple months after Parks set up Heart Cross Ranch Trucking, according to documents filed with the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office. Three businesses with the Heart Cross Ranch name are now listed as “forfeited.”

But in October 2021, Heart Cross Ranch Trucking was just getting revved up.

“He offered me the lowest rate by far, and he had claimed he had several employees and trucks and that they were going to get it to me right away, that I should expect it within the week,” remembered Pfeil, who said Parks only delivered half what she ordered. “Three loads delivered, three loads disappeared.”

Any early misgivings were smoothed over by Parks who talked a good game.

“I met him, and every victim that you will ever talk to will tell you about his silver tongue,” said Pfeil, accusing Parks of trying to manipulate his way out of their deal. “He knew I was pregnant, and he used it against me. He was claiming that his daughter was sick and in the hospital.”

Pfeil and others victimized by Parks started to communicate online, and Parks responded by filing for a restraining order against Pfeil in Crook County Court.&nbsp;

“One day, I pull up to the ranch entrance and there’s two sheriffs sitting at the entrance and I knew they were looking for me,” remembered Pfeil. “He’s trying to get a restraining order against me? Let me remind you, I'm the young pregnant woman that he stole from, and he was trying to claim that he was the victim.”

A judge denied the restraining order, said Pfeil, who teamed up with another Sundance rancher who also was scammed.

Bryce Conzelman lost $16,000 on a deal with Parks, he said, adding that when you’re a rancher and vulnerable to drought and other market pressures, scams are a real threat.&nbsp;

“Boy, that stuff can happen in a hurry,” said Conzelman, adding that to feed his cows in 2021, “We just had to buck down and buy more hay.”

When Pfeil and Conzelman complained to the Crook County prosecutor, “We were shrugged off and told it was a civil matter,” said Pfeil. “But we had started a Facebook group and began finding all of the victims of the same man, three of which, they were all in Montana. So ultimately that's why the Montana FBI picked up this case.”

Parks also continued to make the most of Facebook, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana.&nbsp;

“A ranching business owned by a couple in Ingomar responded to one of Parks’ Facebook ads in which he claimed to be selling hay cheaper than they had been able to find,” the release says. “The couple signed a contract with Parks to buy 190 tons of hay from Parks for $43,300 and mailed half of the amount, $21,650, as a down payment to Heart Cross Ranch.

“Parks deposited the check into his business account in a bank in Colorado. Three weeks later, Parks delivered the couple’s first shipment of 23 tons of the 190 tons they had purchased, but never delivered the additional hay or repaid the remainder of the down payment.”

Investigators also discovered Parks told one victim that he had sold all his hay the previous year to a respected horse racing facility in Nebraska. After interviewing the CEO of the facility and analyzing Parks’ financials, the FBI determined that claim was false.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to Parks, who did not return a voicemail.

Shandor Badaruddin, a Missoula attorney who represented Parks, said that he believes justice was served in this case and a prison sentence spelled out in federal guidelines wasn’t necessary.&nbsp;

“They're guidelines, and they establish benchmarks. I think it was eight to 14 months, but that's not necessarily eight to 14 months in prison. That can be eight to 14 months in prison,” he said. “It could be eight to 14 months on probation. It could be 8 to 14 months on home detention.”

Badaruddin said that in his experience, federal judges strive for “the appropriate sentence, meaning sufficient but not greater than necessary.”

Badaruddin said Parks is “pursuing employment” in Logan, Kansas, trying to find “whatever job pays the most so he can repay the restitution order by the judge. He wants to get that paid as soon as possible and guess what? They want it paid as soon as possible too.

“He wants to live in Logan, Kansas. Well, there ain't a whole lot going on there outside the agricultural industry, so I don't know. I don't know what he's going to do.”

Back in Sundance, Pfeil continues to raise cattle on the 2,000-acre ranch her family first homesteaded in 1880.

Her son, Banks Crane, is the seventh generation to come along, but Pfeil acknowledges ranching as a financially viable way of life is far from guaranteed.&nbsp;

Parks owes her $38,966.70, she said, and as the payments come in, “I've still got a small share of cows on the family ranch. And I'm just going to keep fighting this fight and letting everyone know what this man did to me and hopefully helping others prevent the same thing from happening to them.”

When Pfeil saw Parks in court Wednesday, “He was very downcast. I mean, the best way I could describe it is he looked like a kicked dog.”

With a sigh, Pfeil said this whole mess with Parks could have been avoided, if she’d followed her newly adopted motto: “Cash on delivery.”

<a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/11/21/man-who-scammed-ranchers-desperate-for-hay-during-drought-to-pay-back-100k/">Republished with permission from Cowboy State Daily.</a>A Logan, Kansas, man who scammed ranchers in Wyoming and Montana desperate for hay during a drought was sentenced to probation Wednesday. He also must pay back more than $100,000 to his victims.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732315266837.png" alt="Heart Cross Ranch Trucking delivering hay to Katalina Pfeil at her family ranch in Sundance, Wyoming. The owner of the company, Jory Parks, inset, was sentenced Nov. 20, 2024, for scamming Pfeil and other ranchers desperate for hay during a drought. (Courtesy Katalina Pfeil)" />
 <figcaption>Heart Cross Ranch Trucking delivering hay to Katalina Pfeil at her family ranch in Sundance, Wyoming. The owner of the company, Jory Parks, inset, was sentenced Nov. 20, 2024, for scamming Pfeil and other ranchers desperate for hay during a drought. (Courtesy Katalina Pfeil)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/author/david-madison-for-cowboy-state-daily/">David Madison</a> <a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/">Cowboy State Daily</a>When severe drought in 2021 made ranchers in Crook County, Wyoming, desperate to secure hay for their cattle before winter, a Kansas man spotted an opportunity and designed a scheme that preyed on stockgrowers worried they wouldn’t have enough cattle feed.&nbsp;The scam involved hay bought in Nebraska, shipped by a company from Kansas and caused ranchers in Wyoming and Montana to lose more than $100,000.The man behind it all was Jory Parks, who was sentenced to five years ofprobation Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Billings, Montana. Judge Susan Watters spared Parks a prison sentence of up to 20 years so he could pay restitution to his victims.&nbsp;Instead, Parks was given 20 years to make his victims whole through $500 monthly payments against his $103,721 debt.&nbsp;“He took advantage of their need for hay, told lies and stole their money over and over again,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Hargrove in a pre-sentencing memo. In a presentence investigation report, the prosecution cited a guideline sentence of eight to 14 months of imprisonment.&nbsp;“The victims’ desperation in this case was central to the success of Parks’ fraud scheme,” Hargrove wrote. “Experiencing a significant drought in the summer of 2021, ranchers in Montana and across the region suffered significant hardships.“He knew livestock was going to die and peoples’ livelihoods hung in the balance. It was against this backdrop that Parks contracted with ranchers ... to sell them hay, demanded down payments to secure their shipments, and then never delivered or only delivered a fraction of what they purchased.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732315480376.png" alt="Katalina Pfeil and her son, Banks Crane. (Courtesy Katalina Pfeil)" />
 <figcaption>Katalina Pfeil and her son, Banks Crane. (Courtesy Katalina Pfeil)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Family Ranch</h2>That’s what happened to Katalina Pfeil, who raises cattle on her family ranch in Sundance, Wyoming.By the end of the summer in 2021, Pfeil knew the dryland ranch would not put up enough hay to get their cattle through the winter. So,she started searching on Facebook for anyone selling hay at an affordable price.&nbsp;“By this point, any hay that was in the region was incredibly expensive. I mean, we're talking towards $300 a ton just to feed your animals when the year before it had been $90 a ton,” Pfeil told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday after Parks was sentenced. “We were desperate, just like everybody else in our region, and I had discovered that down in Nebraska was a bunch of very reasonable hay, and it was worth the effort to get it trucked in.”Parks responded to Pfeil’s posts on Facebook in October 2021, just a couple months after Parks set up Heart Cross Ranch Trucking, according to documents filed with the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office. Three businesses with the Heart Cross Ranch name are now listed as “forfeited.”But in October 2021, Heart Cross Ranch Trucking was just getting revved up.<h2>Too Good To Be True</h2>“He offered me the lowest rate by far, and he had claimed he had several employees and trucks and that they were going to get it to me right away, that I should expect it within the week,” remembered Pfeil, who said Parks only delivered half what she ordered. “Three loads delivered, three loads disappeared.”Any early misgivings were smoothed over by Parks who talked a good game.“I met him, and every victim that you will ever talk to will tell you about his silver tongue,” said Pfeil, accusing Parks of trying to manipulate his way out of their deal. “He knew I was pregnant, and he used it against me. He was claiming that his daughter was sick and in the hospital.”Pfeil and others victimized by Parks started to communicate online, and Parks responded by filing for a restraining order against Pfeil in Crook County Court.&nbsp;“One day, I pull up to the ranch entrance and there’s two sheriffs sitting at the entrance and I knew they were looking for me,” remembered Pfeil. “He’s trying to get a restraining order against me? Let me remind you, I'm the young pregnant woman that he stole from, and he was trying to claim that he was the victim.”A judge denied the restraining order, said Pfeil, who teamed up with another Sundance rancher who also was scammed.Bryce Conzelman lost $16,000 on a deal with Parks, he said, adding that when you’re a rancher and vulnerable to drought and other market pressures, scams are a real threat.&nbsp;“Boy, that stuff can happen in a hurry,” said Conzelman, adding that to feed his cows in 2021, “We just had to buck down and buy more hay.”When Pfeil and Conzelman complained to the Crook County prosecutor, “We were shrugged off and told it was a civil matter,” said Pfeil. “But we had started a Facebook group and began finding all of the victims of the same man, three of which, they were all in Montana. So ultimately that's why the Montana FBI picked up this case.”<h2>Scamming Continued</h2>Parks also continued to make the most of Facebook, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana.&nbsp;“A ranching business owned by a couple in Ingomar responded to one of Parks’ Facebook ads in which he claimed to be selling hay cheaper than they had been able to find,” the release says. “The couple signed a contract with Parks to buy 190 tons of hay from Parks for $43,300 and mailed half of the amount, $21,650, as a down payment to Heart Cross Ranch.“Parks deposited the check into his business account in a bank in Colorado. Three weeks later, Parks delivered the couple’s first shipment of 23 tons of the 190 tons they had purchased, but never delivered the additional hay or repaid the remainder of the down payment.”Investigators also discovered Parks told one victim that he had sold all his hay the previous year to a respected horse racing facility in Nebraska. After interviewing the CEO of the facility and analyzing Parks’ financials, the FBI determined that claim was false.<h2>The Sentencing</h2>Cowboy State Daily reached out to Parks, who did not return a voicemail.Shandor Badaruddin, a Missoula attorney who represented Parks, said that he believes justice was served in this case and a prison sentence spelled out in federal guidelines wasn’t necessary.&nbsp;“They're guidelines, and they establish benchmarks. I think it was eight to 14 months, but that's not necessarily eight to 14 months in prison. That can be eight to 14 months in prison,” he said. “It could be eight to 14 months on probation. It could be 8 to 14 months on home detention.”Badaruddin said that in his experience, federal judges strive for “the appropriate sentence, meaning sufficient but not greater than necessary.”Badaruddin said Parks is “pursuing employment” in Logan, Kansas, trying to find “whatever job pays the most so he can repay the restitution order by the judge. He wants to get that paid as soon as possible and guess what? They want it paid as soon as possible too.“He wants to live in Logan, Kansas. Well, there ain't a whole lot going on there outside the agricultural industry, so I don't know. I don't know what he's going to do.”<h2>Words to Live By</h2>Back in Sundance, Pfeil continues to raise cattle on the 2,000-acre ranch her family first homesteaded in 1880.Her son, Banks Crane, is the seventh generation to come along, but Pfeil acknowledges ranching as a financially viable way of life is far from guaranteed.&nbsp;Parks owes her $38,966.70, she said, and as the payments come in, “I've still got a small share of cows on the family ranch. And I'm just going to keep fighting this fight and letting everyone know what this man did to me and hopefully helping others prevent the same thing from happening to them.”When Pfeil saw Parks in court Wednesday, “He was very downcast. I mean, the best way I could describe it is he looked like a kicked dog.”With a sigh, Pfeil said this whole mess with Parks could have been avoided, if she’d followed her newly adopted motto: “Cash on delivery.”

Logan man who scammed ranchers needing hay during drought to pay $100K

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

A recent poverty analysis showed Hays has the highest poverty rate in the multi-county region at 18%

Although some have suggested increasing wages would help those who struggle financially, Doug William, director of the the local economic development agency, recently explained the solution to such a problem is not so easy.

"It is a complex issue," Williams said during a recent interview on the Morning Blend on KAYS. "One of my favorite quotes is that for every complex problem, there's a solution that is clear, simple and wrong. I think that applies to this situation very much."

Hays City Commissioner Reese Barrick urged local businesses to increase wages at a recent city commission meeting in response to the poverty data.

“The reality is it would take to get all of Hays outside of poverty and not always struggling week to week and month to month, would people with jobs making $25 an hour,” he said.

He added, “We wouldn’t have to have all of these [nonprofit] organizations if we were able to pay people enough so they were outside of the risk zone every month. …

“If we want a community where everyone can participate and put money back into the community by shopping everywhere, then we have to pay people enough so they can participate. We can take care of the poverty level. It’s really a wage thing.”

In addition to the 18% poverty rate, another 23% of Ellis County residents are classified as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, or ALICE. These households are above the federal poverty level but cannot afford their county's basic cost of living. They do not qualify for public assistance.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/17290ca2-a64d-4482-aecd-213534370fcd">SEE RELATED STORY: Ellis County reports highest poverty rate in region</a>

Williams said lower-wage earners would benefit from an increase in wages to $20 per hour.&nbsp;

"That presents challenges for businesses to keep their doors open, to operate at a profitable level, so they can continue to employ people and offer what they offer to a community," he said.

The current minimum wage in Kansas for nontipped employees is $7.25.&nbsp;

The federal government sets the federal minimum wage. States can set higher minimum wages if they choose. Cities in Kansas cannot set minimum wage standards.

 However, Williams noted most workers in Ellis County earn more than the minimum wage because of the demand for labor and the shortage of workers in the area.

The Ellis County unemployment rate in October was 2.7%. Anything less than 4% is considered low.

In response to Barrick's comments, some city workers addressed the Hays City Commission at its Nov. 14 meeting, noting that some city workers did not earn $20 per hour.

Williams said the consequences of raising those workers' hourly wages would potentially be increased taxes.

"Again, there is always this cause and effect, and it's never a simple process," Williams said.

"A $20 across-the-board hourly rate, I'm sure, would be problematic for a lot of businesses," he said.

Mark Hess of Hess Services recently shared a response to Barrick's comments in a letter to the Hays Post, saying increasing wages would drive up costs for products and services in Hays and make it difficult for local businesses to compete in the region.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/7e6275e6-d3b6-4d59-bb6c-f2505d0a65ca">SEE RELATED STORY: Response to City Commissioner Barrick's statement on business wages</a>

"Labor is one of the largest, if not the largest, components of the production of a product," Williams said. "If that cost goes up, they have to pass that on. Does that change their competitive stature within their market?"

Williams said the United States has lost thousands of jobs to other countries where the labor market is much different.

"They can hire people for much less than they can hire people here, and consequently, they can offer their products at a lower price," he said. "That's capitalism.

"That has caused some problems in this country with the loss of manufacturing, but again, it's a very complex situation, and each business is a little bit different."

Williams said the key factor is employees are important to businesses.

"Businesses need to pay what they can to employees to keep them and to offer a fair wage to allow them to have a reasonable lifestyle and provide good value to the business owner," he said.

"There are no simple answers, but an across-the-board blank say everybody's going to go to $20 an hour would probably not be the answer to a problem like this," Williams said.

In the gap are charitable programs and subsidies for people whose income qualifies, Williams said. These can be food banks or rental assistance programs.

"There are many programs like that. Are there enough of them? Probably not," Williams said. "We need to try to help people if we can."

Williams said the poverty data was alarming.

"But I think, by and large, our community does a great job employing people and having good jobs," he said. "Our city and county and school district do a great job of what they do.&nbsp;

"While everybody would like our property taxes to be less, relative to other places in this state, [our property taxes] are actually low."

Although property taxes have increased, those increases are not unique to Hays, Williams said.

Williams said Hays compares favorably to other communities in many ways. Although many think housing costs are high in Hays, they are competitive with peer communities. He said rates tend to be higher, but that is true in most college communities.

"I think we have a lot to be thankful for," Williams said. "Yes, we have work to do. Yes, we have people in the community who struggle. We need to consistently think about how we help those people and allow people to pay those people better, but it has to be a balance."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732229270792.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of Pixabay." />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Pixabay.</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostA recent poverty analysis showed Hays has the highest poverty rate in the multi-county region at 18%Although some have suggested increasing wages would help those who struggle financially, Doug William, director of the the local economic development agency, recently explained the solution to such a problem is not so easy."It is a complex issue," Williams said during a recent interview on the Morning Blend on KAYS. "One of my favorite quotes is that for every complex problem, there's a solution that is clear, simple and wrong. I think that applies to this situation very much."<div><iframe title="Poverty issue solution more complex than just minimum wage" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=qwmap-174cb3d-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=60a0c8&size=315" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>Hays City Commissioner Reese Barrick urged local businesses to increase wages at a recent city commission meeting in response to the poverty data.“The reality is it would take to get all of Hays outside of poverty and not always struggling week to week and month to month, would people with jobs making $25 an hour,” he said.He added, “We wouldn’t have to have all of these [nonprofit] organizations if we were able to pay people enough so they were outside of the risk zone every month. …“If we want a community where everyone can participate and put money back into the community by shopping everywhere, then we have to pay people enough so they can participate. We can take care of the poverty level. It’s really a wage thing.”In addition to the 18% poverty rate, another 23% of Ellis County residents are classified as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, or ALICE. These households are above the federal poverty level but cannot afford their county's basic cost of living. They do not qualify for public assistance.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/17290ca2-a64d-4482-aecd-213534370fcd">SEE RELATED STORY: Ellis County reports highest poverty rate in region</a>Williams said lower-wage earners would benefit from an increase in wages to $20 per hour.&nbsp;"That presents challenges for businesses to keep their doors open, to operate at a profitable level, so they can continue to employ people and offer what they offer to a community," he said.The current minimum wage in Kansas for nontipped employees is $7.25.&nbsp;The federal government sets the federal minimum wage. States can set higher minimum wages if they choose. Cities in Kansas cannot set minimum wage standards. However, Williams noted most workers in Ellis County earn more than the minimum wage because of the demand for labor and the shortage of workers in the area.The Ellis County unemployment rate in October was 2.7%. Anything less than 4% is considered low.In response to Barrick's comments, some city workers addressed the Hays City Commission at its Nov. 14 meeting, noting that some city workers did not earn $20 per hour.Williams said the consequences of raising those workers' hourly wages would potentially be increased taxes."Again, there is always this cause and effect, and it's never a simple process," Williams said."A $20 across-the-board hourly rate, I'm sure, would be problematic for a lot of businesses," he said.Mark Hess of Hess Services recently shared a response to Barrick's comments in a letter to the Hays Post, saying increasing wages would drive up costs for products and services in Hays and make it difficult for local businesses to compete in the region.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/7e6275e6-d3b6-4d59-bb6c-f2505d0a65ca">SEE RELATED STORY: Response to City Commissioner Barrick's statement on business wages</a>"Labor is one of the largest, if not the largest, components of the production of a product," Williams said. "If that cost goes up, they have to pass that on. Does that change their competitive stature within their market?"Williams said the United States has lost thousands of jobs to other countries where the labor market is much different."They can hire people for much less than they can hire people here, and consequently, they can offer their products at a lower price," he said. "That's capitalism."That has caused some problems in this country with the loss of manufacturing, but again, it's a very complex situation, and each business is a little bit different."Williams said the key factor is employees are important to businesses."Businesses need to pay what they can to employees to keep them and to offer a fair wage to allow them to have a reasonable lifestyle and provide good value to the business owner," he said."There are no simple answers, but an across-the-board blank say everybody's going to go to $20 an hour would probably not be the answer to a problem like this," Williams said.In the gap are charitable programs and subsidies for people whose income qualifies, Williams said. These can be food banks or rental assistance programs."There are many programs like that. Are there enough of them? Probably not," Williams said. "We need to try to help people if we can."Williams said the poverty data was alarming."But I think, by and large, our community does a great job employing people and having good jobs," he said. "Our city and county and school district do a great job of what they do.&nbsp;"While everybody would like our property taxes to be less, relative to other places in this state, [our property taxes] are actually low."Although property taxes have increased, those increases are not unique to Hays, Williams said.Williams said Hays compares favorably to other communities in many ways. Although many think housing costs are high in Hays, they are competitive with peer communities. He said rates tend to be higher, but that is true in most college communities."I think we have a lot to be thankful for," Williams said. "Yes, we have work to do. Yes, we have people in the community who struggle. We need to consistently think about how we help those people and allow people to pay those people better, but it has to be a balance."

Podcast: Poverty issue solution more complex than just minimum wage

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>

WASHINGTON —&nbsp; The 2025-26 form to apply for federal student aid is now available to all students and families, the&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Education</a>&nbsp;said Thursday.

The department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-department-education-begins-testing-new-fafsa-form" target="_blank">used a staggered approach</a>&nbsp;to launch the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — to address any issues before the form became available to everyone at a later date.

Though the department beat its Dec. 1 full launch deadline by 10 days, the form is fully available roughly two months later than the typical Oct. 1 date.

The department gradually ramped up the number of people able to complete the form since early October through four testing rounds that have featured more than 167,000 FAFSA submissions.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-bill-move-annual-fafsa-release-deadline" target="_blank">a bill to ensure the federal student aid form</a>&nbsp;is available by Oct. 1 annually has passed both the House and Senate with sweeping bipartisan support. It’s now up to President Joe Biden to sign the measure into law.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the bill.

Senior department officials said they do not have a position on the legislation but reiterated that they are on track to launch the 2026-27 FAFSA by Oct. 1, 2025.

The decision for a phased rollout came after the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in December 2020 — witnessed its fair share of glitches and errors, which prompted processing delays and left students and families feeling frustrated and confused.

The department worked to fix these errors as well as issues that prevented parents without Social Security numbers from completing the form.

“We recognize that the FAFSA challenge required an overhaul at the (Office of) Federal Student Aid, so we got to work,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters Thursday.

“We made key changes at FSA, including better accountability and an increase in outside technical expertise — we held listening sessions, engaging 300 organizations, and we incorporated the feedback from our students, from parents, schools, software vendors, state agencies and other partners,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1727807641728.png" alt=" A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption> A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>WASHINGTON —&nbsp; The 2025-26 form to apply for federal student aid is now available to all students and families, the&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Education</a>&nbsp;said Thursday.The department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-department-education-begins-testing-new-fafsa-form" target="_blank">used a staggered approach</a>&nbsp;to launch the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — to address any issues before the form became available to everyone at a later date.Though the department beat its Dec. 1 full launch deadline by 10 days, the form is fully available roughly two months later than the typical Oct. 1 date.The department gradually ramped up the number of people able to complete the form since early October through four testing rounds that have featured more than 167,000 FAFSA submissions.Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-passes-bill-move-annual-fafsa-release-deadline" target="_blank">a bill to ensure the federal student aid form</a>&nbsp;is available by Oct. 1 annually has passed both the House and Senate with sweeping bipartisan support. It’s now up to President Joe Biden to sign the measure into law.The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the bill.Senior department officials said they do not have a position on the legislation but reiterated that they are on track to launch the 2026-27 FAFSA by Oct. 1, 2025.<h2>2024-25 FAFSA mishaps</h2>The decision for a phased rollout came after the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in December 2020 — witnessed its fair share of glitches and errors, which prompted processing delays and left students and families feeling frustrated and confused.The department worked to fix these errors as well as issues that prevented parents without Social Security numbers from completing the form.“We recognize that the FAFSA challenge required an overhaul at the (Office of) Federal Student Aid, so we got to work,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters Thursday.“We made key changes at FSA, including better accountability and an increase in outside technical expertise — we held listening sessions, engaging 300 organizations, and we incorporated the feedback from our students, from parents, schools, software vendors, state agencies and other partners,” he said.

Feds roll out 2025-26 college financial aid form ahead of planned date

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-icbm-attackddnipro-38b0faf6eed2cef98bdbc9be18f58244">an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile</a>&nbsp;that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war.

The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.”

Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday's Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.

In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/atacms-ukraine-longrange-missiles-5fd95f32449d14da22b82d57d6ccab22">U.S. and British longer-range missiles</a>&nbsp;capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile.

Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions.

Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik.

“No one in the world has such weapons,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development."

But he added, "we have this system now. And this is important.”

Testing the missile will continue, “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” Putin said, noting there is ”a stockpile of such systems ready for use.”

Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons.

Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin's claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia.

"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow's talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.

“These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption … that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.”

Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick… there will be consequences,” he said.

Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday's missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.”

At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.”

He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine.

Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv.

In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro.

Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad.

The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said..

Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.

—— Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663760963726.jpeg" alt="File photo (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)" />
 <figcaption>File photo (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-icbm-attackddnipro-38b0faf6eed2cef98bdbc9be18f58244">an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile</a>&nbsp;that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war.The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.”Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday's Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/atacms-ukraine-longrange-missiles-5fd95f32449d14da22b82d57d6ccab22">U.S. and British longer-range missiles</a>&nbsp;capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile.Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions.Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik.“No one in the world has such weapons,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development."But he added, "we have this system now. And this is important.”Testing the missile will continue, “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” Putin said, noting there is ”a stockpile of such systems ready for use.”Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons.Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin's claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia."The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow's talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.“These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption … that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.”Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick… there will be consequences,” he said.Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday's missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.”At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.”He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine.Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv.In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro.Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad.The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik.Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said..Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.—— Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed.

NATO  emergency meeting after Russia's hypersonic missile warning

NEW YORK (AP) —Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high.

The S&amp;P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index’s 1.7% gain for the week erased most of its loss from last week.

The Dow rose 1% as it nudged past its most recent high set last week, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&amp;P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. It's now within about 0.5% of its all-time high set last week.

“Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement.

Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates.

Gap soared 12.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year.

EchoStar fell 2.8% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit.

Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%.

A majority of stocks in the S&amp;P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies.

Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology.

Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.

All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 20.63 points to 5,969.34. The Dow climbed 426.16 points to 44,296.51, and the Nasdaq picked up 42.65 points to close at 2,406.67.

European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday.

In the crypto market,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bitcoin-crypto-trump-regulation-dogecoin-b3bdaf96e329fb90708c35c642c95e11">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday.

Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street.

Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending.

Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October.

The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020.

Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday.

A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722962507580.png" alt="File(AP Photo/Richard Drew)" />
 <figcaption>File(AP Photo/Richard Drew)</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high.The S&amp;P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index’s 1.7% gain for the week erased most of its loss from last week.The Dow rose 1% as it nudged past its most recent high set last week, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&amp;P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. It's now within about 0.5% of its all-time high set last week.“Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement.Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates.Gap soared 12.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year.EchoStar fell 2.8% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit.Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%.A majority of stocks in the S&amp;P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies.Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology.Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations.Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 20.63 points to 5,969.34. The Dow climbed 426.16 points to 44,296.51, and the Nasdaq picked up 42.65 points to close at 2,406.67.European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose.Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday.In the crypto market,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bitcoin-crypto-trump-regulation-dogecoin-b3bdaf96e329fb90708c35c642c95e11">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday.Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street.Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending.Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October.The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020.Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday.A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.

Wall Street notches a winning week and another Dow record

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a shooting on Halloween that left a 13-year-old boy dead continue searching for&nbsp; 19-year-old Jermall Campbell.

On November 6, police arrested a 19-year-old&nbsp;Carrice Profit, Campbell's cousin in connection with the killing according to Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford.&nbsp;

Profit was charged with 1st degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office..

Campbell has been charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Battery, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault in connection to the homicide. He remains at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.Campbell is considered armed and dangerous.

Just after 10:30p.m. October 31, police responded to a report of gunfire at the QuikTrip located at Central and Oliver in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.

Officers discovered evidence of a shooting and the convenience store. Simultaneously, a walk-in report was received from a local hospital indicating that a private vehicle had transported victims of this incident for treatment.

The victims included a 15-year-old boy from Wichita, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, and a 13-year-old boy who sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital.

Initial investigations reveal that a disturbance occurred in the QuikTrip parking lot, leading to the suspect firing at a crowd, which tragically resulted in injuries to the two victims.

&nbsp;If anyone has information about Campbell's whereabouts, please call 911 immediately. To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730567909379.png" alt="Campbell photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Campbell photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a shooting on Halloween that left a 13-year-old boy dead continue searching for&nbsp; 19-year-old Jermall Campbell.On November 6, police arrested a 19-year-old&nbsp;Carrice Profit, Campbell's cousin in connection with the killing according to Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730979564649.png" alt="Profit photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Profit photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Profit was charged with 1st degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office..Campbell has been charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Battery, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault in connection to the homicide. He remains at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.Campbell is considered armed and dangerous.Just after 10:30p.m. October 31, police responded to a report of gunfire at the QuikTrip located at Central and Oliver in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730455429350.png" alt="Police on the scene Thursday evening -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene Thursday evening -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers discovered evidence of a shooting and the convenience store. Simultaneously, a walk-in report was received from a local hospital indicating that a private vehicle had transported victims of this incident for treatment.The victims included a 15-year-old boy from Wichita, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, and a 13-year-old boy who sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital.Initial investigations reveal that a disturbance occurred in the QuikTrip parking lot, leading to the suspect firing at a crowd, which tragically resulted in injuries to the two victims.&nbsp;If anyone has information about Campbell's whereabouts, please call 911 immediately. To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Suspect in killing of 13-year-old on Halloween is still at large

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.

<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25362284/hegseth-police-report.pdf">Click here to read</a> the police report with text messages (caution graphic)

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-sexual-assault-13540626e4b0b1399a0ecab5a592f515">surfaced last week when local officials</a>&nbsp;released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Palatore, said in a statement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”

Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-sexual-assault-allegations-trump-defense-secretary-677b2df5859a338feac4714c60ef369d">paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off</a>&nbsp;the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit, Palatore has said.

The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged to have transpired — one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of events. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.

The woman’s name was not released, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732222061640.png" alt="Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, Pete Hegseth, and Vice President-elect JD Vance during a meeting on Wednesday-photo courtesy Senator Blackburn's office" />
 <figcaption>Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, Pete Hegseth, and Vice President-elect JD Vance during a meeting on Wednesday-photo courtesy Senator Blackburn's office</figcaption>
 </figure>SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25362284/hegseth-police-report.pdf">Click here to read</a> the police report with text messages (caution graphic)<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732203862825.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.News of the allegations&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-sexual-assault-13540626e4b0b1399a0ecab5a592f515">surfaced last week when local officials</a>&nbsp;released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Palatore, said in a statement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-sexual-assault-allegations-trump-defense-secretary-677b2df5859a338feac4714c60ef369d">paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off</a>&nbsp;the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit, Palatore has said.The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged to have transpired — one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of events. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.The woman’s name was not released, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.A spokeswoman for the Trump transition said early Thursday that the “report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false.”The report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault, the report said, by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam. The patient told medical personnel she believed she was assaulted five days earlier but couldn’t remember much about what had happened. She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the assault occurred.Police collected the unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night, the report said.The woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police that he was worried about her that night after she didn’t come back to their room. At 2 a.m., he went to the hotel bar, but she wasn’t there. She made it back a few hours later, apologizing that she “must have fallen asleep.” A few days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican Women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told police that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.After the event, the woman and others attended an after-party in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him that she “did not appreciate how he treated women,” the report states.A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, decamped for the hotel’s bar. That’s when “things got fuzzy,” the woman told police.She remembered having a drink at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report states. She also told police that she argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer who was sent to handle the disturbance and spoke to police, according to the report.Soon, she told police, she was inside a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave, according to the report. She also told police she remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” the report said.Her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with a bare-chested Hegseth hovering over her, his dog tags dangling, the report states. Hegseth served in the National Guard, rising to the rank of major.After Hegseth finished, she recalled he threw a towel at her and asked if she was “OK,” the report states. She told police she did not recall how she got back to her own hotel room and had since suffered from nightmares and memory loss.At the time of the alleged assault, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his third wife, according to court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth, according to court records.Hegseth, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 before becoming co-host of “Fox &amp; Friends Weekend,” left the network after Trump announced his intention to nominate him.Hegseth said he attended an after party and drank beer but did not consume liquor, and acknowledged being “buzzed” but not drunk.He said he met the woman at the hotel bar, and she led him by the arm back to his hotel room, which surprised him because he initially had no intention of having sex with her, the report said.Hegseth told investigators that the sexual encounter that followed was consensual, adding that he explicitly asked more than once if she was comfortable. Hegseth said in the morning the woman “showed early signs of regret,” and he assured her that he wouldn’t tell anyone about the encounter.