JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect for allegedly making fake cash.&nbsp;

Earlier this week, patrol officers were sent to investigate suspicious activity occurring at a hotel near 95th Street and Interstate 35 highway in Lenexa, according to a media release.

 The suspects had just left, but the police dispatchers located them using street cameras at a nearby fast-food restaurant.&nbsp; Patrol officers contacted those suspects, and through investigation found evidence of money counterfeiting, including printed currency, a printer and chemicals used to "wash" the ink off bills. 

Two suspects, not from the area, were charged Tuesday with counterfeiting by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office.   

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705452496456.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect for allegedly making fake cash.&nbsp;Earlier this week, patrol officers were sent to investigate suspicious activity occurring at a hotel near 95th Street and Interstate 35 highway in Lenexa, according to a media release. The suspects had just left, but the police dispatchers located them using street cameras at a nearby fast-food restaurant.&nbsp; Patrol officers contacted those suspects, and through investigation found evidence of money counterfeiting, including printed currency, a printer and chemicals used to "wash" the ink off bills. Two suspects, not from the area, were charged Tuesday with counterfeiting by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office.

Police: Suspects charged in Kansas for making counterfeit cash 

BUTLER COUNTY —A horse rescued by emergency crews from a frozen pond in Butler County on Wednesday is improving and now standing on her own.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Butler County Animal Response Team received a mutual aid request from Andover Fire-Rescue for a horse last seen on Tuesday evening that was stuck out on the ice on a pond, according to a social media report.

The three year old 1800 pound draft mare was 15-20 feet out on the pond but had not broken through the ice. She was discovered around noon Wednesday.

Andover Fire-Rescue was able to move her off the ice onto the shore. The horse was unable to stand on her own.

At 1:30p.m., the Butler County Animal Response Team arrived on scene and a veterinarian sedated the horse and secured the animal on a rescue glide so she could be moved away from the pond and onto level, and drier ground.

Rescuers gave the horse fluids and she was blanketed, and allowed to rest and recover. When she was unable to stand, a Becker Sling was applied, and with the assistance of a skip loader, she was raised to a standing position.

After a period of recovery, several attempts were made to have her bear weight. She was unable to stand and lowered back to the ground. The veterinarian remained on scene administering treatment and she was covered and allowed to further rest and recover.

On Thursday the&nbsp;Butler County Animal Response Team returned to provide lifting for the horse. After an evening of close monitoring by her owners, it was determined that 'Brandy' needed assistance to stand.

With the help of Andover Fire and Rescue and a vet, Brandy was repositioned and the Becker Sling was placed and secured to a skid loader.  She was raised to a standing position and gradually lowered so she could bear weight.

After remaining weight bearing, she walked a short distance and was released from the sling.  She walked several feet but due to ground conditions was unable to remain standing.

The Becker Sling was placed and secured to skid loader and Brandy was raised to a standing position and allowed to rest and recover with additional supportive veterinary treatment.

With the support of the Becker Sling and skid loader, she was slowly walked from the pasture to the paddocks and loafing sheds, reuniting with her sister and pasture mates.  The sling was removed and Brandy remained standing.As the team left, she was eating hay in a loafing shed with her sister

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705669084292.png" alt="photos Butler County Animal Response Team" />
 <figcaption>photos Butler County Animal Response Team</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY —A horse rescued by emergency crews from a frozen pond in Butler County on Wednesday is improving and now standing on her own.On Wednesday afternoon, the Butler County Animal Response Team received a mutual aid request from Andover Fire-Rescue for a horse last seen on Tuesday evening that was stuck out on the ice on a pond, according to a social media report.The three year old 1800 pound draft mare was 15-20 feet out on the pond but had not broken through the ice. She was discovered around noon Wednesday.Andover Fire-Rescue was able to move her off the ice onto the shore. The horse was unable to stand on her own.At 1:30p.m., the Butler County Animal Response Team arrived on scene and a veterinarian sedated the horse and secured the animal on a rescue glide so she could be moved away from the pond and onto level, and drier ground.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705592679380.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Rescuers gave the horse fluids and she was blanketed, and allowed to rest and recover. When she was unable to stand, a Becker Sling was applied, and with the assistance of a skip loader, she was raised to a standing position.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705591809396.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>After a period of recovery, several attempts were made to have her bear weight. She was unable to stand and lowered back to the ground. The veterinarian remained on scene administering treatment and she was covered and allowed to further rest and recover.On Thursday the&nbsp;Butler County Animal Response Team returned to provide lifting for the horse. After an evening of close monitoring by her owners, it was determined that 'Brandy' needed assistance to stand.With the help of Andover Fire and Rescue and a vet, Brandy was repositioned and the Becker Sling was placed and secured to a skid loader. She was raised to a standing position and gradually lowered so she could bear weight.After remaining weight bearing, she walked a short distance and was released from the sling. She walked several feet but due to ground conditions was unable to remain standing.The Becker Sling was placed and secured to skid loader and Brandy was raised to a standing position and allowed to rest and recover with additional supportive veterinary treatment.With the support of the Becker Sling and skid loader, she was slowly walked from the pasture to the paddocks and loafing sheds, reuniting with her sister and pasture mates. The sling was removed and Brandy remained standing.As the team left, she was eating hay in a loafing shed with her sister

Horse rescued from frozen Kansas pond is improving

KANSAS CITY—Police released the name of the woman killed in a crash&nbsp; after fleeing a traffic stop in Kansas City as 27-year-old Te'Onna D. Davis-Cannon, according to Police Captain Corey Carlisle, 

Just before 1a.m. Jan. 14, officers attempted to conduct a traffic violation stop on a Chevrolet Trailblazer at&nbsp;Cleaver and Benton in Kansas City.

Davis-Cannon refused to yield for the officers and the officers disregarded their attempts to stop the vehicle.

The Chevrolet was last seen traveling southbound on Swope at a high rate of speed. Just south of Martin Luther King, the SUV traveled off the roadway to the left and struck a large tree.

Davis-Cannon was the sole occupant of the SUV and she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to Carlisle.

KANSAS CITY—Police released the name of the woman killed in a crash&nbsp; after fleeing a traffic stop in Kansas City as 27-year-old Te'Onna D. Davis-Cannon, according to Police Captain Corey Carlisle, Just before 1a.m. Jan. 14, officers attempted to conduct a traffic violation stop on a Chevrolet Trailblazer at&nbsp;Cleaver and Benton in Kansas City.Davis-Cannon refused to yield for the officers and the officers disregarded their attempts to stop the vehicle.The Chevrolet was last seen traveling southbound on Swope at a high rate of speed. Just south of Martin Luther King, the SUV traveled off the roadway to the left and struck a large tree.Davis-Cannon was the sole occupant of the SUV and she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to Carlisle.

Police ID woman who died in KC crash after fleeing traffic stop

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low, as sharply higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a persistently low level of homes on the market combined to push homeownership out of reach for many Americans.

The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s.

The median national home price for all of last year edged up just under 1% to record high $389,800, the NAR said.

Last year’s home sales slump echoes the nearly 18% annual decline in 2022, when mortgage rates began rising, eventually more than doubling by the end of the year. That trend continued in 2023, driving the average rate on a 30-year mortgage by late October to 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000.

The sharply higher home loan borrowing costs limited home hunters' buying power on top of years of soaring prices. A dearth of homes for sale also kept many would-be homebuyers and sellers on the sidelines.

Still, a pullback in mortgage rates since late last year, and forecasts calling for a further rate declines this year, is fueling hopes that home sales will begin to bounce back from their dismal showing in 2023.

“The latest month’s sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. ”Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months.”

Mortgage rates have been mostly easing since November, echoing a pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield has largely come down on hopes that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to shift to cutting interest rates this year.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-f772736312197acdcbe2fcc6fd534e9f">The average rate on a 30-year home loan was 6.6% this week,</a>&nbsp;according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. If rates continue to ease, as many economists expect, that should help boost demand heading into the spring homebuying season, which traditionally begins in late February.

Still, the average rate remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.56%. That large gap between rates now and then has helped limit the number of previously occupied homes on the market by discouraging homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates from selling.

“Prospective homebuyers have been shut out of the market by a lack of inventory,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “If there had been more listings on the market in 2023, we would have had more home sales.”

At the end of December, there were just 1 million homes on the market, the NAR said. While that's a 4.2% increase from a year earlier, the number of available homes remains well below the monthly historical average of about 2.25 million.

The available inventory at the end of last month amounts to a 3.2-month supply, going by the current sales pace. That’s down 3.5% from the previous month, but up from 2.9% from December 2022. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 4- to 6-month supply.

That means homebuyers are likely to face intense competition for the relatively few homes on the market, which should keep pushing up prices.

"There will still be a demand-supply imbalance in the housing market well into 2024,” Sturtevant said.

Despite easing mortgage rates, home sales in December declined after rising the previous month. Existing home sales fell 1% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.78 million, the slowest sales pace since August 2010, the NAR said.

Sales fell 6.2% from a year earlier. Last month’s sales pace is short of the roughly 3.83 million that economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices rose for the sixth straight month in December. The national median home sales price rose 4.4% from a year earlier to $382,600, the NAR said.

Homebuyers continued to face a competitive market due to the shortage of homes for sale.

Homes sold last month typically within just 29 days after hitting the market, and 56% of properties that sold in December were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said.

First-time homebuyers who don’t have any home equity to put toward their down payment continued to have a tough time getting into the housing market. They accounted for just 29% of all homes sold last month, down from 31% in November and December 2022. They've accounted for 40% of sales historically.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624025620777.png" alt="Photo by David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Photo by David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low, as sharply higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a persistently low level of homes on the market combined to push homeownership out of reach for many Americans.The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s.The median national home price for all of last year edged up just under 1% to record high $389,800, the NAR said.Last year’s home sales slump echoes the nearly 18% annual decline in 2022, when mortgage rates began rising, eventually more than doubling by the end of the year. That trend continued in 2023, driving the average rate on a 30-year mortgage by late October to 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000.The sharply higher home loan borrowing costs limited home hunters' buying power on top of years of soaring prices. A dearth of homes for sale also kept many would-be homebuyers and sellers on the sidelines.Still, a pullback in mortgage rates since late last year, and forecasts calling for a further rate declines this year, is fueling hopes that home sales will begin to bounce back from their dismal showing in 2023.“The latest month’s sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. ”Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months.”Mortgage rates have been mostly easing since November, echoing a pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield has largely come down on hopes that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to shift to cutting interest rates this year.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-f772736312197acdcbe2fcc6fd534e9f">The average rate on a 30-year home loan was 6.6% this week,</a>&nbsp;according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. If rates continue to ease, as many economists expect, that should help boost demand heading into the spring homebuying season, which traditionally begins in late February.Still, the average rate remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.56%. That large gap between rates now and then has helped limit the number of previously occupied homes on the market by discouraging homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates from selling.“Prospective homebuyers have been shut out of the market by a lack of inventory,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “If there had been more listings on the market in 2023, we would have had more home sales.”At the end of December, there were just 1 million homes on the market, the NAR said. While that's a 4.2% increase from a year earlier, the number of available homes remains well below the monthly historical average of about 2.25 million.The available inventory at the end of last month amounts to a 3.2-month supply, going by the current sales pace. That’s down 3.5% from the previous month, but up from 2.9% from December 2022. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 4- to 6-month supply.That means homebuyers are likely to face intense competition for the relatively few homes on the market, which should keep pushing up prices."There will still be a demand-supply imbalance in the housing market well into 2024,” Sturtevant said.Despite easing mortgage rates, home sales in December declined after rising the previous month. Existing home sales fell 1% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.78 million, the slowest sales pace since August 2010, the NAR said.Sales fell 6.2% from a year earlier. Last month’s sales pace is short of the roughly 3.83 million that economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Home prices rose for the sixth straight month in December. The national median home sales price rose 4.4% from a year earlier to $382,600, the NAR said.Homebuyers continued to face a competitive market due to the shortage of homes for sale.Homes sold last month typically within just 29 days after hitting the market, and 56% of properties that sold in December were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said.First-time homebuyers who don’t have any home equity to put toward their down payment continued to have a tough time getting into the housing market. They accounted for just 29% of all homes sold last month, down from 31% in November and December 2022. They've accounted for 40% of sales historically.

Home sales slowest in almost 30 years

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting.

Just before 11 p.m. Friday, police were contacted at Olathe Medical Center about a 15-year-old girl who had been driven to the hospital with an apparent gunshot wound, according to Olathe Police&nbsp;Sergeant John Moncayo.

Officers on scene assisted with bringing the girl into the hospital for life-saving measures, but she was pronounced deceased.

It has since been determined the shooting occurred near the 16900 block of West 127th&nbsp;Street.

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting.Just before 11 p.m. Friday, police were contacted at Olathe Medical Center about a 15-year-old girl who had been driven to the hospital with an apparent gunshot wound, according to Olathe Police&nbsp;Sergeant John Moncayo.Officers on scene assisted with bringing the girl into the hospital for life-saving measures, but she was pronounced deceased.It has since been determined the shooting occurred near the 16900 block of West 127th&nbsp;Street.

Police: 15-year-old Kansas girl dies in shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of pro-life supporters under falling snow on Friday at the annual March for Life, as speakers urged the impassioned crowd to capitalize on the movement's major victory in the Supreme Court and keep fighting until abortion is eliminated.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?533055-1/pro-life-advocates-supporters-attend-march-life-rally">Click here to watch </a>a replay of the rally

Months before a presidential election that could be heavily influenced by abortion politics, pro-life activists packed the National Mall carrying signs with messages such as “Life is precious" and “I am the pro-life generation.” After listening to speeches, the crowd, braving frigid temperatures, marched past the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. One group planted in front of Court, beating a drum and chanting: “Everyone you know was once an embryo."

Friday’s March for Life is the second such event in the nation's capital since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade. Last year’s march was triumphant, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-florida-state-government-kentucky-6ed9dbcdaae33312f1425ea38b681a7e">organizers relishing a state-by-state fight</a>&nbsp;in legislatures around the country.

Speakers praised the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade but said it was more important now than ever to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to advance abortion restrictions.

“Roe is done, but we still live in a culture that knows not how to care for life,” said Benjamin Watson, a former NFL player who is now an anti-abortion advocate. “Roe is done, but the factors that drive women to seek abortions are ever apparent and ever increasing. Roe is done, but abortion is still legal and thriving in too much of America.”

Friday's event appeared smaller than in past years as ice and snow complicated travel plans. But the crowd was fired up as speakers, which included members of Congress and Michigan University Football Coach Jim Harbaugh, urged participants to keep fighting until abortion becomes “unthinkable.”

“Let's be encouraged, let's press on and hope that we can join together and make this great difference," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “We can stand with every woman for every child, and we can truly build a culture that cherishes and protects life.”

The snow fell heavily throughout the speeches as young people built snowmen and had snowball fights behind the stage. Near the Capitol, the crowd celebrated as a group on a balcony of the Cannon House Office building cheered on the march.

“I almost didn’t come when I saw the forecast, but this is just incredible,” said Stephanie Simpson, a 42-year-old grocery store employee from Cleveland, who has attended the last four marches.

Roberto Reyes, a Mexican native and Carmelite friar, said: “All these people are going to remember this year’s march for the rest of their lives!”

Members of the crowd described overturning Roe v. Wade as a victory, but said the anti-abortion fight rages on.

“The key message this year is that our work is not done,” said Bishop Michael Burbidge, chair of the committee for pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The movement has seen mixed results. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reverted abortion lawmaking back to the states, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">14 states</a>&nbsp;are now enforcing bans on abortion throughout pregnancy. Two more have such bans on hold because of court rulings. And another two have bans that take effect when cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy — often before women know they’re pregnant.

But abortion restrictions have also lost at the ballot box in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>, Kansas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>. And total bans have produced high-profile causes for abortion rights supporters to rally around.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a Texas mother of two, sought an abortion after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition. Her request for an exemption from Texas’ ban, one of the country’s strictest, was denied by the state Supreme Court, and she left Texas to seek an abortion elsewhere.

Movement organizers now expect abortion rights to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">a major Democratic rallying cry</a>&nbsp;in President Joe Biden's reelection campaign.

“The pro-abortion forces, that's one of the major things they're going to run on,” said Susan Swift, president of Pro-Life Legal and a veteran anti-abortion activist. “That's one of the only things that seems to animate their base.”

Biden campaign officials openly state that they plan to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">make Biden synonymous</a>&nbsp;with the fight to preserve abortion rights.

Vice President Kamala Harris has led the charge on the issue for the White House. She will hold the first event in Wisconsin on Monday, which would have been the 51st anniversary of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-roe-v-wade-33c08858dc8b0aa5f0450858b51a648a">Roe v. Wade</a>, the lawsuit that led to the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705761295598.png" alt="Friday’s March for Life is the second such event in the nation's capital since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Friday’s March for Life is the second such event in the nation's capital since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of pro-life supporters under falling snow on Friday at the annual March for Life, as speakers urged the impassioned crowd to capitalize on the movement's major victory in the Supreme Court and keep fighting until abortion is eliminated.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?533055-1/pro-life-advocates-supporters-attend-march-life-rally">Click here to watch </a>a replay of the rally<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Thank you to everyone who is participating in today’s snowy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchForLife?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchForLife</a> on the National Mall! It’s an honor to fight alongside you for pro-family, pro-children policies here in DC! <a href="https://t.co/VDXNIPsoIL">pic.twitter.com/VDXNIPsoIL</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1748436943971491936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Months before a presidential election that could be heavily influenced by abortion politics, pro-life activists packed the National Mall carrying signs with messages such as “Life is precious" and “I am the pro-life generation.” After listening to speeches, the crowd, braving frigid temperatures, marched past the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. One group planted in front of Court, beating a drum and chanting: “Everyone you know was once an embryo."Friday’s March for Life is the second such event in the nation's capital since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade. Last year’s march was triumphant, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-florida-state-government-kentucky-6ed9dbcdaae33312f1425ea38b681a7e">organizers relishing a state-by-state fight</a>&nbsp;in legislatures around the country.Speakers praised the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade but said it was more important now than ever to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to advance abortion restrictions.“Roe is done, but we still live in a culture that knows not how to care for life,” said Benjamin Watson, a former NFL player who is now an anti-abortion advocate. “Roe is done, but the factors that drive women to seek abortions are ever apparent and ever increasing. Roe is done, but abortion is still legal and thriving in too much of America.”Friday's event appeared smaller than in past years as ice and snow complicated travel plans. But the crowd was fired up as speakers, which included members of Congress and Michigan University Football Coach Jim Harbaugh, urged participants to keep fighting until abortion becomes “unthinkable.”“Let's be encouraged, let's press on and hope that we can join together and make this great difference," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “We can stand with every woman for every child, and we can truly build a culture that cherishes and protects life.”The snow fell heavily throughout the speeches as young people built snowmen and had snowball fights behind the stage. Near the Capitol, the crowd celebrated as a group on a balcony of the Cannon House Office building cheered on the march.“I almost didn’t come when I saw the forecast, but this is just incredible,” said Stephanie Simpson, a 42-year-old grocery store employee from Cleveland, who has attended the last four marches.Roberto Reyes, a Mexican native and Carmelite friar, said: “All these people are going to remember this year’s march for the rest of their lives!”Members of the crowd described overturning Roe v. Wade as a victory, but said the anti-abortion fight rages on.“The key message this year is that our work is not done,” said Bishop Michael Burbidge, chair of the committee for pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.The movement has seen mixed results. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reverted abortion lawmaking back to the states, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">14 states</a>&nbsp;are now enforcing bans on abortion throughout pregnancy. Two more have such bans on hold because of court rulings. And another two have bans that take effect when cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy — often before women know they’re pregnant.But abortion restrictions have also lost at the ballot box in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>, Kansas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>. And total bans have produced high-profile causes for abortion rights supporters to rally around.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a Texas mother of two, sought an abortion after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition. Her request for an exemption from Texas’ ban, one of the country’s strictest, was denied by the state Supreme Court, and she left Texas to seek an abortion elsewhere.Movement organizers now expect abortion rights to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">a major Democratic rallying cry</a>&nbsp;in President Joe Biden's reelection campaign.“The pro-abortion forces, that's one of the major things they're going to run on,” said Susan Swift, president of Pro-Life Legal and a veteran anti-abortion activist. “That's one of the only things that seems to animate their base.”Biden campaign officials openly state that they plan to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">make Biden synonymous</a>&nbsp;with the fight to preserve abortion rights.Vice President Kamala Harris has led the charge on the issue for the White House. She will hold the first event in Wisconsin on Monday, which would have been the 51st anniversary of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-roe-v-wade-33c08858dc8b0aa5f0450858b51a648a">Roe v. Wade</a>, the lawsuit that led to the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.___

🎥 March for Life rallies against abortion with an eye toward the Nov. elections

KANSAS CITY—Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft filed with the United States Supreme Court an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-719/298078/20240118144154284_Trump%20v.%20Anderson%20-%20SOS%20Br.%20Amici%20Curiae%20-%20SCOTUS.pdf" target="_blank">amicus brief</a>&nbsp;in the case Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson. The brief does not endorse either party, but rather qualifies a state’s ability to remove individuals from the ballot.

Language contained in the brief read, “Section 3 of the 14th amendment does not empower state officials such as secretaries of state to disqualify presidential candidates from a state’s presidential primary ballot.” It further stated, “While other parts of the Constitution impose affirmative obligations on the States, those provisions are rote and divorced from the messy—and inherently political— question whether the insurrection clause should bar a candidate from office.”

Ashcroft leads a multi-state coalition in this effort. Kansas and nine other states have joined with Ashcroft supporting the brief including: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“I appreciate the tenacity of so many other secretaries who also believe in good government; who believe in letting the people decide who should be on the ballot,” Ashcroft said.&nbsp; “When one person has the authority to arbitrarily remove a candidate from the list – our republic is in trouble. Having such autonomy would set a dangerous precedent for which a deeply divided nation may never recover.”

Responding from Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen said, “Both the United States Constitution and the Supreme Court of Alabama indicate that to remove a Presidential candidate is not within the authority of my office. My role in this matter is clearly defined and I believe it is important for the United States Supreme Court to be as aware of that as I am.”

“The Presidency is the only office that reaches all 50 states. It is highly impractical to have each of the Secretaries of State make independent judgments that will likely only further divide our country. We look forward to guidance from the Court on how to proceed,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said.

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales said, “I am proud to support and sign this amicus brief.&nbsp; I, along with my fellow Secretaries, know we should not decide whether a presidential candidate should be on the ballot. That is not the job of a Secretary of State. It is our job to run safe and secure elections.&nbsp; It is the voters’ job to elect candidates."

“As I am receiving emails asking me to remove different presidential candidates, it has become imperative for the United States Supreme Court to settle this issue,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Voters, not secretaries of state, should make the decision in the upcoming presidential election. The actions of two other states serve only to cast a cloud over the 2024 elections.”

Ashcroft, a licensed attorney in Missouri, will be attending oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on February 8. “This has the potential to tear our nation apart if left unchecked,” Secretary Ashcroft added.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661713063.png" alt="Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft filed with the United States Supreme Court an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-719/298078/20240118144154284_Trump%20v.%20Anderson%20-%20SOS%20Br.%20Amici%20Curiae%20-%20SCOTUS.pdf" target="_blank">amicus brief</a>&nbsp;in the case Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson. The brief does not endorse either party, but rather qualifies a state’s ability to remove individuals from the ballot.Language contained in the brief read, “Section 3 of the 14th amendment does not empower state officials such as secretaries of state to disqualify presidential candidates from a state’s presidential primary ballot.” It further stated, “While other parts of the Constitution impose affirmative obligations on the States, those provisions are rote and divorced from the messy—and inherently political— question whether the insurrection clause should bar a candidate from office.”Ashcroft leads a multi-state coalition in this effort. Kansas and nine other states have joined with Ashcroft supporting the brief including: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.&nbsp;&nbsp;“I appreciate the tenacity of so many other secretaries who also believe in good government; who believe in letting the people decide who should be on the ballot,” Ashcroft said.&nbsp; “When one person has the authority to arbitrarily remove a candidate from the list – our republic is in trouble. Having such autonomy would set a dangerous precedent for which a deeply divided nation may never recover.”Responding from Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen said, “Both the United States Constitution and the Supreme Court of Alabama indicate that to remove a Presidential candidate is not within the authority of my office. My role in this matter is clearly defined and I believe it is important for the United States Supreme Court to be as aware of that as I am.”“The Presidency is the only office that reaches all 50 states. It is highly impractical to have each of the Secretaries of State make independent judgments that will likely only further divide our country. We look forward to guidance from the Court on how to proceed,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said.Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales said, “I am proud to support and sign this amicus brief.&nbsp; I, along with my fellow Secretaries, know we should not decide whether a presidential candidate should be on the ballot. That is not the job of a Secretary of State. It is our job to run safe and secure elections.&nbsp; It is the voters’ job to elect candidates."“As I am receiving emails asking me to remove different presidential candidates, it has become imperative for the United States Supreme Court to settle this issue,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Voters, not secretaries of state, should make the decision in the upcoming presidential election. The actions of two other states serve only to cast a cloud over the 2024 elections.”Ashcroft, a licensed attorney in Missouri, will be attending oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on February 8. “This has the potential to tear our nation apart if left unchecked,” Secretary Ashcroft added.

Mo., Kan. file brief questioning Trump’s removal from Colorado ballot

JERUSALEM (AP) —U.S. fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-us-military-strikes-dec1682fcb279904f84a8246e987f3fb">for a sixth time Friday</a>, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-houthis-yemen-shipping-attacks-fc5c1ed40f4e370bed81670bfdda0899">ongoing military operations</a>.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war in Gaza is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796">one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns</a>&nbsp;in recent history and has increased tensions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-iran-airstrikes-militants-tensions-israel-hamas-war-palestinians-db154c92bb423936237f48996e237d26">across the Middle East</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Gaza’s Health Ministry</a>&nbsp;says nearly 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, and the United Nations says more than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-12-21-2023-7d9718b32bf0d308c44c7c9e3c4e0deb">are starving</a>.

In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Oct. 7 attack</a>&nbsp;by Hamas that sparked the war, which saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants. More than 100 hostages are believed to be held captive in Gaza.

The strikes come as President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">the bombardment</a>&nbsp;of Houthi sites, including last Friday’s massive array of strikes by U.S. and British forces, has yet to stop the Iranian-backed militants’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.

The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/benjamin-netanyahu">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;finally spoke Friday after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication during which fundamental differences have come into focus over a possible pathway to Palestinian statehood once the fighting in Gaza ends.

Biden and his top aides have all but smothered Netanyahu with robust support, even in the face of global condemnation over the mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian suffering in Gaza as the Israelis have carried out military operations in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

But the leaders' relationship has increasingly shown&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-1-19-2024-e5f45fb7b14d3dc8ff64b0aee4b473aa">signs of strain</a>&nbsp;as Netanyahu has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-18-2024-73d552c6e73e0dc3783a0a11b2b5f67d">repeatedly rebuffed</a>&nbsp;Biden's calls for Palestinian sovereignty, gumming up what the U.S. president believes is the key to unlocking a durable peace in the Middle East — the oft-cited, elusive two-state solution.

Friday's phone call came one day after Netanyahu said that he has told U.S. officials in plain terms that he will not support a Palestinian state as part of any postwar plan. Biden, for his part, in Friday's call reaffirmed his commitment to work toward helping the Palestinians move toward statehood.

“As we’re talking about post-conflict Gaza ... you can’t do that without also talking about the aspirations of the Palestinian people and what that needs to look like for them,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

The leaders spoke frequently in the first weeks of the war. But the regular cadence of calls between Biden and Netanyahu, who have had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-government-and-politics-216dd66d518577ef1e5be1cf2e8a2f37">hot-and-cold relationship</a>&nbsp;for over three decades, has slowed considerably. Their 30- to 40-minute call Friday was their first conversation since Dec. 23.

Both sides are hemmed in by domestic political considerations.

The chasm between Biden, a center-left Democrat, and Netanyahu, who leads the most conservative government in Israel’s history, has expanded as pressure mounts on the United States to use its considerable leverage to press Israel to wind down a war that has already killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians.

There is also growing impatience with Netanyahu in Israel over the lack of progress in freeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hostages-hamas-100-days-goldbergpolin-7d397419d6556cb1256ca7fbd54e83bb">dozens of hostages still held</a>&nbsp;by Islamic militants in Gaza.

“There is certainly a reason to be concerned,” says Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, “The more and more we see political considerations dominating the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu, which is likely to continue because of the upcoming presidential election and the weakness of both leaders, the more we will see them pulling apart.”

In their most recent calls, Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu has grown more evident, even though the U.S. leader has been careful to reaffirm his support for Israel at each step, according to U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders' private interactions.

Yet, Biden, at least publicly, has not given up on the idea of winning over Netanyahu. Asked by a reporter on Friday if a two-state solution is impossible while Netanyahu is in office, Biden replied, “No, it's not.”

Aides insist Biden understands the political box Netanyahu finds himself in with his hard-right coalition and as he deals with ongoing corruption charges that have left the prime minister fighting for his freedom, not just his political future.

Biden, meanwhile, faces American voters in November, in a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump. Netanyahu and Trump forged a close relationship during the Republican’s term in office. Biden faces criticism from some on his left who believe he hasn't pushed the Israelis hard enough to demonstrate restraint as it carries out military operations.

Key Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, this week warned that Netanyahu's position on statehood could complicate negotiations in the Senate on a spending package that includes military aid for Israel.

Expect Netanyahu to “use every trick that he has to keep his coalition together and avoid elections and play out the clock,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. ”And I’m sure that part of it is a conviction that if he waits until November, he may end up with Donald Trump back in the Oval Office.”

In recent weeks, some of the more difficult conversations have been left to Ron Dermer, a top aide to Netanyahu and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The two top aides talk almost daily — sometimes multiple times during a day, according to a U.S. official and an Israeli official, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Other senior Biden administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as senior advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, have been at the forefront of the administration's push to engage the Israelis and other Middle East allies as the Biden-Netanyahu dialogue has become less constructive.

Netanyahu, who has opposed calls for a two-state solution throughout his political career, told reporters this week that he flatly told U.S. officials he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-18-2024-73d552c6e73e0dc3783a0a11b2b5f67d">remains opposed</a>&nbsp;to any postwar plan that includes establishment of a Palestinian state.

The prime minister's latest rejection of Biden's push in that direction came after Blinken this week said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Israel and its Middle East neighbors had “a profound opportunity” to solve the generational Israel-Palestinian conflict. Asked if he thought Netanyahu was up to making the most of the moment, Blinken demurred.

“Look, these are decisions for Israelis to make,” Blinken said. “This is a profound decision for the country as a whole to make: What direction does it want to take? Does it see — can it seize — the opportunity that we believe is there?”

The Biden-Netanyahu relationship has seen no shortage of peaks and valleys over the years. As vice president, Biden privately criticized Netanyahu after the the Israeli leader embarrassed President Barack Obama by approving the construction of 1,600 new apartments in disputed East Jerusalem in the middle of Biden’s 2010 visit to Israel.

Netanyahu publicly resisted, before eventually relenting to, Biden's calls on the Israelis to wind down a May 2021 military operation in Gaza. And in late 2019, during a question and answer session with voters on the campaign trail, Biden called Netanyahu an “extreme right” leader.

The path to a two-state solution — one in which Israel would co-exist with an independent Palestinian state — has eluded U.S. presidents and Middle East diplomats for decades.

But as the war grinds on, Biden and his team have pressed the notion that there is a new dynamic in the Middle East in which Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors stand ready to integrate Israel into the region once the war ends, but only if Israel commits to a pathway to a Palestinian state.

Biden has proposed that a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank, could run Gaza once combat ends. Netanyahu has roundly rejected the idea of putting the Palestinian Authority, which is beset by corruption, in charge of the territory.

Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian state would become a launchpad for attacks on Israel. So Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said. “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

White House officials have sought to play down Netanyahu's public rejection of Biden's call for a two-state solution, noting that the prime minister's rhetoric is not new.

They hold out hope Israel could eventually come around to accepting a Palestinian state that comes with strong security guarantees for Israel.

"I don’t think Biden has any illusions about Netanyahu,” said Daniel Kurtzer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Egypt during the Bill Clinton administration and to Israel under George W. Bush. “But I don’t think he’s ready to slam the door on him. And that’s because he gets the intersection between the policy and the politics.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705692352787.png" alt="Biden said the air strikes in Yemen are not stopping the Houthis but will continue-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Biden said the air strikes in Yemen are not stopping the Houthis but will continue-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM (AP) —U.S. fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-us-military-strikes-dec1682fcb279904f84a8246e987f3fb">for a sixth time Friday</a>, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-houthis-yemen-shipping-attacks-fc5c1ed40f4e370bed81670bfdda0899">ongoing military operations</a>.The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war in Gaza is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796">one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns</a>&nbsp;in recent history and has increased tensions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-iran-airstrikes-militants-tensions-israel-hamas-war-palestinians-db154c92bb423936237f48996e237d26">across the Middle East</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Gaza’s Health Ministry</a>&nbsp;says nearly 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, and the United Nations says more than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-12-21-2023-7d9718b32bf0d308c44c7c9e3c4e0deb">are starving</a>.In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Oct. 7 attack</a>&nbsp;by Hamas that sparked the war, which saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants. More than 100 hostages are believed to be held captive in Gaza.The strikes come as President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">the bombardment</a>&nbsp;of Houthi sites, including last Friday’s massive array of strikes by U.S. and British forces, has yet to stop the Iranian-backed militants’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Meanwhile,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/benjamin-netanyahu">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;finally spoke Friday after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication during which fundamental differences have come into focus over a possible pathway to Palestinian statehood once the fighting in Gaza ends.Biden and his top aides have all but smothered Netanyahu with robust support, even in the face of global condemnation over the mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian suffering in Gaza as the Israelis have carried out military operations in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.But the leaders' relationship has increasingly shown&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-1-19-2024-e5f45fb7b14d3dc8ff64b0aee4b473aa">signs of strain</a>&nbsp;as Netanyahu has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-18-2024-73d552c6e73e0dc3783a0a11b2b5f67d">repeatedly rebuffed</a>&nbsp;Biden's calls for Palestinian sovereignty, gumming up what the U.S. president believes is the key to unlocking a durable peace in the Middle East — the oft-cited, elusive two-state solution.Neither side shows signs of budging.Friday's phone call came one day after Netanyahu said that he has told U.S. officials in plain terms that he will not support a Palestinian state as part of any postwar plan. Biden, for his part, in Friday's call reaffirmed his commitment to work toward helping the Palestinians move toward statehood.“As we’re talking about post-conflict Gaza ... you can’t do that without also talking about the aspirations of the Palestinian people and what that needs to look like for them,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.The leaders spoke frequently in the first weeks of the war. But the regular cadence of calls between Biden and Netanyahu, who have had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-government-and-politics-216dd66d518577ef1e5be1cf2e8a2f37">hot-and-cold relationship</a>&nbsp;for over three decades, has slowed considerably. Their 30- to 40-minute call Friday was their first conversation since Dec. 23.Both sides are hemmed in by domestic political considerations.The chasm between Biden, a center-left Democrat, and Netanyahu, who leads the most conservative government in Israel’s history, has expanded as pressure mounts on the United States to use its considerable leverage to press Israel to wind down a war that has already killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians.There is also growing impatience with Netanyahu in Israel over the lack of progress in freeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hostages-hamas-100-days-goldbergpolin-7d397419d6556cb1256ca7fbd54e83bb">dozens of hostages still held</a>&nbsp;by Islamic militants in Gaza.“There is certainly a reason to be concerned,” says Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, “The more and more we see political considerations dominating the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu, which is likely to continue because of the upcoming presidential election and the weakness of both leaders, the more we will see them pulling apart.”In their most recent calls, Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu has grown more evident, even though the U.S. leader has been careful to reaffirm his support for Israel at each step, according to U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders' private interactions.Yet, Biden, at least publicly, has not given up on the idea of winning over Netanyahu. Asked by a reporter on Friday if a two-state solution is impossible while Netanyahu is in office, Biden replied, “No, it's not.”Aides insist Biden understands the political box Netanyahu finds himself in with his hard-right coalition and as he deals with ongoing corruption charges that have left the prime minister fighting for his freedom, not just his political future.Biden, meanwhile, faces American voters in November, in a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump. Netanyahu and Trump forged a close relationship during the Republican’s term in office. Biden faces criticism from some on his left who believe he hasn't pushed the Israelis hard enough to demonstrate restraint as it carries out military operations.Key Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, this week warned that Netanyahu's position on statehood could complicate negotiations in the Senate on a spending package that includes military aid for Israel.Expect Netanyahu to “use every trick that he has to keep his coalition together and avoid elections and play out the clock,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. ”And I’m sure that part of it is a conviction that if he waits until November, he may end up with Donald Trump back in the Oval Office.”In recent weeks, some of the more difficult conversations have been left to Ron Dermer, a top aide to Netanyahu and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The two top aides talk almost daily — sometimes multiple times during a day, according to a U.S. official and an Israeli official, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.Other senior Biden administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as senior advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, have been at the forefront of the administration's push to engage the Israelis and other Middle East allies as the Biden-Netanyahu dialogue has become less constructive.Netanyahu, who has opposed calls for a two-state solution throughout his political career, told reporters this week that he flatly told U.S. officials he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-18-2024-73d552c6e73e0dc3783a0a11b2b5f67d">remains opposed</a>&nbsp;to any postwar plan that includes establishment of a Palestinian state.The prime minister's latest rejection of Biden's push in that direction came after Blinken this week said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Israel and its Middle East neighbors had “a profound opportunity” to solve the generational Israel-Palestinian conflict. Asked if he thought Netanyahu was up to making the most of the moment, Blinken demurred.“Look, these are decisions for Israelis to make,” Blinken said. “This is a profound decision for the country as a whole to make: What direction does it want to take? Does it see — can it seize — the opportunity that we believe is there?”The Biden-Netanyahu relationship has seen no shortage of peaks and valleys over the years. As vice president, Biden privately criticized Netanyahu after the the Israeli leader embarrassed President Barack Obama by approving the construction of 1,600 new apartments in disputed East Jerusalem in the middle of Biden’s 2010 visit to Israel.Netanyahu publicly resisted, before eventually relenting to, Biden's calls on the Israelis to wind down a May 2021 military operation in Gaza. And in late 2019, during a question and answer session with voters on the campaign trail, Biden called Netanyahu an “extreme right” leader.The path to a two-state solution — one in which Israel would co-exist with an independent Palestinian state — has eluded U.S. presidents and Middle East diplomats for decades.But as the war grinds on, Biden and his team have pressed the notion that there is a new dynamic in the Middle East in which Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors stand ready to integrate Israel into the region once the war ends, but only if Israel commits to a pathway to a Palestinian state.Biden has proposed that a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank, could run Gaza once combat ends. Netanyahu has roundly rejected the idea of putting the Palestinian Authority, which is beset by corruption, in charge of the territory.Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian state would become a launchpad for attacks on Israel. So Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said. “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”White House officials have sought to play down Netanyahu's public rejection of Biden's call for a two-state solution, noting that the prime minister's rhetoric is not new.They hold out hope Israel could eventually come around to accepting a Palestinian state that comes with strong security guarantees for Israel."I don’t think Biden has any illusions about Netanyahu,” said Daniel Kurtzer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Egypt during the Bill Clinton administration and to Israel under George W. Bush. “But I don’t think he’s ready to slam the door on him. And that’s because he gets the intersection between the policy and the politics.”

Attacks continue in Red Sea despite series of U.S. military strikes

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday reinstated Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr., who had been suspended from the team since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/illinois-terrence-shannon-326d92b58d5d86f7492f35e8e4458553">he was charged with rape</a>&nbsp;in Kansas.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless found that the university had violated Shannon's civil rights.

The suspension, she ruled, deprived Shannon of “protected property interests” without due process. In the case of Shannon, whom the court noted is supporting several family members, his property interests include retaining his chances to be an NBA lottery pick — among the first 14 players taken in the draft — and to cash in on potential endorsements allowed under the NCAA's name, image and likeness (NIL) policy.

“Plaintiff’s participation in sports is vital to the development of his career as well as his current and future economic opportunities considering plaintiff’s intention to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Lawless wrote in the order issued Friday. “Prior to his suspension, plaintiff was projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA. His participation in future games impact his prospects in the draft and his earning potential.”

Lawless said that the “public interest is not harmed” by putting in place “procedural safeguards while he is presumed innocent of the criminal charges.”

The preliminary injunction gives the university the right to appeal. In a statement, Associate Chancellor Robin Kaler said Shannon “has been reinstated to full status as a university student-athlete and will be available for basketball practice and competition. We will continue to review the court order and monitor the case.”

Shannon, a 6-foot-6 guard, missed six games during his suspension. The 14th-ranked Illini have gone 4-2 in his absence and host Rutgers on Sunday. He is averaging a team-best 21.7 points per game.

Prosecutors in Douglas County, Kansas, charged Shannon on Dec. 5 with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery. After an arrest warrant was issued, the university suspended Shannon on Dec. 28 from “all team activities, effective immediately.”

The rape charge carries a sentence of 12 to 54 years in prison, while the battery charge carries a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail.

The alleged incident occurred early on Sept. 9 after Shannon and a friend attended the Illini's football game at Kansas. Police reports that are part of the court record indicate a woman, who said she was born in 2005, told police she was at a bar when she was summoned by a man&nbsp;<a href="https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball">she later identified from an online team roster</a>&nbsp;as Shannon.

The woman said Shannon grabbed her buttocks and then reached under her skirt and touched her sexually. The woman said the bar was so crowded, she couldn't move.

However, a graduate assistant for the Illini basketball team who was assigned to drive Shannon and a teammate to Kansas and chaperone them said he was near Shannon the entire night and saw no activity of the type the woman described.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703798657514.png" alt="Shannon-photo courtesy University of Illinois athletics" />
 <figcaption>Shannon-photo courtesy University of Illinois athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday reinstated Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr., who had been suspended from the team since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/illinois-terrence-shannon-326d92b58d5d86f7492f35e8e4458553">he was charged with rape</a>&nbsp;in Kansas.U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless found that the university had violated Shannon's civil rights.The suspension, she ruled, deprived Shannon of “protected property interests” without due process. In the case of Shannon, whom the court noted is supporting several family members, his property interests include retaining his chances to be an NBA lottery pick — among the first 14 players taken in the draft — and to cash in on potential endorsements allowed under the NCAA's name, image and likeness (NIL) policy.“Plaintiff’s participation in sports is vital to the development of his career as well as his current and future economic opportunities considering plaintiff’s intention to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Lawless wrote in the order issued Friday. “Prior to his suspension, plaintiff was projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA. His participation in future games impact his prospects in the draft and his earning potential.”Lawless said that the “public interest is not harmed” by putting in place “procedural safeguards while he is presumed innocent of the criminal charges.”The preliminary injunction gives the university the right to appeal. In a statement, Associate Chancellor Robin Kaler said Shannon “has been reinstated to full status as a university student-athlete and will be available for basketball practice and competition. We will continue to review the court order and monitor the case.”Shannon, a 6-foot-6 guard, missed six games during his suspension. The 14th-ranked Illini have gone 4-2 in his absence and host Rutgers on Sunday. He is averaging a team-best 21.7 points per game.Prosecutors in Douglas County, Kansas, charged Shannon on Dec. 5 with rape or an alternative count of sexual battery. After an arrest warrant was issued, the university suspended Shannon on Dec. 28 from “all team activities, effective immediately.”The rape charge carries a sentence of 12 to 54 years in prison, while the battery charge carries a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail.The alleged incident occurred early on Sept. 9 after Shannon and a friend attended the Illini's football game at Kansas. Police reports that are part of the court record indicate a woman, who said she was born in 2005, told police she was at a bar when she was summoned by a man&nbsp;<a href="https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball">she later identified from an online team roster</a>&nbsp;as Shannon.The woman said Shannon grabbed her buttocks and then reached under her skirt and touched her sexually. The woman said the bar was so crowded, she couldn't move.However, a graduate assistant for the Illini basketball team who was assigned to drive Shannon and a teammate to Kansas and chaperone them said he was near Shannon the entire night and saw no activity of the type the woman described.

Judge ends suspension of basketball star charged in Kan. for alleged rape

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Fire crews hit the ice Friday to save a swan&nbsp;unable to move due to the size of the hole he was in versus the size of his feet, according to a social media report from the Wichita Fire Department.

 Crews reported the swan wasn't harmed in the rescue and no "fowl language was heard."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705694371374.png" alt="Photo Wichita Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>Photo Wichita Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Fire crews hit the ice Friday to save a swan&nbsp;unable to move due to the size of the hole he was in versus the size of his feet, according to a social media report from the Wichita Fire Department.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705694342753.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure> Crews reported the swan wasn't harmed in the rescue and no "fowl language was heard."

Fire crews rescue swan stranded on icy Kansas lake

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump used his social media platform Friday to mock&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nikki-haley">Nikki Haley</a>&nbsp;'s birth name, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color, especially his political rivals.

In a post on his Truth Social account,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Trump</a>&nbsp;repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.

Trump called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn't have what it takes.”

The attack comes four days before the New Hampshire primary, in which Haley is trying to establish herself as the only viable Trump alternative in the Republicans' 2024 nominating contest.

Trump's post was an escalation of recent attacks in which he referenced Haley's given first name — though he's misspelled it “Nimrada” — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-nikki-haley-eligible-president-140548395483">falsely asserted</a>&nbsp;she is ineligible for the presidency because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born in 1972.

The attacks echo&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-general-news-events-61f7085d848248cd98410027d33f2101">Trump's “birther” rhetoric against President Barack Obama</a>. Trump spent years pushing the conspiracy theory that the nation's first Black president was born in Kenya and not a “natural born” U.S. citizen as required by the Constitution. That effort was part of Trump's rise among Republicans' most culturally conservative base ahead of his 2016 election that surprised much of the U.S. political establishment.

Haley has dismissed Trump's latest attacks as proof that she threatens his bid for a third consecutive nomination.

“That’s what he does when he feels threatened. That’s what he does when he feels insecure,” Haley told reporters in New Hampshire on Friday when asked about Trump's false assertions that her heritage disqualifies her from the Oval Office. “I know that I am a threat. I know that’s why he’s doing that. So it’s not going to waste any energy for me.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately reply to an inquiry about his comments.

Since Monday's Iowa caucuses — which Trump won by 30 points over Ron DeSantis, who placed second — Haley has aimed to portray the rest of the GOP primary battle as a two-way race between Trump and herself despite her narrow third-place finish. Haley's campaign is aiming for a stronger showing in New Hampshire, hoping for a springboard into her home-state South Carolina, which holds the South's first presidential primary next month.

For his part, Trump bounces between declarations that the nominating fight already is effectively over and blasting Haley as if the two are indeed locked in a tight contest. Trump still criticizes his other remaining rival, DeSantis, but his preferred pejoratives for the Florida governor, “Ron DeSanctimonious” or “Ron DeSanctus,” has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. DeSantis is white.

Pastor Darrell Scott, a Black man who has led a diversity coalition for Trump’s previous campaigns, defended the former president's attacks on Haley as “slings and arrows” that come in election season.

“You have to dissect politics as politics. It’s not personal,” said Scott. “He’s not intending to demean her or degrade her in any way. He’s just doing that to garner votes.”

Scott defended Trump's aggressive approach generally as a “goose-and-gander situation” for a public figure constantly “under attack for everything.”

Tara Setmayer, senior adviser to the Lincoln Project group that opposes Trump from within the conservative movement, agreed that Trump’s rhetoric works in a Republican primary. But she said that’s a damning reality for the party and does not excuse his behavior.

“These are the rantings of an incredibly, almost pathetically insecure man who has demonstrated over his entire career his racism and bigotry,” said Setmayer, who is multiracial and calls herself a former Republican and now a conservative independent. “Why would anyone expect it to be any different now, when an entire political party has enabled this level of morally questionable behavior?”

Trump has a long history of using race, ethnicity and immigrant heritage as a cudgel.

For years, he has referred to Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama,” putting an obvious emphasis on the 44th president's middle name. Obama was the son of an white American mother and a Black father from Kenya. He was born in Hawaii, though Trump spent years asserting Obama had manufactured the story and a birth certificate to support it. Trump eventually admitted his claims were false but then, during the 2016 general election, said he did so only to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/events-united-states-presidential-election-26d97545011649599ae5a9aed6e4c54a">“get on with the campaign.”</a>

When David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-general-news-events-2a7d4a5264a04b76a31b5b5bcb8e580a">encouraged Republican primary voters</a>&nbsp;to back Trump in 2016, Trump responded in a CNN interview that he knew “nothing about David Duke, I know nothing about white supremacists.”

Trump is also among many Republicans who deliberately mispronounce Vice President Kamala Harris's name. Rather than the correct “KA'-ma-la,” Trump sometimes says, “Ka-MAH-la.” Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, is the first woman to become vice president and the second non-white person as either president or vice president, following Obama.

Leading up to Trump’s 2017 inauguration, civil rights icon John Lewis, then a Black congressman from Georgia, said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration because he considered him an illegitimate president. Trump reacted by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-events-a4d26580a09344e386bb0a55ae9ca5e5">blasting Lewis’s Atlanta-based district</a>&nbsp;as being in “horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested).” The district includes downtown Atlanta, Coca-Cola’s world headquarters, the Georgia Institute of Technology and principal sites of the 1996 Olympic Games, among other attributes.

During his presidency, Trump questioned during a meeting with lawmakers why the U.S. would accept immigrants from Haiti and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-international-news-fdda2ff0b877416c8ae1c1a77a3cc425">“shithole countries”</a>&nbsp;across Africa instead of countries like Norway. He did not explicitly mention race but the White House followed disclosure of his comments with a statement explaining that Trump supported granting access to the U.S. for “those who can contribute to our society.”

He also has said that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/728ada1e918a482c9e9b1f3e24937caa">four congresswomen of color</a>&nbsp;should go back to the “broken and crime infested” countries they came from, ignoring the fact that all of the women are American citizens and three were born in the U.S.

Trump himself is the grandson of a Bavarian-born German immigrant, Frederick Trump.

Haley frames her family's story as proof that the U.S. “is not a racist country.” She sometimes highlights her role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-d0b5cc464ccc4baeb40bbdae66600916">taking down the Confederate battle flag</a>&nbsp;from South Carolina statehouse grounds after a racist massacre in her state — though she had sidestepped requests to remove the banner earlier in her term. And Haley has for years navigated Trump's penchant for racist rhetoric.

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump used his social media platform Friday to mock&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nikki-haley">Nikki Haley</a>&nbsp;'s birth name, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color, especially his political rivals.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705698852949.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In a post on his Truth Social account,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Trump</a>&nbsp;repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.Trump called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn't have what it takes.”The attack comes four days before the New Hampshire primary, in which Haley is trying to establish herself as the only viable Trump alternative in the Republicans' 2024 nominating contest.Trump's post was an escalation of recent attacks in which he referenced Haley's given first name — though he's misspelled it “Nimrada” — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-nikki-haley-eligible-president-140548395483">falsely asserted</a>&nbsp;she is ineligible for the presidency because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born in 1972.The attacks echo&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-general-news-events-61f7085d848248cd98410027d33f2101">Trump's “birther” rhetoric against President Barack Obama</a>. Trump spent years pushing the conspiracy theory that the nation's first Black president was born in Kenya and not a “natural born” U.S. citizen as required by the Constitution. That effort was part of Trump's rise among Republicans' most culturally conservative base ahead of his 2016 election that surprised much of the U.S. political establishment.Haley has dismissed Trump's latest attacks as proof that she threatens his bid for a third consecutive nomination.“That’s what he does when he feels threatened. That’s what he does when he feels insecure,” Haley told reporters in New Hampshire on Friday when asked about Trump's false assertions that her heritage disqualifies her from the Oval Office. “I know that I am a threat. I know that’s why he’s doing that. So it’s not going to waste any energy for me.”Trump’s campaign did not immediately reply to an inquiry about his comments.Since Monday's Iowa caucuses — which Trump won by 30 points over Ron DeSantis, who placed second — Haley has aimed to portray the rest of the GOP primary battle as a two-way race between Trump and herself despite her narrow third-place finish. Haley's campaign is aiming for a stronger showing in New Hampshire, hoping for a springboard into her home-state South Carolina, which holds the South's first presidential primary next month.For his part, Trump bounces between declarations that the nominating fight already is effectively over and blasting Haley as if the two are indeed locked in a tight contest. Trump still criticizes his other remaining rival, DeSantis, but his preferred pejoratives for the Florida governor, “Ron DeSanctimonious” or “Ron DeSanctus,” has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. DeSantis is white.Pastor Darrell Scott, a Black man who has led a diversity coalition for Trump’s previous campaigns, defended the former president's attacks on Haley as “slings and arrows” that come in election season.“You have to dissect politics as politics. It’s not personal,” said Scott. “He’s not intending to demean her or degrade her in any way. He’s just doing that to garner votes.”Scott defended Trump's aggressive approach generally as a “goose-and-gander situation” for a public figure constantly “under attack for everything.”Tara Setmayer, senior adviser to the Lincoln Project group that opposes Trump from within the conservative movement, agreed that Trump’s rhetoric works in a Republican primary. But she said that’s a damning reality for the party and does not excuse his behavior.“These are the rantings of an incredibly, almost pathetically insecure man who has demonstrated over his entire career his racism and bigotry,” said Setmayer, who is multiracial and calls herself a former Republican and now a conservative independent. “Why would anyone expect it to be any different now, when an entire political party has enabled this level of morally questionable behavior?”Trump has a long history of using race, ethnicity and immigrant heritage as a cudgel.For years, he has referred to Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama,” putting an obvious emphasis on the 44th president's middle name. Obama was the son of an white American mother and a Black father from Kenya. He was born in Hawaii, though Trump spent years asserting Obama had manufactured the story and a birth certificate to support it. Trump eventually admitted his claims were false but then, during the 2016 general election, said he did so only to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/events-united-states-presidential-election-26d97545011649599ae5a9aed6e4c54a">“get on with the campaign.”</a>When David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-general-news-events-2a7d4a5264a04b76a31b5b5bcb8e580a">encouraged Republican primary voters</a>&nbsp;to back Trump in 2016, Trump responded in a CNN interview that he knew “nothing about David Duke, I know nothing about white supremacists.”Trump is also among many Republicans who deliberately mispronounce Vice President Kamala Harris's name. Rather than the correct “KA'-ma-la,” Trump sometimes says, “Ka-MAH-la.” Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, is the first woman to become vice president and the second non-white person as either president or vice president, following Obama.Leading up to Trump’s 2017 inauguration, civil rights icon John Lewis, then a Black congressman from Georgia, said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration because he considered him an illegitimate president. Trump reacted by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-events-a4d26580a09344e386bb0a55ae9ca5e5">blasting Lewis’s Atlanta-based district</a>&nbsp;as being in “horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested).” The district includes downtown Atlanta, Coca-Cola’s world headquarters, the Georgia Institute of Technology and principal sites of the 1996 Olympic Games, among other attributes.During his presidency, Trump questioned during a meeting with lawmakers why the U.S. would accept immigrants from Haiti and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-international-news-fdda2ff0b877416c8ae1c1a77a3cc425">“shithole countries”</a>&nbsp;across Africa instead of countries like Norway. He did not explicitly mention race but the White House followed disclosure of his comments with a statement explaining that Trump supported granting access to the U.S. for “those who can contribute to our society.”He also has said that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/728ada1e918a482c9e9b1f3e24937caa">four congresswomen of color</a>&nbsp;should go back to the “broken and crime infested” countries they came from, ignoring the fact that all of the women are American citizens and three were born in the U.S.Trump himself is the grandson of a Bavarian-born German immigrant, Frederick Trump.Haley frames her family's story as proof that the U.S. “is not a racist country.” She sometimes highlights her role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-d0b5cc464ccc4baeb40bbdae66600916">taking down the Confederate battle flag</a>&nbsp;from South Carolina statehouse grounds after a racist massacre in her state — though she had sidestepped requests to remove the banner earlier in her term. And Haley has for years navigated Trump's penchant for racist rhetoric.

Trump mocks Nikki Haley's first name in latest social media attack 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' top court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of fatally shooting three adults and a toddler, ruling that he did not clearly invoke his right to remain silent before making statements crucial to his conviction.

The state Supreme Court's lone dissenter in the case of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-kansas-city-ottawa-kansas-topeka-912be290499253e31f28581c6cb33df4">Kyle Trevor Flack</a>&nbsp;argued that the 6-1 majority was requiring a “proper incantation” and forcing suspects wanting to remain silent to apply “arcane philosophies” of law. Even though she called for a new trial for Flack, she called the evidence against him “overwhelming.”

Flack was sentenced to die for the April 2013 deaths of Kaylie Bailey, 21, from the Kansas City area; her 18-month-old daughter, Lana; Andrew Stout, 30, of Ottawa, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, and Steven White, 31, also from Ottawa. The adults’ bodies were found on a farm, while the toddler’s body was found in a suitcase in a rural creek.

The state-appointed attorney for Flack's appeal argued that prosecutors in Franklin County built their case against him on incriminating statements he made during police interviews. Prosecutors argued they also had strong circumstantial evidence against Flack.

The attorney argued that the trial judge should have refused to allow prosecutors to use the statements as evidence. During his interrogation, Flack repeatedly made statements suggesting he wanted to end the questioning, including, “Take me to jail! Take me to jail! Take me to jail!”

But in its unsigned opinion, the court's majority said his statements could have been interpreted by police in a variety of ways: an insistence he didn't know about what they were asking, a recognition that he was in a difficult circumstance, an effort to negotiate with officers or an attempt to bolster his credibility. The court also upheld his convictions for capital murder and other crimes.

“Isolated or combined, his statements did not unambiguously and unequivocally assert his right to silence,” the majority wrote.

Dissenting Justice Evelyn Wilson, a former district judge, said the videos of Flack's interviews — and not just the transcripts — were the best evidence for whether Flack was invoking his right to remain silent. She said the videos showed that Flack wanted to end the police interrogation and return to jail, so clearly that no officer could have misinterpreted them.

In many cases, police, prosecutors and courts have resorted to using a “mastery of speculative mental gymnastics” to justify a conclusion that a suspect is not invoking their right to remain silent, she wrote.

A ‘right’ to silence which cannot be exercised in practice — even by actual silence — is no right at all," Wilson wrote.

Flack’s attorney raised numerous other issues, which all of the justices, including Wilson, rejected. When the court heard from attorneys in Flack's case in January 2022, those arguments focused heavily on whether prosecutors should have been allowed to use his incriminating statements as evidence.

Flack is one of nine men on death row in Kansas, and the last one to be sentenced to lethal injection. The state has not executed anyone since 1965.

Even after Flack’s trial, it wasn’t clear what led to the shootings, which detectives believe happened over separate days. The defense argued that Flack, who was 28 at the time of the crimes and is now 38, suffered from a severe mental illness that caused him to hear voices throughout adulthood.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643671683978.png" alt="Flack-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Flack-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' top court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of fatally shooting three adults and a toddler, ruling that he did not clearly invoke his right to remain silent before making statements crucial to his conviction.The state Supreme Court's lone dissenter in the case of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-kansas-city-ottawa-kansas-topeka-912be290499253e31f28581c6cb33df4">Kyle Trevor Flack</a>&nbsp;argued that the 6-1 majority was requiring a “proper incantation” and forcing suspects wanting to remain silent to apply “arcane philosophies” of law. Even though she called for a new trial for Flack, she called the evidence against him “overwhelming.”Flack was sentenced to die for the April 2013 deaths of Kaylie Bailey, 21, from the Kansas City area; her 18-month-old daughter, Lana; Andrew Stout, 30, of Ottawa, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, and Steven White, 31, also from Ottawa. The adults’ bodies were found on a farm, while the toddler’s body was found in a suitcase in a rural creek.The state-appointed attorney for Flack's appeal argued that prosecutors in Franklin County built their case against him on incriminating statements he made during police interviews. Prosecutors argued they also had strong circumstantial evidence against Flack.The attorney argued that the trial judge should have refused to allow prosecutors to use the statements as evidence. During his interrogation, Flack repeatedly made statements suggesting he wanted to end the questioning, including, “Take me to jail! Take me to jail! Take me to jail!”But in its unsigned opinion, the court's majority said his statements could have been interpreted by police in a variety of ways: an insistence he didn't know about what they were asking, a recognition that he was in a difficult circumstance, an effort to negotiate with officers or an attempt to bolster his credibility. The court also upheld his convictions for capital murder and other crimes.“Isolated or combined, his statements did not unambiguously and unequivocally assert his right to silence,” the majority wrote.Dissenting Justice Evelyn Wilson, a former district judge, said the videos of Flack's interviews — and not just the transcripts — were the best evidence for whether Flack was invoking his right to remain silent. She said the videos showed that Flack wanted to end the police interrogation and return to jail, so clearly that no officer could have misinterpreted them.In many cases, police, prosecutors and courts have resorted to using a “mastery of speculative mental gymnastics” to justify a conclusion that a suspect is not invoking their right to remain silent, she wrote.A ‘right’ to silence which cannot be exercised in practice — even by actual silence — is no right at all," Wilson wrote.Flack’s attorney raised numerous other issues, which all of the justices, including Wilson, rejected. When the court heard from attorneys in Flack's case in January 2022, those arguments focused heavily on whether prosecutors should have been allowed to use his incriminating statements as evidence.Flack is one of nine men on death row in Kansas, and the last one to be sentenced to lethal injection. The state has not executed anyone since 1965.Even after Flack’s trial, it wasn’t clear what led to the shootings, which detectives believe happened over separate days. The defense argued that Flack, who was 28 at the time of the crimes and is now 38, suffered from a severe mental illness that caused him to hear voices throughout adulthood.

Kan. court upholds death sentence in killing of 3 adults, toddler

DEFIANCE, Mo. (AP) — A house exploded in a rural area of eastern Missouri on Friday, killing two children, authorities said.

Emergency responders were called just before 7:45 a.m. to a home in Defiance, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of St. Louis. Two children, boys ages 4 and 6, were trapped in the house, but the intense flames prevented responders from getting to them.

Two adults who lived in the home survived, authorities said. One suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene. The other wasn't hurt.

A St. Charles County police officer also was treated for a minor injury.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, and authorities haven't released the names of the children.

The home was destroyed. A GoFundMe was set up for the family, and about $28,000 had been raised by Friday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705700194381.png" alt="The cause of the explosion is under investigation, and authorities haven't released the names of the children.-photo courtesy KMOV" />
 <figcaption>The cause of the explosion is under investigation, and authorities haven't released the names of the children.-photo courtesy KMOV</figcaption>
 </figure>DEFIANCE, Mo. (AP) — A house exploded in a rural area of eastern Missouri on Friday, killing two children, authorities said.Emergency responders were called just before 7:45 a.m. to a home in Defiance, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of St. Louis. Two children, boys ages 4 and 6, were trapped in the house, but the intense flames prevented responders from getting to them.Two adults who lived in the home survived, authorities said. One suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene. The other wasn't hurt.A St. Charles County police officer also was treated for a minor injury.The cause of the explosion is under investigation, and authorities haven't released the names of the children.The home was destroyed. A GoFundMe was set up for the family, and about $28,000 had been raised by Friday afternoon.

Two children die in Missouri house explosion

By NATE KING&nbsp;Salina Post

A Kansas Department of Health and Environment agent's visit to collect samples at Sundowner West Mobile Home and Trailer Park was cut short after an alleged threat.&nbsp;

Located northwest of Salina near Hedville, the Sundowner West Mobile Home, Trailer Park has been without clean running water for more than a week. More than 500 residents call this community home.&nbsp;

According to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan, an employee of KDHE's north central district reported they had received a threatening message directed at Sundowner West's water rights owner.&nbsp;

"One of their [KDHE] employees had a voicemail message from one of the residents at Sundowner West saying that if the guy managing the water was there, he'd kill him," Soldan said.

Salina Post is aware of the ongoing water crisis in the Sundowner West Mobile Home community. We will update this breaking news story with an in-depth article soon.

If you would like to donate water to help the the residents of Sundowner please deliver sealed water containers to 1825 S. Ohio Monday-Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eagle Communications/Salina Post, will deliver donated water on a semi-daily basis until water pressure and clean water are restored.&nbsp;

By NATE KING&nbsp;Salina PostA Kansas Department of Health and Environment agent's visit to collect samples at Sundowner West Mobile Home and Trailer Park was cut short after an alleged threat.&nbsp;Located northwest of Salina near Hedville, the Sundowner West Mobile Home, Trailer Park has been without clean running water for more than a week. More than 500 residents call this community home.&nbsp;According to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan, an employee of KDHE's north central district reported they had received a threatening message directed at Sundowner West's water rights owner.&nbsp;"One of their [KDHE] employees had a voicemail message from one of the residents at Sundowner West saying that if the guy managing the water was there, he'd kill him," Soldan said.No charges have been filed at this time.Salina Post is aware of the ongoing water crisis in the Sundowner West Mobile Home community. We will update this breaking news story with an in-depth article soon.If you would like to donate water to help the the residents of Sundowner please deliver sealed water containers to 1825 S. Ohio Monday-Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eagle Communications/Salina Post, will deliver donated water on a semi-daily basis until water pressure and clean water are restored.&nbsp;