GARDNER, Kansas. –Kansas Department of Corrections inmate 52-year-old Clifford Leon Evans is still on escape status after it was reported at 2:45p.m. December 18, that he did not return to the facility while serving his sentence at the Johnson County Work Release center, according to a statement from the KDOC.

Evans is described as a white male, has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 131 pounds.

He currently serving a sentence for violating his parole. Evans was convicted in Johnson County for possession of opiates. He is serving that sentence at the Johnson County Department of Corrections (JCDOC) Adult Residential Center (ARC) from which he walked away. Under an agreement between the KDOC and JCDOC, residents who have release plans that are appropriate to Johnson County are housed at the ARC to promote their successful reintegration back into the community.

Anyone with information on Evans can call EAI at 816-266-2102, JCDOC 913-715-6539, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911. Kansans can also contact EAI via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov">KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702940092760.png" alt="Evans-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Evans-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>GARDNER, Kansas. –Kansas Department of Corrections inmate 52-year-old Clifford Leon Evans is still on escape status after it was reported at 2:45p.m. December 18, that he did not return to the facility while serving his sentence at the Johnson County Work Release center, according to a statement from the KDOC.Evans is described as a white male, has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 131 pounds.He currently serving a sentence for violating his parole. Evans was convicted in Johnson County for possession of opiates. He is serving that sentence at the Johnson County Department of Corrections (JCDOC) Adult Residential Center (ARC) from which he walked away. Under an agreement between the KDOC and JCDOC, residents who have release plans that are appropriate to Johnson County are housed at the ARC to promote their successful reintegration back into the community.Anyone with information on Evans can call EAI at 816-266-2102, JCDOC 913-715-6539, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911. Kansans can also contact EAI via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov">KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov</a>

Kansas inmate who walked away from work release is still missing

BABYLON —On Friday, the U.S. Central Command reported&nbsp;Iraqi police in Babylon discovered a land attack cruise missile of Iranian design that failed to launch.

The use of Iranian supplied munitions by terrorist groups within Iraq and Syria endanger Coalition forces and local residents. 

The Coalition is appreciative of the efforts of the legitimate security forces in Iraq for their efforts to prevent future attacks.

&nbsp;On Christmas Day, President Joe Biden&nbsp;ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Dec. 25. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone.

Biden, who was spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was alerted about the attack by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan shortly after it occurred Monday and ordered the Pentagon and his top national security aides to prepare response options to the attack on an air base used by American troops in Irbil.

Sullivan consulted with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lloyd-austin">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin</a>. Biden's deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, was with the president at Camp David and convened top aides to review options, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.

Within hours, Biden convened his national security team for a call in which Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Biden on the response options. Biden opted to target three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, the official said.

The U.S. strikes were carried out at about 4:45 a.m. Tuesday in Iraq, less than 13 hours after the U.S. personnel were attacked. According to U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on the three sites "destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants.”

"The President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm’s way," Watson said. “The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue.”

The latest attack on U.S. troops follows months of escalating threats and actions against American forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the devastating war in Gaza.

The dangerous back-and-forth strikes have escalated since Iranian-backed militant groups under the umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Syria began striking U.S. facilities Oct. 17, the date that a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-biden-rafah-e062825a375d9eb62e95509cab95b80c">blast at a hospital in Gaza</a>&nbsp;killed hundreds. Iranian-backed militias have carried out more than 100 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;more than two months ago.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704463757879.png" alt="photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>BABYLON —On Friday, the U.S. Central Command reported&nbsp;Iraqi police in Babylon discovered a land attack cruise missile of Iranian design that failed to launch.The use of Iranian supplied munitions by terrorist groups within Iraq and Syria endanger Coalition forces and local residents. The Coalition is appreciative of the efforts of the legitimate security forces in Iraq for their efforts to prevent future attacks.&nbsp;On Christmas Day, President Joe Biden&nbsp;ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Dec. 25. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone.Biden, who was spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was alerted about the attack by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan shortly after it occurred Monday and ordered the Pentagon and his top national security aides to prepare response options to the attack on an air base used by American troops in Irbil.Sullivan consulted with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lloyd-austin">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin</a>. Biden's deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, was with the president at Camp David and convened top aides to review options, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.Within hours, Biden convened his national security team for a call in which Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Biden on the response options. Biden opted to target three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, the official said.The U.S. strikes were carried out at about 4:45 a.m. Tuesday in Iraq, less than 13 hours after the U.S. personnel were attacked. According to U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on the three sites "destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants.”"The President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm’s way," Watson said. “The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue.”The latest attack on U.S. troops follows months of escalating threats and actions against American forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the devastating war in Gaza.The dangerous back-and-forth strikes have escalated since Iranian-backed militant groups under the umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Syria began striking U.S. facilities Oct. 17, the date that a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-biden-rafah-e062825a375d9eb62e95509cab95b80c">blast at a hospital in Gaza</a>&nbsp;killed hundreds. Iranian-backed militias have carried out more than 100 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;more than two months ago.

Police ID Iran cruise missile meant for attack on U.S. forces

JACKSON COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating two women on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.

Just before 11p.m. January 3, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2000&nbsp; black Nissan Xterra near 150th&nbsp;and Q. Road for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Tim Morse

 The stop led to a search of the vehicle which revealed what was believed to be drug contraband.

The front seat passenger, Masheika Tanay Davis, 43, of Topeka, was arrested after she was observed attempting to throw a container into the ditch which contained a hallucinogenic drug and methamphetamine.

Davis was arrested on requested charges of Possession of methamphetamine, Possession of a hallucinogenic drug, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Felony interference with LEO and Transporting an open container.

During the traffic stop, it was discovered the backseat passenger, Victoria Elizabetha Everett, 41, of Webster, Texas, was a non-compliant registered offender for distribution of methamphetamine.

Everett was arrested on requested charges of Violation of offender registration and Transporting an open container.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704415260360.png" alt="Everett-photo Jackson Co" />
 <figcaption>Everett-photo Jackson Co</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating two women on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.Just before 11p.m. January 3, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2000&nbsp; black Nissan Xterra near 150th&nbsp;and Q. Road for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Tim Morse The stop led to a search of the vehicle which revealed what was believed to be drug contraband.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704415237228.png" alt="Davis photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Davis photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The front seat passenger, Masheika Tanay Davis, 43, of Topeka, was arrested after she was observed attempting to throw a container into the ditch which contained a hallucinogenic drug and methamphetamine.Davis was arrested on requested charges of Possession of methamphetamine, Possession of a hallucinogenic drug, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Felony interference with LEO and Transporting an open container.During the traffic stop, it was discovered the backseat passenger, Victoria Elizabetha Everett, 41, of Webster, Texas, was a non-compliant registered offender for distribution of methamphetamine.Everett was arrested on requested charges of Violation of offender registration and Transporting an open container.

Sheriff: Kan. woman tried to throw drugs from SUV during traffic stop

NEW YORK (AP) — The release of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-documents-prince-andrew-harvey-weinstein-1e20f426af0c610db7963cdaf85c209f">dozens of previously sealed court documents</a>&nbsp;from a lawsuit involving Jeffrey Epstein might disappoint online sleuths who anticipated explosive new information.

The nearly 200 documents released as of Friday largely mention figures whose names were already known, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-prince-andrew-bill-clinton-donald-trump-385ccf8d49d337ae4866022877aa9a90">high-profile friends</a>&nbsp;of Epstein’s and victims who have spoken publicly. In fact, the judge who made the call last month to release the information said she was doing so largely because much of it is already public.

<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&amp;filed_before=&amp;entry_gte=&amp;entry_lte=&amp;order_by=desc">Click here to read </a>the documents released 1/5/24 (caution Adult content)

The plan to release the documents had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-jeffrey-epstein-list-released-006487910615">prompted rumors</a>&nbsp;that they contained a list of “clients” or “co-conspirators,” and misinformation about their contents is continuing to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epstein-court-documents-misinformation-3a1df03616ec6b58684be434398de4b7">run rampant</a>&nbsp;on social media.

Still, the records&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-court-records-e5a924b6e97413850517df9237715a44">do include fresh details</a>&nbsp;about the financier’s sexual abuse of teenage girls, and offer a reminder of how he leveraged his powerful connections to recruit his victims and help cover up his crimes.

The documents unsealed this week are the latest of thousands previously made public in lawsuits involving Epstein.

Here’s what we know about the documents released so far:

A millionaire known for associating with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and academic stars, Epstein became the subject of a police investigation in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005 after he was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. He was arrested in 2006.

Dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse, but prosecutors ultimately&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-florida-e2a4431f7319afd037023d9a586aa291">allowed the financier to plead guilty</a>&nbsp;in 2008 to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.

Some famous acquaintances abandoned Epstein after his conviction, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but many did not. Epstein continued to mingle with the rich and famous for another decade, often through philanthropic work.

Reporting by the Miami Herald renewed interest in the scandal, and federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-suicide-department-of-justice-investigation-50c229b7953096f0301bfa1e7f0b7703">killed himself in jail</a>&nbsp;while awaiting trial.

The U.S. attorney in Manhattan then prosecuted Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-sentencing-aeac127f9cc3811d975ce8e10d171260">serving a 20-year prison term</a>.

The documents being unsealed are part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by one of Epstein’s victims,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-entertainment-lifestyle-virginia-prince-andrew-60348f70fd605c26c26615ffc5ed5f14">Virginia Giuffre</a>. She is one of the dozens of women who sued Epstein saying he had abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and New Mexico.

Giuffre said the summer she turned 17, she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club to become a “masseuse” for Epstein — a job that involved performing sexual acts.

Giuffre also claimed she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein's social orbit, including Britain's Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and the billionaire Glenn Dubin, among others. All of those men said her accounts were fabricated.

Giuffre&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-lawsuit-settlement-8b04c775aa46f761d81c05ef12e3a94f">settled a lawsuit against Prince Andrew</a>&nbsp;in 2022. That same year, Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Epstein's former attorney, the law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-new-york-lawsuits-prince-andrew-jeffrey-epstein-2a7202e552c38ed03c5fe39d6a29721b">may have made a mistake</a>&nbsp;” in identifying him as an abuser.

Giuffre’s lawsuit against Maxwell was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to access court papers initially filed under seal, including transcripts of interviews the lawyers did with potential witnesses.

About 2,000 pages were unsealed by a court in 2019. Additional documents were released in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The batch currently being released contains around 250 records with sections that were blacked out or were sealed entirely because of concerns about the privacy rights of Epstein’s victims and other people whose names had come up during the legal battle but weren’t complicit in his crimes.

Nearly 200 have been released as of Friday. The judge hasn’t set a target for when all the documents should be made public, but more are expected to come.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who evaluated the documents to decide what should be unsealed, said in her December order that she was ordering the records released because much of the information within them is already public.

Some records have been released, either in part or in full, in other court cases.

The people named in the records include many of Epstein's accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell's trial, people who were mentioned in passing during depositions but aren't accused of anything salacious, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective.

There are also boldface names of public figures known to have associated with Epstein over the years, but whose relationships with him have already been well documented elsewhere, the judge said.

One of them is Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-arts-and-entertainment-paris-jeffrey-epstein-edfbdb84c6cdd5f736ac7e1c2bac657b">killed himself in a Paris jail</a>&nbsp;in 2022. Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse.

His name was peppered throughout the documents released Wednesday.

Clinton and Trump both factor in the court file, partly because Giuffre was questioned by Maxwell's lawyers about inaccuracies in newspaper stories about her time with Epstein. One story quoted her as saying she had ridden in a helicopter with Clinton and flirted with Trump. Giuffre said neither of those things actually happened. She hasn't accused either former president of wrongdoing.

The judge said a handful of names should remain blacked out in the documents because they would identify people who were sexually abused. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as Giuffre has done.

WHAT MISINFORMATION IS SPREADING ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS?

In addition to false claims that the documents represent some kind of list identifying Epstein’s “clients,” the internet is rife with misinformation about exactly who is named in the records and what that means.

Ahead of the release, social media users wrongly claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s name might appear, spurred by a joke New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”

Kimmel said in a response on X that he had never met Epstein and that Rodgers’ “reckless words put my family in danger.” His name did not appear in the documents released so far.

After the documents began emerging, social media users seized on names that appeared in passing, falsely suggesting it was proof of wrongdoing.

For instance, some suggested that the documents included allegations about Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018. In reality, the theoretical physicist's name appears, misspelled, in a 2015 email Epstein sent proposing a reward be paid to anyone who could debunk a baseless claim about Hawking.

Other social media users are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epstein-court-documents-misinformation-3a1df03616ec6b58684be434398de4b7">spreading fabricated images</a>&nbsp;made to look like documents that they claim show people making allegations against Hawking and Kimmel. The quotes in the images don't appear anywhere in the records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704330351229.png" alt="Jeffrey Epstein New York Sex Offender Registry" />
 <figcaption>Jeffrey Epstein New York Sex Offender Registry</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The release of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-documents-prince-andrew-harvey-weinstein-1e20f426af0c610db7963cdaf85c209f">dozens of previously sealed court documents</a>&nbsp;from a lawsuit involving Jeffrey Epstein might disappoint online sleuths who anticipated explosive new information.The nearly 200 documents released as of Friday largely mention figures whose names were already known, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-prince-andrew-bill-clinton-donald-trump-385ccf8d49d337ae4866022877aa9a90">high-profile friends</a>&nbsp;of Epstein’s and victims who have spoken publicly. In fact, the judge who made the call last month to release the information said she was doing so largely because much of it is already public.<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&amp;filed_before=&amp;entry_gte=&amp;entry_lte=&amp;order_by=desc">Click here to read </a>the documents released 1/5/24 (caution Adult content)The plan to release the documents had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-jeffrey-epstein-list-released-006487910615">prompted rumors</a>&nbsp;that they contained a list of “clients” or “co-conspirators,” and misinformation about their contents is continuing to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epstein-court-documents-misinformation-3a1df03616ec6b58684be434398de4b7">run rampant</a>&nbsp;on social media.Still, the records&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-court-records-e5a924b6e97413850517df9237715a44">do include fresh details</a>&nbsp;about the financier’s sexual abuse of teenage girls, and offer a reminder of how he leveraged his powerful connections to recruit his victims and help cover up his crimes.The documents unsealed this week are the latest of thousands previously made public in lawsuits involving Epstein.Here’s what we know about the documents released so far:WHO IS JEFFREY EPSTEIN?A millionaire known for associating with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and academic stars, Epstein became the subject of a police investigation in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005 after he was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. He was arrested in 2006.Dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse, but prosecutors ultimately&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-florida-e2a4431f7319afd037023d9a586aa291">allowed the financier to plead guilty</a>&nbsp;in 2008 to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.Some famous acquaintances abandoned Epstein after his conviction, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but many did not. Epstein continued to mingle with the rich and famous for another decade, often through philanthropic work.Reporting by the Miami Herald renewed interest in the scandal, and federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-suicide-department-of-justice-investigation-50c229b7953096f0301bfa1e7f0b7703">killed himself in jail</a>&nbsp;while awaiting trial.The U.S. attorney in Manhattan then prosecuted Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-sentencing-aeac127f9cc3811d975ce8e10d171260">serving a 20-year prison term</a>.WHAT ARE THESE RECORDS ABOUT?The documents being unsealed are part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by one of Epstein’s victims,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-entertainment-lifestyle-virginia-prince-andrew-60348f70fd605c26c26615ffc5ed5f14">Virginia Giuffre</a>. She is one of the dozens of women who sued Epstein saying he had abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and New Mexico.Giuffre said the summer she turned 17, she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club to become a “masseuse” for Epstein — a job that involved performing sexual acts.Giuffre also claimed she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein's social orbit, including Britain's Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and the billionaire Glenn Dubin, among others. All of those men said her accounts were fabricated.Giuffre&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-lawsuit-settlement-8b04c775aa46f761d81c05ef12e3a94f">settled a lawsuit against Prince Andrew</a>&nbsp;in 2022. That same year, Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Epstein's former attorney, the law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-new-york-lawsuits-prince-andrew-jeffrey-epstein-2a7202e552c38ed03c5fe39d6a29721b">may have made a mistake</a>&nbsp;” in identifying him as an abuser.Giuffre’s lawsuit against Maxwell was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to access court papers initially filed under seal, including transcripts of interviews the lawyers did with potential witnesses.About 2,000 pages were unsealed by a court in 2019. Additional documents were released in 2020, 2021 and 2022.The batch currently being released contains around 250 records with sections that were blacked out or were sealed entirely because of concerns about the privacy rights of Epstein’s victims and other people whose names had come up during the legal battle but weren’t complicit in his crimes.Nearly 200 have been released as of Friday. The judge hasn’t set a target for when all the documents should be made public, but more are expected to come.WHAT DO THE DOCUMENTS SHOW?U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who evaluated the documents to decide what should be unsealed, said in her December order that she was ordering the records released because much of the information within them is already public.Some records have been released, either in part or in full, in other court cases.The people named in the records include many of Epstein's accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell's trial, people who were mentioned in passing during depositions but aren't accused of anything salacious, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective.There are also boldface names of public figures known to have associated with Epstein over the years, but whose relationships with him have already been well documented elsewhere, the judge said.One of them is Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-arts-and-entertainment-paris-jeffrey-epstein-edfbdb84c6cdd5f736ac7e1c2bac657b">killed himself in a Paris jail</a>&nbsp;in 2022. Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse.His name was peppered throughout the documents released Wednesday.Clinton and Trump both factor in the court file, partly because Giuffre was questioned by Maxwell's lawyers about inaccuracies in newspaper stories about her time with Epstein. One story quoted her as saying she had ridden in a helicopter with Clinton and flirted with Trump. Giuffre said neither of those things actually happened. She hasn't accused either former president of wrongdoing.The judge said a handful of names should remain blacked out in the documents because they would identify people who were sexually abused. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as Giuffre has done.WHAT MISINFORMATION IS SPREADING ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS?In addition to false claims that the documents represent some kind of list identifying Epstein’s “clients,” the internet is rife with misinformation about exactly who is named in the records and what that means.Ahead of the release, social media users wrongly claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s name might appear, spurred by a joke New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”Kimmel said in a response on X that he had never met Epstein and that Rodgers’ “reckless words put my family in danger.” His name did not appear in the documents released so far.After the documents began emerging, social media users seized on names that appeared in passing, falsely suggesting it was proof of wrongdoing.For instance, some suggested that the documents included allegations about Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018. In reality, the theoretical physicist's name appears, misspelled, in a 2015 email Epstein sent proposing a reward be paid to anyone who could debunk a baseless claim about Hawking.Other social media users are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epstein-court-documents-misinformation-3a1df03616ec6b58684be434398de4b7">spreading fabricated images</a>&nbsp;made to look like documents that they claim show people making allegations against Hawking and Kimmel. The quotes in the images don't appear anywhere in the records.

Read 3rd batch of Epstein documents released Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Friday it will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, inserting the court squarely in the 2024 presidential campaign.

The justices acknowledged the need to reach a decision quickly, as voters will soon begin casting presidential primary ballots across the country. The court agreed to take up a case from Colorado stemming from Trump’s role in the events that culminated in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Jan. 6, 2021, attack</a>&nbsp;on the U.S. Capitol.

Arguments will be held in early February.

The court will be considering for the first time the meaning and reach of a provision of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;barring some people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. The amendment was adopted in 1868, following the Civil War. It has been so rarely used that the nation's highest court had no previous occasion to interpret it.

Colorado's Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote, ruled last month that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot. The decision was the first time the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot.

Trump is separately appealing to state court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-trump-presidential-ballot-election-insurrection-081fd38ce1f20be9b8423cb2f8c66dee">a ruling by Maine’s Democratic secretary of state</a>, Shenna Bellows, that he was ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot over his role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Capitol attack</a>. Both the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine secretary of state’s rulings are on hold until the appeals play out.

Three of the nine Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-14th-amendment-immunity-supreme-court-d3f001f66c5c3e85302b8772753ed769">justices were appointed by Trump</a>, though they have repeatedly ruled against him in 2020 election-related lawsuits, as well as his efforts to keep documents related to Jan. 6 and his tax returns from being turned over to congressional committees.

At the same time, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have been in the majority of conservative-driven decisions that overturned the five-decade-old&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">constitutional right to abortion</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mississippi-state-government-delaware-california-massachusetts-3983cecfd1107c263d5309ec0d80a966">expanded gun rights</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-affirmative-action-college-race-f83d6318017ec9b9029b12ee2256e744">struck down affirmative action in college admissions</a>.

Some Democratic lawmakers have called on another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, to step aside from the case because of his wife's support for Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Thomas is unlikely to agree. He has recused himself from only one other case related to the 2020 election, involving former law clerk John Eastman, and so far the people trying to disqualify Trump haven’t asked him to recuse.

The 4-3 Colorado decision cites a ruling by Gorsuch when he was a federal judge in that state. That Gorsuch decision upheld Colorado's move to strike a naturalized citizen from the state's presidential ballot because he was born in Guyana and didn't meet the constitutional requirements to run for office. The court found that Trump likewise doesn't meet the qualifications due to his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. That day, the Republican president had held a rally outside the White House and exhorted his supporters to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-media-e79eb5164613d6718e9f4502eb471f27">“fight like hell”</a>&nbsp;before they walked to the Capitol.

The two-sentence provision in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that anyone who swore an oath to uphold the constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it is no longer eligible for state or federal office. After Congress passed an amnesty for most of the former confederates the measure targeted in 1872, the provision fell into disuse until dozens of suits were filed to keep Trump off the ballot this year. Only the one in Colorado was successful.

Trump had asked the court to overturn the Colorado ruling without even hearing arguments. “The Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado and likely be used as a template to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters nationwide,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

They argue that Trump should win on many grounds, including that the events of Jan. 6 did not constitute an insurrection. Even if it did, they wrote, Trump himself had not engaged in insurrection. They also contend that the insurrection clause does not apply to the president and that Congress must act, not individual states.

Critics of the former president who sued in Colorado agreed that the justices should step in now and resolve the issue, as do many election law experts.

“This case is of utmost national importance. And given the upcoming presidential primary schedule, there is no time to wait for the issues to percolate further. The Court should resolve this case on an expedited timetable, so that voters in Colorado and elsewhere will know whether Trump is indeed constitutionally ineligible when they cast their primary ballots,” lawyers for the Colorado plaintiffs told the Supreme Court.

The issue of whether Trump can be on the ballot is not the only matter related to the former president or Jan. 6 that has reached the high court. The justices last month&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-january-6-justice-department-90b93eeb663ebaf67a2e0bc266390fa0">declined a request from special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;to swiftly take up and rule on Trump’s claims that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, though the issue could be back before the court soon depending on the ruling of a Washington-based appeals court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Friday it will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, inserting the court squarely in the 2024 presidential campaign.The justices acknowledged the need to reach a decision quickly, as voters will soon begin casting presidential primary ballots across the country. The court agreed to take up a case from Colorado stemming from Trump’s role in the events that culminated in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Jan. 6, 2021, attack</a>&nbsp;on the U.S. Capitol.Arguments will be held in early February.The court will be considering for the first time the meaning and reach of a provision of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;barring some people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. The amendment was adopted in 1868, following the Civil War. It has been so rarely used that the nation's highest court had no previous occasion to interpret it.Colorado's Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote, ruled last month that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot. The decision was the first time the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot.Trump is separately appealing to state court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-trump-presidential-ballot-election-insurrection-081fd38ce1f20be9b8423cb2f8c66dee">a ruling by Maine’s Democratic secretary of state</a>, Shenna Bellows, that he was ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot over his role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Capitol attack</a>. Both the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine secretary of state’s rulings are on hold until the appeals play out.Three of the nine Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-14th-amendment-immunity-supreme-court-d3f001f66c5c3e85302b8772753ed769">justices were appointed by Trump</a>, though they have repeatedly ruled against him in 2020 election-related lawsuits, as well as his efforts to keep documents related to Jan. 6 and his tax returns from being turned over to congressional committees.At the same time, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have been in the majority of conservative-driven decisions that overturned the five-decade-old&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">constitutional right to abortion</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mississippi-state-government-delaware-california-massachusetts-3983cecfd1107c263d5309ec0d80a966">expanded gun rights</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-affirmative-action-college-race-f83d6318017ec9b9029b12ee2256e744">struck down affirmative action in college admissions</a>.Some Democratic lawmakers have called on another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, to step aside from the case because of his wife's support for Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Thomas is unlikely to agree. He has recused himself from only one other case related to the 2020 election, involving former law clerk John Eastman, and so far the people trying to disqualify Trump haven’t asked him to recuse.The 4-3 Colorado decision cites a ruling by Gorsuch when he was a federal judge in that state. That Gorsuch decision upheld Colorado's move to strike a naturalized citizen from the state's presidential ballot because he was born in Guyana and didn't meet the constitutional requirements to run for office. The court found that Trump likewise doesn't meet the qualifications due to his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. That day, the Republican president had held a rally outside the White House and exhorted his supporters to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-media-e79eb5164613d6718e9f4502eb471f27">“fight like hell”</a>&nbsp;before they walked to the Capitol.The two-sentence provision in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that anyone who swore an oath to uphold the constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it is no longer eligible for state or federal office. After Congress passed an amnesty for most of the former confederates the measure targeted in 1872, the provision fell into disuse until dozens of suits were filed to keep Trump off the ballot this year. Only the one in Colorado was successful.Trump had asked the court to overturn the Colorado ruling without even hearing arguments. “The Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado and likely be used as a template to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters nationwide,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.They argue that Trump should win on many grounds, including that the events of Jan. 6 did not constitute an insurrection. Even if it did, they wrote, Trump himself had not engaged in insurrection. They also contend that the insurrection clause does not apply to the president and that Congress must act, not individual states.Critics of the former president who sued in Colorado agreed that the justices should step in now and resolve the issue, as do many election law experts.“This case is of utmost national importance. And given the upcoming presidential primary schedule, there is no time to wait for the issues to percolate further. The Court should resolve this case on an expedited timetable, so that voters in Colorado and elsewhere will know whether Trump is indeed constitutionally ineligible when they cast their primary ballots,” lawyers for the Colorado plaintiffs told the Supreme Court.The issue of whether Trump can be on the ballot is not the only matter related to the former president or Jan. 6 that has reached the high court. The justices last month&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-january-6-justice-department-90b93eeb663ebaf67a2e0bc266390fa0">declined a request from special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;to swiftly take up and rule on Trump’s claims that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, though the issue could be back before the court soon depending on the ruling of a Washington-based appeals court.

History: Supreme Court will decide if Trump can be kept off ballots

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal jury convicted a Kansas man for taking part in a retaliatory shooting that injured two people, including a federal task force officer.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 24-year-old G’Ante Butler of Kansas City, Kansas, was found guilty of one count of forcible assault on a federal law enforcement officer and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

On August 3, 2020, Kansas City, Kansas police officers responded to a “shots fired” call on Farrow Avenue, where the defendant’s parents lived. Later that evening, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agents and federally deputized Task Force Officers (TFOs) went to North Allis Street and arrested one of the individuals responsible for the earlier Farrow Avenue residence shooting. 

After executing a search warrant at the North Allis Street residence, and as the officers were returning to their vehicles, multiple shooters began firing at them. The officers tried to immediately take cover, however, not before an officer and a civilian bystander were struck by gunfire.

Based on evidence gathered during the subsequent investigation, ATF agents learned the shooting was orchestrated by G’Ante Butler and other individuals in retaliation for the earlier incident on Farrow Avenue. Their plan was to shoot at the North Allis Street home and any individuals they encountered there. Officers later recovered approximately 101 casings and two live rounds (including 9mm, .40 caliber, .45 caliber, 5.56 caliber, and 7.62 caliber casings) from an alley west of the targeted North Allis Street home.

Co-defendants Nadarius Barnes, 24, Chase Lewis, 23, and Donnell L. Hall, 28, all of Kansas City, Kansas, each pleaded guilty to one count of forcible assault on a federal law enforcement officer and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

A fifth defendant is scheduled to stand trial in February 2024.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704406464075.png" alt="Butler-photo Wyandotte County&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Butler-photo Wyandotte County&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal jury convicted a Kansas man for taking part in a retaliatory shooting that injured two people, including a federal task force officer.According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 24-year-old G’Ante Butler of Kansas City, Kansas, was found guilty of one count of forcible assault on a federal law enforcement officer and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.On August 3, 2020, Kansas City, Kansas police officers responded to a “shots fired” call on Farrow Avenue, where the defendant’s parents lived. Later that evening, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agents and federally deputized Task Force Officers (TFOs) went to North Allis Street and arrested one of the individuals responsible for the earlier Farrow Avenue residence shooting. After executing a search warrant at the North Allis Street residence, and as the officers were returning to their vehicles, multiple shooters began firing at them. The officers tried to immediately take cover, however, not before an officer and a civilian bystander were struck by gunfire.Based on evidence gathered during the subsequent investigation, ATF agents learned the shooting was orchestrated by G’Ante Butler and other individuals in retaliation for the earlier incident on Farrow Avenue. Their plan was to shoot at the North Allis Street home and any individuals they encountered there. Officers later recovered approximately 101 casings and two live rounds (including 9mm, .40 caliber, .45 caliber, 5.56 caliber, and 7.62 caliber casings) from an alley west of the targeted North Allis Street home.Co-defendants Nadarius Barnes, 24, Chase Lewis, 23, and Donnell L. Hall, 28, all of Kansas City, Kansas, each pleaded guilty to one count of forcible assault on a federal law enforcement officer and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.A fifth defendant is scheduled to stand trial in February 2024.

Kan. man orchestrated retaliation shooting at law enforcement

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;warned Friday that Donald Trump's efforts to retake the White House in 2024 pose a grave threat to the country, the day before the third anniversary of the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol by then-President Trump’s supporters aiming to keep him in power.

(Click below to watch President Biden's speech)

Speaking&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-2024-democracy-threat-national-traumas-66167f70a167592c23067180fbe55910">near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania</a>, where George Washington and the Continental Army spent a bleak winter nearly 250 years ago, Biden said that Jan. 6 2021, marked a moment where “we nearly lost America — lost it all.” He said the presidential race — a likely rematch with Trump, who is the far and away GOP frontrunner — is “all about” whether American democracy will survive.

The speech, the president's first political event of the election year, was intended to clarify the expected choice for voters this fall. Biden, who reentered political life because he felt he was best capable of defeating Trump in 2020, believes focusing on defending democracy to be central for persuading voters to reject Trump once again.

“We all know who Donald Trump is,” Biden said. “The question we have to answer is who are we?”

Biden, laid out Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-trump-bcfea6162fe9cfa0d120e86d069af0e4">role in the Capitol attack</a>, as a mob of the Republican’s supporters overran the building while lawmakers were counting Electoral College votes that certified Democrat Biden's win. More than 100 police officers were bloodied, beaten and attacked by the rioters who overwhelmed authorities to break into the building.

“What’s Trump done? He’s called these insurrectionists ‘patriots,’” Biden said, “and he promised to pardon them if he returns to office.” He excoriated Trump for “glorifying” rather than condemning political violence

At least nine people who were at the Capitol that day&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-crime-riots-donald-trump-capitol-siege-f7f8dead93998991cfc728e83ea31602">died during or after the rioting</a>, including several officers who died of suicide, a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber, and three other Trump supporters who authorities said suffered medical emergencies.

Biden said that by “trying to rewrite the facts of Jan. 6, Trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election."

Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">faces 91 criminal charges</a>&nbsp;stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss to Biden and three other felony cases,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-democracy-election-2024-f2f824f056ae9f81f4e688fe590f41b4">argues that Biden and top Democrats</a>&nbsp;are themselves seeking to undermine democracy by using the legal system to thwart the campaign of his chief rival.

“The only reason Biden is at Valley Forge abusing George Washington’s legacy to slander 75 million Americans is that he knows he can’t show his face at the Southwest Border, or in East Palestine, Ohio, or at the autoworkers’ factories in Michigan where he is destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Trump was to say at a campaign event in Sioux Center, Iowa on Friday according to prepared remarks released by his campaign.

Biden, in his remarks, seized on Trump's grievances and his pledges to get retribution on his political enemies.

“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him," Biden said. "Not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future.”

He added: “There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do.”

Before his remarks, Biden, joined by his wife Jill, participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Valley Forge National Arch, which honors the troops who camped there from December 1777 to June 1778. He also toured the home that served as Washington’s headquarters.

Biden invoked Washington’s decision to resign his commission as the leader of the Continental Army after American independence was won — and the painting commemorating that moment that resides in the Capitol Rotunda — to cast Trump as unworthy of Washington’s legacy.

“He could have held onto that power as long as he wanted,” Biden said of Washington. “But that wasn’t the America he and the American troops of Valley Forge had fought for. In America, our leaders don’t hold on to power relentlessly. Our leaders return power to the people – willingly.”

Although the chaos of Jan. 6 came down on members of both political parties, it is being remembered in a largely polarized fashion now, like other aspects of political life in a divided country.

In the days after the attack, 52% of U.S. adults said Trump bore a lot of responsibility for Jan. 6, according to the Pew Research Center. By early 2022, that had declined to 43%. The number of Americans who said Trump bore no responsibility increased from 24% in 2021 to 32% in 2022.

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released this week found that about 7 in 10 Republicans say too much is being made of the attack. Just 18% of GOP supporters say that protesters who entered the Capitol were “mostly violent,” down from 26% in 2021, while 77% of Democrats and 54% of independents say the protesters were mostly violent, essentially unchanged from 2021.

Biden said that “politics, fear, money” have led many Republicans to abandon their criticism of Trump after the Jan. 6 attack.

"These MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump and Jan. 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy,” Biden said. “They’ve made their choice. Now the rest of us – Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans – we have to make our choice. I know mine. And I believe I know America’s.”

Biden has frequently invoked the dangers of Jan. 6 since his 2021 inauguration on the same Capitol steps where police officers were struggling to battle back rioters just two weeks earlier. On the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, Biden had stood in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, a historic spot where the House of Representatives used to meet before the Civil War. On Jan. 6, rioters filled the area, some looking for lawmakers who had run for cover.

“They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people,” Biden said of the rioters. “They were looking to deny the will of the people.”

On the second anniversary,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan6-capitol-riots-second-anniversary-8014969520b61bf7f4d86689fc16e7f7">Biden presented the nation's second highest civilian award</a>&nbsp;to 12 people who were involved in defending the Capitol during the attack.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704488620969.png" alt="Biden's kicking off 2024 by delving into some of the country’s darkest moments-image from the campaign video" />
 <figcaption>Biden's kicking off 2024 by delving into some of the country’s darkest moments-image from the campaign video</figcaption>
 </figure>VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;warned Friday that Donald Trump's efforts to retake the White House in 2024 pose a grave threat to the country, the day before the third anniversary of the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol by then-President Trump’s supporters aiming to keep him in power.(Click below to watch President Biden's speech)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjoebiden%2Fvideos%2F893835879104758%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=202" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Speaking&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-2024-democracy-threat-national-traumas-66167f70a167592c23067180fbe55910">near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania</a>, where George Washington and the Continental Army spent a bleak winter nearly 250 years ago, Biden said that Jan. 6 2021, marked a moment where “we nearly lost America — lost it all.” He said the presidential race — a likely rematch with Trump, who is the far and away GOP frontrunner — is “all about” whether American democracy will survive.The speech, the president's first political event of the election year, was intended to clarify the expected choice for voters this fall. Biden, who reentered political life because he felt he was best capable of defeating Trump in 2020, believes focusing on defending democracy to be central for persuading voters to reject Trump once again.“We all know who Donald Trump is,” Biden said. “The question we have to answer is who are we?”Biden, laid out Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-trump-bcfea6162fe9cfa0d120e86d069af0e4">role in the Capitol attack</a>, as a mob of the Republican’s supporters overran the building while lawmakers were counting Electoral College votes that certified Democrat Biden's win. More than 100 police officers were bloodied, beaten and attacked by the rioters who overwhelmed authorities to break into the building.“What’s Trump done? He’s called these insurrectionists ‘patriots,’” Biden said, “and he promised to pardon them if he returns to office.” He excoriated Trump for “glorifying” rather than condemning political violenceAt least nine people who were at the Capitol that day&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-crime-riots-donald-trump-capitol-siege-f7f8dead93998991cfc728e83ea31602">died during or after the rioting</a>, including several officers who died of suicide, a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber, and three other Trump supporters who authorities said suffered medical emergencies.Biden said that by “trying to rewrite the facts of Jan. 6, Trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election."Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">faces 91 criminal charges</a>&nbsp;stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss to Biden and three other felony cases,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-democracy-election-2024-f2f824f056ae9f81f4e688fe590f41b4">argues that Biden and top Democrats</a>&nbsp;are themselves seeking to undermine democracy by using the legal system to thwart the campaign of his chief rival.“The only reason Biden is at Valley Forge abusing George Washington’s legacy to slander 75 million Americans is that he knows he can’t show his face at the Southwest Border, or in East Palestine, Ohio, or at the autoworkers’ factories in Michigan where he is destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Trump was to say at a campaign event in Sioux Center, Iowa on Friday according to prepared remarks released by his campaign.Biden, in his remarks, seized on Trump's grievances and his pledges to get retribution on his political enemies.“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him," Biden said. "Not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future.”He added: “There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do.”Before his remarks, Biden, joined by his wife Jill, participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Valley Forge National Arch, which honors the troops who camped there from December 1777 to June 1778. He also toured the home that served as Washington’s headquarters.Biden invoked Washington’s decision to resign his commission as the leader of the Continental Army after American independence was won — and the painting commemorating that moment that resides in the Capitol Rotunda — to cast Trump as unworthy of Washington’s legacy.“He could have held onto that power as long as he wanted,” Biden said of Washington. “But that wasn’t the America he and the American troops of Valley Forge had fought for. In America, our leaders don’t hold on to power relentlessly. Our leaders return power to the people – willingly.”Although the chaos of Jan. 6 came down on members of both political parties, it is being remembered in a largely polarized fashion now, like other aspects of political life in a divided country.In the days after the attack, 52% of U.S. adults said Trump bore a lot of responsibility for Jan. 6, according to the Pew Research Center. By early 2022, that had declined to 43%. The number of Americans who said Trump bore no responsibility increased from 24% in 2021 to 32% in 2022.A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released this week found that about 7 in 10 Republicans say too much is being made of the attack. Just 18% of GOP supporters say that protesters who entered the Capitol were “mostly violent,” down from 26% in 2021, while 77% of Democrats and 54% of independents say the protesters were mostly violent, essentially unchanged from 2021.Biden said that “politics, fear, money” have led many Republicans to abandon their criticism of Trump after the Jan. 6 attack."These MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump and Jan. 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy,” Biden said. “They’ve made their choice. Now the rest of us – Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans – we have to make our choice. I know mine. And I believe I know America’s.”Biden has frequently invoked the dangers of Jan. 6 since his 2021 inauguration on the same Capitol steps where police officers were struggling to battle back rioters just two weeks earlier. On the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, Biden had stood in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, a historic spot where the House of Representatives used to meet before the Civil War. On Jan. 6, rioters filled the area, some looking for lawmakers who had run for cover.“They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people,” Biden said of the rioters. “They were looking to deny the will of the people.”On the second anniversary,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan6-capitol-riots-second-anniversary-8014969520b61bf7f4d86689fc16e7f7">Biden presented the nation's second highest civilian award</a>&nbsp;to 12 people who were involved in defending the Capitol during the attack.

🎥Biden kicks off 2024 campaign in Valley Forge, rips MAGA

NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of the National Rifle Association said Friday he is resigning, just days before the start of a civil trial over allegations he diverted millions of dollars from the powerful gun rights organization to pay for personal travel and other lavish perks.

Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and chief executive officer, said his departure is effective Jan. 31. The trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against him, the NRA and others who have served as organization executives is scheduled to start on Monday. LaPierre and ex-NRA President Oliver North are among the witnesses expected to testify.

LaPierre, 74, has led&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/national-rifle-association">the NRA</a>&nbsp;’s day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as the face and vehement voice of its gun rights agenda. He once warned of “jack-booted government thugs” seizing guns, called for armed guards in every school after a spate of shootings, and condemned foes backing gun control measures as “opportunists” who “exploit tragedy for gain.”

In recent years though, the NRA has been beset by dwindling membership and financial troubles, along with lingering questions about LaPierre's leadership and spending. One of LaPierre’s top lieutenants, Andrew Arulanandam, will assume his roles on an interim basis, the organization said.

Phillip Journey, a former NRA board member who is set to testify at the upcoming trial in New York, said LaPierre’s resignation doesn’t resolve the open questions before the court nor remedy what he sees as persistent rot within the gun lobbying group. “Honestly, the grifters are a snake with many heads and this is just one,” said Journey, a Kansas judge who’s running to retake a seat on the NRA’s board.

Journey also testified at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nra-bankruptcy-dismissed-a281b888b64d391374f24539a820d60f">NRA’s bankruptcy trial in Texas</a>&nbsp;and said he anticipates there is enough evidence for the New York attorney general to prove her case. “It’s a tragic end to a career that had many high points,” Journey said of LaPierre stepping down. “It’s one of his own making.”

“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement released by the organization. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”

James, a Democrat, accuses LaPierre and other executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the NRA and spending organization funds on personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures. LaPierre is accused in the lawsuit of spending millions on private jet flights and personal security and accepting expensive gifts — such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot (32-meter) yacht — from vendors.

He is also accused of setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA if he were to exit the organization, spending NRA money on travel consultants, luxury car services, and private jet flights for himself and his family — including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.

James is seeking to ban LaPierre and the other executives from serving in leadership positions of any not-for-profit or charitable organization conducting business in New York, which would effectively remove them from any involvement with the NRA.

Some of the NRA’s excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organization’s former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen. The advertising firm would pick up the tab for expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for “out-of-pocket expenses,” the lawsuit said.

LaPierre has defended himself, saying in previous testimony that cruising&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-dallas-parkland-florida-school-shooting-gun-politics-school-shootings-727d30a8cfa50c937012e9de29aa5127">the Bahamas on a yacht was a “security retreat”</a>&nbsp;because he was facing threats after mass shootings. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-dallas-trials-bahamas-gun-politics-6961ee94222eb28e788030d4f9461f61">conceded not reporting the trips</a>&nbsp;on conflict-of-interest forms, testifying: “It’s one of the mistakes I’ve made.”

“He’s been the leading political force of the NRA for over 30 years,” said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York-Cortland and author several books on gun politics. “He has been the leading edge of the very sharp political voice of the organization.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704484548498.png" alt="Wayne LaPierre during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Wayne LaPierre during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of the National Rifle Association said Friday he is resigning, just days before the start of a civil trial over allegations he diverted millions of dollars from the powerful gun rights organization to pay for personal travel and other lavish perks.Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and chief executive officer, said his departure is effective Jan. 31. The trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against him, the NRA and others who have served as organization executives is scheduled to start on Monday. LaPierre and ex-NRA President Oliver North are among the witnesses expected to testify.LaPierre, 74, has led&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/national-rifle-association">the NRA</a>&nbsp;’s day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as the face and vehement voice of its gun rights agenda. He once warned of “jack-booted government thugs” seizing guns, called for armed guards in every school after a spate of shootings, and condemned foes backing gun control measures as “opportunists” who “exploit tragedy for gain.”In recent years though, the NRA has been beset by dwindling membership and financial troubles, along with lingering questions about LaPierre's leadership and spending. One of LaPierre’s top lieutenants, Andrew Arulanandam, will assume his roles on an interim basis, the organization said.Phillip Journey, a former NRA board member who is set to testify at the upcoming trial in New York, said LaPierre’s resignation doesn’t resolve the open questions before the court nor remedy what he sees as persistent rot within the gun lobbying group. “Honestly, the grifters are a snake with many heads and this is just one,” said Journey, a Kansas judge who’s running to retake a seat on the NRA’s board.Journey also testified at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nra-bankruptcy-dismissed-a281b888b64d391374f24539a820d60f">NRA’s bankruptcy trial in Texas</a>&nbsp;and said he anticipates there is enough evidence for the New York attorney general to prove her case. “It’s a tragic end to a career that had many high points,” Journey said of LaPierre stepping down. “It’s one of his own making.”“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement released by the organization. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”James, a Democrat, accuses LaPierre and other executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the NRA and spending organization funds on personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures. LaPierre is accused in the lawsuit of spending millions on private jet flights and personal security and accepting expensive gifts — such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot (32-meter) yacht — from vendors.He is also accused of setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA if he were to exit the organization, spending NRA money on travel consultants, luxury car services, and private jet flights for himself and his family — including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.James is seeking to ban LaPierre and the other executives from serving in leadership positions of any not-for-profit or charitable organization conducting business in New York, which would effectively remove them from any involvement with the NRA.Some of the NRA’s excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organization’s former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen. The advertising firm would pick up the tab for expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for “out-of-pocket expenses,” the lawsuit said.LaPierre has defended himself, saying in previous testimony that cruising&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-dallas-parkland-florida-school-shooting-gun-politics-school-shootings-727d30a8cfa50c937012e9de29aa5127">the Bahamas on a yacht was a “security retreat”</a>&nbsp;because he was facing threats after mass shootings. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-dallas-trials-bahamas-gun-politics-6961ee94222eb28e788030d4f9461f61">conceded not reporting the trips</a>&nbsp;on conflict-of-interest forms, testifying: “It’s one of the mistakes I’ve made.”“He’s been the leading political force of the NRA for over 30 years,” said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York-Cortland and author several books on gun politics. “He has been the leading edge of the very sharp political voice of the organization.”

NRA chief resigning days before trial scrutinizing his leadership, spending

JERUSALEM (AP) — A community that was attacked during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel says one of its residents, who was taken hostage, has died in captivity.

The Kibbutz Nir Oz community did not give a cause of death Friday for Tamir Adar, 38. Of some 250 people captured during Hamas' attack,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-hostages-0c14750240138853a70e38b0c09ef157">around 80 were taken from Nir Oz alone</a>, out of a population of around 400.

Tamir's grandmother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, was also abducted by militants that day. She was among more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-25-2023-7d83895eb736c09fab3eada4c31524b0">hostages released during a weeklong cease-fire</a>&nbsp;in November.

The Israeli government says militants are still holding 113 hostages, including 19 women and two children under the age of 5, as well as the bodies of 24 others.

Hamas has said it will not release any more hostages until Israel ends its military offensive and withdraws from Gaza. Israel has vowed to crush the militant group and return all the captives.

Meanwhile, at least six people were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-israel-hamas-gaza-2f3d8a95f8b8324d1b002048ff3eb34b">crammed into Rafah</a>, one of the areas where Israel has told people to seek refuge. But Israeli forces continue to strike all parts of the besieged territory.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says several thousand Hamas fighters remain in northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been blasted into rubble. Heavy fighting is also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas' Oct. 7 attack</a>&nbsp;from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 250 others were taken hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory</a>. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704457372603.png" alt="Tamir Adar photo&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.bringthemhomenow.net/">Hostages and Missing Families Forum</a>" />
 <figcaption>Tamir Adar photo&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.bringthemhomenow.net/">Hostages and Missing Families Forum</a></figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM (AP) — A community that was attacked during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel says one of its residents, who was taken hostage, has died in captivity.The Kibbutz Nir Oz community did not give a cause of death Friday for Tamir Adar, 38. Of some 250 people captured during Hamas' attack,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-hostages-0c14750240138853a70e38b0c09ef157">around 80 were taken from Nir Oz alone</a>, out of a population of around 400.Tamir's grandmother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, was also abducted by militants that day. She was among more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-25-2023-7d83895eb736c09fab3eada4c31524b0">hostages released during a weeklong cease-fire</a>&nbsp;in November.The Israeli government says militants are still holding 113 hostages, including 19 women and two children under the age of 5, as well as the bodies of 24 others.Hamas has said it will not release any more hostages until Israel ends its military offensive and withdraws from Gaza. Israel has vowed to crush the militant group and return all the captives.Meanwhile, at least six people were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-israel-hamas-gaza-2f3d8a95f8b8324d1b002048ff3eb34b">crammed into Rafah</a>, one of the areas where Israel has told people to seek refuge. But Israeli forces continue to strike all parts of the besieged territory.Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says several thousand Hamas fighters remain in northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been blasted into rubble. Heavy fighting is also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas' Oct. 7 attack</a>&nbsp;from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 250 others were taken hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory</a>. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Another hostage reported dead in Gaza 

By OLIVIA BERGMEIERSalina Post

Late Thursday night, Salina Police officers arrested Darryl Jones Jr., a 50-year-old Salina resident, for allegedly battering a 39-year-old victim.

According to SPD Capt. James Feldman, officers arrived around 10 p.m. at the 400 block of South Connecticut Avenue after a neighborhood resident called SPD and reported a disturbance.

"During the investigations, officers determined Mr. Jones had battered a 39-year-old female," Feldman said. "During that, he had strangled her, threatened her life and then also battered her regularly."

Once officers determined that Jones had allegedly battered the victim, they arrested him without incident.

SPD officers requested charges for aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery and criminal threat.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704465482811.jpeg" alt="Jones photo Saline Co." />
 <figcaption>Jones photo Saline Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>By OLIVIA BERGMEIERSalina PostLate Thursday night, Salina Police officers arrested Darryl Jones Jr., a 50-year-old Salina resident, for allegedly battering a 39-year-old victim.According to SPD Capt. James Feldman, officers arrived around 10 p.m. at the 400 block of South Connecticut Avenue after a neighborhood resident called SPD and reported a disturbance."During the investigations, officers determined Mr. Jones had battered a 39-year-old female," Feldman said. "During that, he had strangled her, threatened her life and then also battered her regularly."Once officers determined that Jones had allegedly battered the victim, they arrested him without incident.SPD officers requested charges for aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery and criminal threat.

Kansas man jailed for alleged violent attack on a woman

LONDON (AP) — Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky &amp; Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don't Give Up on Us," has died at the age of 80.

His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family."

“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend," Snell said in a statement. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”

Born David Solberg, Soul was a Chicago native whose acting career dated back to the 1960s, when he joined the avant-garde Firehouse Theater in Minnesota. He continued to appear on stage and screen well into the 20th century, but he was best known for his work in the 1970s.

Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside dark-haired Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky &amp; Hutch, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979 and grew so popular it spawned a line of children's toys.

He also had success as a singer, starting in 1976 with “Don’t Give Up on Us" and following with such hits as “Going in With My Eyes Open” and “Silver Lady.”

Soul first gained national fame in the 1960s appearing on "The Merv Griffin Show” as “The Covered Man,” a singer disguised in a stocking cap who shouted out lyrics such as “That is why I hide my face, because a man has to be free.”

His other TV credits included early appearances on “Star Trek,” “All in the Family” and “”I Dream of Jeannie," the miniseries “Salem's Lot” and a short-lived version of the film classic “Casablanca,” in which Soul took on Humphrey Bogart's role as nightclub owner Rock Blaine.

Soul's movies included “Magnum Force,” “The Hanoi Hilton” and a cameo with Glaser in the 2004 big-screen remake of “Starsky &amp; Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.

By the 1990s, Soul had moved to Britain, where he performed several stage roles. In 2001, he won a libel case against a journalist who called “The Dead Monkey,” a play that Soul was in, the worst production he had ever seen - without having seen it. He also played the titular talk-show host in “Jerry Springer - The Opera" in London's West End.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704472879249.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LONDON (AP) — Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky &amp; Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don't Give Up on Us," has died at the age of 80.His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family."“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend," Snell said in a statement. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”Born David Solberg, Soul was a Chicago native whose acting career dated back to the 1960s, when he joined the avant-garde Firehouse Theater in Minnesota. He continued to appear on stage and screen well into the 20th century, but he was best known for his work in the 1970s.Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside dark-haired Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky &amp; Hutch, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979 and grew so popular it spawned a line of children's toys.He also had success as a singer, starting in 1976 with “Don’t Give Up on Us" and following with such hits as “Going in With My Eyes Open” and “Silver Lady.”Soul first gained national fame in the 1960s appearing on "The Merv Griffin Show” as “The Covered Man,” a singer disguised in a stocking cap who shouted out lyrics such as “That is why I hide my face, because a man has to be free.”His other TV credits included early appearances on “Star Trek,” “All in the Family” and “”I Dream of Jeannie," the miniseries “Salem's Lot” and a short-lived version of the film classic “Casablanca,” in which Soul took on Humphrey Bogart's role as nightclub owner Rock Blaine.Soul's movies included “Magnum Force,” “The Hanoi Hilton” and a cameo with Glaser in the 2004 big-screen remake of “Starsky &amp; Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.By the 1990s, Soul had moved to Britain, where he performed several stage roles. In 2001, he won a libel case against a journalist who called “The Dead Monkey,” a play that Soul was in, the worst production he had ever seen - without having seen it. He also played the titular talk-show host in “Jerry Springer - The Opera" in London's West End.

David Soul: Singer, Starsky and Hutch actor dies at 80

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A teen armed with a shotgun and a handgun unleashed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/perry-high-school-shooting-iowa-1defc6260e074362240a31a7f30cf1b9">terror at an Iowa high school</a>&nbsp;on the first day of classes in the new year, authorities said, killing a sixth grader and wounding five others as people hunkered down in classrooms, barricaded offices and fled the barrage of bullets.

The suspect, a 17-year-old student at the school in Perry, died of what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said. An administrator, later identified by his alma mater as Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, was among those wounded Thursday as students returned from winter break.

Authorities identified the shooter as Dylan Butler but provided no information about a possible motive. Two friends and their mother who spoke with The Associated Press said Butler was a quiet person who had been bullied for years.

Authorities said Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun. Mitch Mortvedt, the state investigation division's assistant director, said during a news conference that authorities also found a “pretty rudimentary” improvised explosive device and rendered it safe.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said federal and state investigators were interviewing Butler’s friends and analyzing Butler’s social media profiles, including posts on TikTok and Reddit.

Shortly before Thursday’s shooting, Butler posted a photo on TikTok inside the bathroom of Perry High School, the official said. The photo was captioned “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM accompanied it. Investigators have also found other photos Butler posted posing with firearms, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said alongside their mother, Alita, that Butler was bullied relentlessly since elementary school, but it escalated recently when his younger sister started getting picked on, too.

“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment," Yesenia Roeder Hall said. "Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”

Calls to Perry Community Schools' Superintendent Clark Wicks, as well as school board members, were unanswered Thursday, and an emailed request for comment was not immediately returned.

Police arrived within minutes after an active shooter was reported at 7:37 a.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Perry High School senior Ava Augustus was awaiting a counselor in a school office when she heard three shots. Unable to flee through a small window, she and others barricaded the door and were ready to throw things if necessary.

“And then we hear ‘He’s down. You can go out,’” Augustus said through tears. ”And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they’re taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg.”

Three gunshot victims were treated at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, a spokesperson said. Others were taken to a second hospital, a spokesperson for MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center confirmed.

Mortvedt said one person was in critical condition but the injuries didn't appear to be life-threatening, and the others were stable.

In a Facebook post, Marburger's daughter said he was in “surgery all day, and is currently stable.”

Claire Marburger called her father a “gentle giant” who would want more attention on the other victims and their families, and less on himself.

On Thursday night, hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil at a park where hours earlier, students had been brought to reunite with their families after the shooting. Bundled up against freezing temperatures, they listened to clergy from many faiths and heard a message of hope in both English and Spanish.

A post on the high school's Facebook page said it would be closed Friday and counseling services would be available for students, faculty and others in the community.

“This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to its core,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said.

In Washington, President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the shooting.

Mass shootings across the U.S. have long brought calls for stricter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gun-politics">gun laws</a>&nbsp;from gun safety advocates, and Thursday's did within hours. But the idea has been a non-starter for many Republicans, particularly in rural, GOP-leaning states like Iowa, which will hold its first-in-the-nation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-iowa-caucus-works-2024-democrats-republicans-592ab40b9b9b948c0540f2cf132bab5c">presidential caucuses</a>&nbsp;Jan. 15.

As of July 2021, Iowa&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ia-state-wire-iowa-gun-politics-business-laws-656a5ba4382a64f2d93790f56050ce3c">does not require a permit</a>&nbsp;to purchase a handgun or carry a firearm in public, but it does mandate a background check for anyone buying a handgun without a permit.

Perry has about 8,000 residents and is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, on the edge of the state capital’s metropolitan area. It is home to a large pork-processing plant and low-slung, single-story homes spread among trees now shorn of their leaves by winter. The high school and middle school are connected, sitting on the east edge of town.

The high school is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. Perry is more diverse than Iowa as a whole. Census figures show 31% of its residents are Hispanic, compared with less than 7% statewide. Those figures also show nearly 19% of the town’s residents were born outside the U.S.

Zander Shelley, 15, was in a hallway when he heard shots and dashed into a classroom, according to his father, Kevin Shelley. Zander was grazed twice and hid in the classroom before texting his father.

Kevin Shelley, who drives a garbage truck, told his boss he had to run. “It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life,” he said.

He later posted a photo on Facebook of his son being treated at the Methodist Medical Center and said the boy was feeling fine.

“I am still shaking,” he added, “and tho I dont show it I’m not OK.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704470490447.png" alt="&nbsp;hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil at a park where hours earlier, students had been brought to reunite with their families-photo courtesy KCCI TF" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil at a park where hours earlier, students had been brought to reunite with their families-photo courtesy KCCI TF</figcaption>
 </figure>PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A teen armed with a shotgun and a handgun unleashed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/perry-high-school-shooting-iowa-1defc6260e074362240a31a7f30cf1b9">terror at an Iowa high school</a>&nbsp;on the first day of classes in the new year, authorities said, killing a sixth grader and wounding five others as people hunkered down in classrooms, barricaded offices and fled the barrage of bullets.The suspect, a 17-year-old student at the school in Perry, died of what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said. An administrator, later identified by his alma mater as Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, was among those wounded Thursday as students returned from winter break.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704402515704.png" alt="First responders at the high school Thursday -photo courtesy KCCI TV" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the high school Thursday -photo courtesy KCCI TV</figcaption>
 </figure>Authorities identified the shooter as Dylan Butler but provided no information about a possible motive. Two friends and their mother who spoke with The Associated Press said Butler was a quiet person who had been bullied for years.Authorities said Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun. Mitch Mortvedt, the state investigation division's assistant director, said during a news conference that authorities also found a “pretty rudimentary” improvised explosive device and rendered it safe.A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said federal and state investigators were interviewing Butler’s friends and analyzing Butler’s social media profiles, including posts on TikTok and Reddit.Shortly before Thursday’s shooting, Butler posted a photo on TikTok inside the bathroom of Perry High School, the official said. The photo was captioned “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM accompanied it. Investigators have also found other photos Butler posted posing with firearms, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said alongside their mother, Alita, that Butler was bullied relentlessly since elementary school, but it escalated recently when his younger sister started getting picked on, too.“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment," Yesenia Roeder Hall said. "Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”Calls to Perry Community Schools' Superintendent Clark Wicks, as well as school board members, were unanswered Thursday, and an emailed request for comment was not immediately returned.Police arrived within minutes after an active shooter was reported at 7:37 a.m. Thursday, authorities said.Perry High School senior Ava Augustus was awaiting a counselor in a school office when she heard three shots. Unable to flee through a small window, she and others barricaded the door and were ready to throw things if necessary.“And then we hear ‘He’s down. You can go out,’” Augustus said through tears. ”And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they’re taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg.”Three gunshot victims were treated at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, a spokesperson said. Others were taken to a second hospital, a spokesperson for MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center confirmed.Mortvedt said one person was in critical condition but the injuries didn't appear to be life-threatening, and the others were stable.In a Facebook post, Marburger's daughter said he was in “surgery all day, and is currently stable.”Claire Marburger called her father a “gentle giant” who would want more attention on the other victims and their families, and less on himself.On Thursday night, hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil at a park where hours earlier, students had been brought to reunite with their families after the shooting. Bundled up against freezing temperatures, they listened to clergy from many faiths and heard a message of hope in both English and Spanish.A post on the high school's Facebook page said it would be closed Friday and counseling services would be available for students, faculty and others in the community.“This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to its core,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said.In Washington, President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the shooting.Mass shootings across the U.S. have long brought calls for stricter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gun-politics">gun laws</a>&nbsp;from gun safety advocates, and Thursday's did within hours. But the idea has been a non-starter for many Republicans, particularly in rural, GOP-leaning states like Iowa, which will hold its first-in-the-nation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-iowa-caucus-works-2024-democrats-republicans-592ab40b9b9b948c0540f2cf132bab5c">presidential caucuses</a>&nbsp;Jan. 15.As of July 2021, Iowa&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ia-state-wire-iowa-gun-politics-business-laws-656a5ba4382a64f2d93790f56050ce3c">does not require a permit</a>&nbsp;to purchase a handgun or carry a firearm in public, but it does mandate a background check for anyone buying a handgun without a permit.Perry has about 8,000 residents and is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, on the edge of the state capital’s metropolitan area. It is home to a large pork-processing plant and low-slung, single-story homes spread among trees now shorn of their leaves by winter. The high school and middle school are connected, sitting on the east edge of town.The high school is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. Perry is more diverse than Iowa as a whole. Census figures show 31% of its residents are Hispanic, compared with less than 7% statewide. Those figures also show nearly 19% of the town’s residents were born outside the U.S.Zander Shelley, 15, was in a hallway when he heard shots and dashed into a classroom, according to his father, Kevin Shelley. Zander was grazed twice and hid in the classroom before texting his father.Kevin Shelley, who drives a garbage truck, told his boss he had to run. “It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life,” he said.He later posted a photo on Facebook of his son being treated at the Methodist Medical Center and said the boy was feeling fine.“I am still shaking,” he added, “and tho I dont show it I’m not OK.”

Candlelight prayer vigil held for victims in Iowa school shooting

Retirement of eight-term representative likely to touch off crowded primary in Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District

Missouri’s second-longest serving member of Congress announced Thursday he will not seek a ninth term.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican who turns 72 this year, said&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/RepBlaine/status/1742982023315386817?s=20">in a social media post</a>&nbsp;that he made the decision to leave Congress “after a lot of thoughtful discussion with my family.”

With the announcement, Luetkemeyer joins about&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-retirements-george-santos-2024-election-ddb62ccdf106c3f43ac789bb111d56f8">two dozen Democrats and 14 Republicans</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. House who have said they will not seek re-election this year.

“As we look to the future, I believe that if we work hard, stay together, and believe in ourselves our best days are indeed still ahead,” Luetkemeyer wrote in his announcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704462906692.png" alt="Blaine Luetkemeyer" />
 <figcaption>Blaine Luetkemeyer</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Retirement of eight-term representative likely to touch off crowded primary in Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District</h2>Missouri’s second-longest serving member of Congress announced Thursday he will not seek a ninth term.U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican who turns 72 this year, said&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/RepBlaine/status/1742982023315386817?s=20">in a social media post</a>&nbsp;that he made the decision to leave Congress “after a lot of thoughtful discussion with my family.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/Kp2TmrR7jw">pic.twitter.com/Kp2TmrR7jw</a>&mdash; Blaine Luetkemeyer (@RepBlaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBlaine/status/1742982023315386817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>With the announcement, Luetkemeyer joins about&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-retirements-george-santos-2024-election-ddb62ccdf106c3f43ac789bb111d56f8">two dozen Democrats and 14 Republicans</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. House who have said they will not seek re-election this year.“As we look to the future, I believe that if we work hard, stay together, and believe in ourselves our best days are indeed still ahead,” Luetkemeyer wrote in his announcement.Luetkemeyer first won election to the House in 2008 in the old 9th District. When that district was eliminated after the 2010 census, Luetkemeyer won election six times in the 3rd District.Luetkemeyer’s exit will likely trigger a crowded primary, especially for Republicans who consider the district a safe seat likely to elect whoever wins the GOP nomination in August. After squeaking into office by 2.5% in 2008, Luetkemeyer has never received less than 63% of the vote and has averaged 67% over the past five elections.The 3rd District runs t<a target="_blank" href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills221/RedistrictingMaps/District_3.pdf">hrough all or part of 16 counties</a>, from the Lake of the Ozarks to the Mississippi River. Almost half the population is in eastern and northern St. Charles County, the southern half of Boone County and the western half of Jefferson County.Potential candidates include incumbent or recent state senators and representatives who live in the district. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who lives in Jefferson County,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/meaccoleman/status/1743013627542507761?s=20">used social media</a>&nbsp;to say “Of course I’m considering it!!”Other state lawmakers rumored to be considering the race include state Sens. Mike Bernskoetter of Jefferson City, Travis Fitzwater of Holts Summit, Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring and Nick Schroer of Defiance, as well as former state Sen. Bob Onder of Lake St. Louis.For some of the potential candidates, entering the race would alter their political plans for the year. Rowden has announced he is running for secretary of state. Onder is&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/12/11/former-state-sen-bob-onder-officially-joins-race-for-missouri-lieutenant-governor/">running for lieutenant governor</a>&nbsp;and put $500,000 of his own money into his campaign fund.There is no requirement that a candidate for Congress live in the district. That could provide an opening for Luetkemeyer’s cousin, state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, who currently resides in Parkville and represents a northwest Missouri district in the state Senate.Former state Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz of Sullivan said he received several calls Thursday asking whether he would run. Schatz lives in Franklin County, which is not in the district, but he said he owns property within the district.“I just got word today and it is something that has landed on my plate that is something to think about,” Schatz said.In a text message, Schroer said he would have to talk to family and supporters before deciding on a bid.“Our nation is absolutely heading in the wrong direction and fast,” Schroer said. “We must ensure a strong and effective conservative runs for this seat with the desire to fight to save our Republic.”Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden of Columbia was also considered a potential candidate. But&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/calebrowden/status/1743036267598643461?s=20">social media</a>, he said would not join the race.“I love Missouri, love the people of Missouri and am excited to continue my run to be Missouri’s next Secretary of State,” Rowden wrote.None of the other potential candidates contacted by The Independent responded with a comment on their plans.Blaine Luetkemeyer, a banker who resides in St. Elizabeth, entered politics in 1998 by winning a seat in the Missouri House. He lost the 2004 primary for state treasurer and was appointed tourism director by then-Gov. Matt Blunt in 2005.He is chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions of the Committee on Financial Services. He likely would have become chairman of the committee in the next Congress if Republicans retain the majority.Missouri’s senior member of Congress is Sam Graves, a Republican who has represented the 6th District since 2001.