WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — With a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-d3937ca2c3e089fe7505720e619d5682">rebuilt statue of Jackie Robinson in bronze</a>&nbsp;back in Kansas, some of the late baseball icon's biggest fans are breathing a sigh of relief.

The original sculpture depicting Robinson resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, home of urban youth baseball League 42.

The statue is not only a piece of art or even just a tribute to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jackie-robinson">first Black player in Major League Baseball,</a>&nbsp;said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

“That statue had become a symbol: a symbol of hope, a symbol of inspiration, of the core values that were part of Jackie’s legacy. Those were fixtures here in the ballpark,” Kendrick said.

He said that made it difficult to explain the statue's theft to the 600 children who play in League 42, which was named after Robinson's uniform with the Brooklyn Dodgers, where Robinson broke Major League Baseball's racial barrier in 1947. Kendrick and others worried the children might lose faith in humanity.

That is until people from across the country stepped up to help replace it six months after thieves&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-beea370b17079ad30092affe6aaea3c1">destroyed the original.</a>

“It reminds us that there has always been more good people in this world than bad people,” Kendrick said. “The minute that you’re ready to give up on people, what happens? The good people in this case literally stepped up to the plate. And it renews your faith in people.”

Little League players and former Major League Baseball players, including All-Stars&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/cc-sabathia-honored-in-final-season-at-all-star-game-4ea19a107e184950b05465ce92ae738a">CC Sabathia</a>&nbsp;and Dellin Betances, were set to gather for a ceremony Monday evening to unveil an identical statue now standing in the park where League 42 plays.

The league was met with an outpouring of support and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations after news of the stolen statue shocked the community and spread across the country. The donations helped fund the replacement statue, as well as improvements to the plaza where it stands, the nonprofit league’s facilities and its programming, said Bob Lutz, its executive director.

The rebuilt statue is identical to the original because the mold was still viable. Dedicated in 2021, it was created by artist John Parsons, a friend of Lutz's who died in 2022.

Firefighters found burned remnants of the original statue five days&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-45c08bbbd29322c05e6136a67f687459">after</a>&nbsp;it disappeared. One man&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-arrest-f70fcf6fbc51c275bf6d0e1ac3a75815">pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;and will spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-beea370b17079ad30092affe6aaea3c1">statue heist.</a>

Ricky Alderete was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-stolen-wichita-league-42-12a991dd637e54c8ee474ff1aa7bc914">sentenced Friday</a>&nbsp;to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 restitution for stealing the statue, an act he said stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-cleats-brooklyn-dodgers-df1a8c2350877eb7fc3dbf55087d1688">lonely cleats</a>&nbsp;of the original found a new home at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Robinson played for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. His impact was felt beyond sports; he galvanized the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-entertainment-sports-los-angeles-baseball-d73b75a6965310bfd087c165e93dc0c6">civil rights movement</a>. He died in 1972.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722891041343.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — With a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-d3937ca2c3e089fe7505720e619d5682">rebuilt statue of Jackie Robinson in bronze</a>&nbsp;back in Kansas, some of the late baseball icon's biggest fans are breathing a sigh of relief.The original sculpture depicting Robinson resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, home of urban youth baseball League 42.The statue is not only a piece of art or even just a tribute to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jackie-robinson">first Black player in Major League Baseball,</a>&nbsp;said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.“That statue had become a symbol: a symbol of hope, a symbol of inspiration, of the core values that were part of Jackie’s legacy. Those were fixtures here in the ballpark,” Kendrick said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722891019727.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>He said that made it difficult to explain the statue's theft to the 600 children who play in League 42, which was named after Robinson's uniform with the Brooklyn Dodgers, where Robinson broke Major League Baseball's racial barrier in 1947. Kendrick and others worried the children might lose faith in humanity.That is until people from across the country stepped up to help replace it six months after thieves&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-beea370b17079ad30092affe6aaea3c1">destroyed the original.</a>“It reminds us that there has always been more good people in this world than bad people,” Kendrick said. “The minute that you’re ready to give up on people, what happens? The good people in this case literally stepped up to the plate. And it renews your faith in people.”Little League players and former Major League Baseball players, including All-Stars&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/cc-sabathia-honored-in-final-season-at-all-star-game-4ea19a107e184950b05465ce92ae738a">CC Sabathia</a>&nbsp;and Dellin Betances, were set to gather for a ceremony Monday evening to unveil an identical statue now standing in the park where League 42 plays.The league was met with an outpouring of support and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations after news of the stolen statue shocked the community and spread across the country. The donations helped fund the replacement statue, as well as improvements to the plaza where it stands, the nonprofit league’s facilities and its programming, said Bob Lutz, its executive director.The rebuilt statue is identical to the original because the mold was still viable. Dedicated in 2021, it was created by artist John Parsons, a friend of Lutz's who died in 2022.Firefighters found burned remnants of the original statue five days&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-45c08bbbd29322c05e6136a67f687459">after</a>&nbsp;it disappeared. One man&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-arrest-f70fcf6fbc51c275bf6d0e1ac3a75815">pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;and will spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-baseball-statue-stolen-beea370b17079ad30092affe6aaea3c1">statue heist.</a>Ricky Alderete was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-stolen-wichita-league-42-12a991dd637e54c8ee474ff1aa7bc914">sentenced Friday</a>&nbsp;to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 restitution for stealing the statue, an act he said stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1706214143377.png" alt="City of Wichita" />
 <figcaption>City of Wichita</figcaption>
 </figure>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-cleats-brooklyn-dodgers-df1a8c2350877eb7fc3dbf55087d1688">lonely cleats</a>&nbsp;of the original found a new home at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.Robinson played for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. His impact was felt beyond sports; he galvanized the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-entertainment-sports-los-angeles-baseball-d73b75a6965310bfd087c165e93dc0c6">civil rights movement</a>. He died in 1972.----------

Rebuilt Jackie Robinson statue returns to Kansas after original was stolen

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google's ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world's best-known companies.

The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-trial-search-engine-justice-department-2cfb06271455c7e12c4927959061e832">biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century.</a>

After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year's 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-closings-trial-monopoly-aa1c5b9f859e9428aec15bb0a61bcaa8">their closing arguments in early May.</a>

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling.

It represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had steadfastly argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers' overwhelming desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online. Google's search engine currently processes an estimated 8.5 billion queries per day worldwide, nearly doubling its daily volume from 12 years ago, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/AI_Education.pdf">a recent study</a>&nbsp;released by the investment firm BOND.

Google almost certainly will appeal the decision in a process that ultimately may land in the U.S. Supreme Court.

For now, the decision vindicates antitrust regulators at the Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit nearly four years ago while Donald Trump was still president, and has been escalating it efforts to rein in Big Tech’s power during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”

The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically has thwarted competition to protect a search engine that has become the centerpiece of a digital advertising machine that generated nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. Justice Department lawyers argued that Google's monopoly enabled it to charge advertisers artificially high prices while also enjoying the luxury of not having to invest more time and money into improving the quality of its search engine — a lax approach that hurt consumers.

As expected, Mehta's ruling focused on the billions of dollars Google spends every year to install its search engine as the default option on new cellphones and tech gadgets. In 2021 alone, Google spent more than $26 billion to lock in those default agreements, Mehta said in his ruling.

Google ridiculed those allegations, noting that consumers have historically changed search engines when they become disillusioned with the results they were getting. For instance, Yahoo — now a minor player on the internet — was the most popular search engine during the 1990s before Google came along.

Mehta said the evidence at trial showed the importance of the default settings. He noted that Microsoft's Bing search engine has 80% share of the search market on the Microsoft Edge browser. The judge said that shows other search engines can be successful if Google is not locked in as the predetermined default option.

“Advertisers consistently testified that shifting significant ad spending from Google to Bing would be ineffective (and unwise) because of Bing’s lack of scale,” Mehta wrote.

Still, Mehta credited the quality of Google's product as an important part of its dominance, as well, saying flatly that "Google is widely recognized as the best (general search engine) available in the United States.”

Mehta's conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape.

“The court confirmed what almost everyone in the industry already knew: that Google is a monopoly and is abusing its power to harm consumers and enrich itself,” said Roger Alford, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from shelling out billions annually to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other internet-connected devices. After the next phase, the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field.

“Google’s loss in its search antitrust trial could be a huge deal—depending on the remedy,” said eMarketer senior analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf. “A forced divestiture of the search business would sever Alphabet from its largest source of revenue. But even losing its capacity to strike exclusive default agreements could be detrimental for Google. Its ubiquity is its biggest strength, especially as competition heats up among AI-powered search alternatives.”

Regardless she added, a drawn-out appeals process will delay any immediate effects for both consumers and advertisers.

If there is a significant shakeup, it could turn out to be a coup for Microsoft, whose own power was undermined during the late 1990s when the Justice Department targeted the software maker in an antitrust lawsuit accusing it of abusing the dominance of its Windows operating system on personal computers to lock out competition.

That Microsoft case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-microsoft-doj-6a800b51cc9b6b1c4d1b23bad4510040">mirrored the one brought against Google</a>&nbsp;in several ways and now the result could also echo similarly. Just as Microsoft's bruising antitrust battle created distractions and obstacles that opened up more opportunities for Google after its 1998 inception, the decision against Google could be a boon for Microsoft, which already has a market value of more than $3 trillion. At one time, Alphabet was worth more than Microsoft, but now trails its rival with a market value of about $2 trillion.

Besides boosting Microsoft's Bing search engine, the outcome could hurt Google at a critical pivot point that is tilting technology in the age of artificial intelligence. Both Microsoft and Google are among the early leaders in AI in a battle that now could be affected by Mehta's market-rattling decision.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was one of the Justice Department's star witnesses during the testimony that covered his frustration with Google deals with the likes of Apple that made it nearly impossible for the Bing search engine to make any headway, even as Microsoft poured more than $100 billion in improvements since 2009.

“You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth and you search on Google,” Nadella said at one point in his testimony. “Everybody talks about the open web, but there is really the Google web.”

Nadella also expressed fear that it might take an antitrust crackdown to ensure the situation didn't get worse&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-search-ai-overviews-internet-traffic-ebb6bbbde17ed29a5f7b630d9e5e285b">as AI becomes a bigger force in search</a>.

“Despite my enthusiasm that there is a new angle with A.I., I worry a lot that this vicious cycle that I’m trapped in could get even more vicious,” Nadella said on the stand.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668444743855.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google's ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world's best-known companies.The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-trial-search-engine-justice-department-2cfb06271455c7e12c4927959061e832">biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century.</a>After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year's 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-closings-trial-monopoly-aa1c5b9f859e9428aec15bb0a61bcaa8">their closing arguments in early May.</a>“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling.It represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had steadfastly argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers' overwhelming desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online. Google's search engine currently processes an estimated 8.5 billion queries per day worldwide, nearly doubling its daily volume from 12 years ago, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/AI_Education.pdf">a recent study</a>&nbsp;released by the investment firm BOND.Google almost certainly will appeal the decision in a process that ultimately may land in the U.S. Supreme Court.For now, the decision vindicates antitrust regulators at the Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit nearly four years ago while Donald Trump was still president, and has been escalating it efforts to rein in Big Tech’s power during President Joe Biden’s administration.“This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically has thwarted competition to protect a search engine that has become the centerpiece of a digital advertising machine that generated nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. Justice Department lawyers argued that Google's monopoly enabled it to charge advertisers artificially high prices while also enjoying the luxury of not having to invest more time and money into improving the quality of its search engine — a lax approach that hurt consumers.As expected, Mehta's ruling focused on the billions of dollars Google spends every year to install its search engine as the default option on new cellphones and tech gadgets. In 2021 alone, Google spent more than $26 billion to lock in those default agreements, Mehta said in his ruling.Google ridiculed those allegations, noting that consumers have historically changed search engines when they become disillusioned with the results they were getting. For instance, Yahoo — now a minor player on the internet — was the most popular search engine during the 1990s before Google came along.Mehta said the evidence at trial showed the importance of the default settings. He noted that Microsoft's Bing search engine has 80% share of the search market on the Microsoft Edge browser. The judge said that shows other search engines can be successful if Google is not locked in as the predetermined default option.“Advertisers consistently testified that shifting significant ad spending from Google to Bing would be ineffective (and unwise) because of Bing’s lack of scale,” Mehta wrote.Still, Mehta credited the quality of Google's product as an important part of its dominance, as well, saying flatly that "Google is widely recognized as the best (general search engine) available in the United States.”Mehta's conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape.“The court confirmed what almost everyone in the industry already knew: that Google is a monopoly and is abusing its power to harm consumers and enrich itself,” said Roger Alford, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from shelling out billions annually to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other internet-connected devices. After the next phase, the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field.“Google’s loss in its search antitrust trial could be a huge deal—depending on the remedy,” said eMarketer senior analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf. “A forced divestiture of the search business would sever Alphabet from its largest source of revenue. But even losing its capacity to strike exclusive default agreements could be detrimental for Google. Its ubiquity is its biggest strength, especially as competition heats up among AI-powered search alternatives.”Regardless she added, a drawn-out appeals process will delay any immediate effects for both consumers and advertisers.If there is a significant shakeup, it could turn out to be a coup for Microsoft, whose own power was undermined during the late 1990s when the Justice Department targeted the software maker in an antitrust lawsuit accusing it of abusing the dominance of its Windows operating system on personal computers to lock out competition.That Microsoft case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-microsoft-doj-6a800b51cc9b6b1c4d1b23bad4510040">mirrored the one brought against Google</a>&nbsp;in several ways and now the result could also echo similarly. Just as Microsoft's bruising antitrust battle created distractions and obstacles that opened up more opportunities for Google after its 1998 inception, the decision against Google could be a boon for Microsoft, which already has a market value of more than $3 trillion. At one time, Alphabet was worth more than Microsoft, but now trails its rival with a market value of about $2 trillion.Besides boosting Microsoft's Bing search engine, the outcome could hurt Google at a critical pivot point that is tilting technology in the age of artificial intelligence. Both Microsoft and Google are among the early leaders in AI in a battle that now could be affected by Mehta's market-rattling decision.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was one of the Justice Department's star witnesses during the testimony that covered his frustration with Google deals with the likes of Apple that made it nearly impossible for the Bing search engine to make any headway, even as Microsoft poured more than $100 billion in improvements since 2009.“You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth and you search on Google,” Nadella said at one point in his testimony. “Everybody talks about the open web, but there is really the Google web.”Nadella also expressed fear that it might take an antitrust crackdown to ensure the situation didn't get worse&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-search-ai-overviews-internet-traffic-ebb6bbbde17ed29a5f7b630d9e5e285b">as AI becomes a bigger force in search</a>.“Despite my enthusiasm that there is a new angle with A.I., I worry a lot that this vicious cycle that I’m trapped in could get even more vicious,” Nadella said on the stand.

Judge: Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a fatal shooting at a homeless camp in Kansas City.

Just after 6a.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting behind a business in the 9800 block of E. US 40 Highway, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchins.

First responders were led into the wooded area behind the business to what appears to be a homeless campsite.There they located an a man unresponsive outside a tent that appeared to have been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on information provided by numerous people on scene when officers arrived they took man into custody for more investigation. 

That person remains in custody at this time.

Preliminary investigation indicates the suspect and victim had an interaction at that location that escalated to an altercation which eventually led to shots being fired and the victim being struck.

Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators processed the scene for evidence and talking to the people that were at the location when police arrived. Detectives are not searching for any additional suspects at this time.

Police have not released the name of the victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722885644938.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a fatal shooting at a homeless camp in Kansas City.Just after 6a.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting behind a business in the 9800 block of E. US 40 Highway, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchins.First responders were led into the wooded area behind the business to what appears to be a homeless campsite.There they located an a man unresponsive outside a tent that appeared to have been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Based on information provided by numerous people on scene when officers arrived they took man into custody for more investigation. That person remains in custody at this time.Preliminary investigation indicates the suspect and victim had an interaction at that location that escalated to an altercation which eventually led to shots being fired and the victim being struck.Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators processed the scene for evidence and talking to the people that were at the location when police arrived. Detectives are not searching for any additional suspects at this time.Police have not released the name of the victim.

KCPD: Suspect in custody for homeless camp killing

NEW YORK (AP) — A scary Monday that started with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-stocks-nikkei-markets-yen-9fc2c2d7b2f85be89e8dd2db4054b9c5">plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987</a>&nbsp;’s crash swept around the world and pummeled Wall Street with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-rates-yen-inflation-20ce445cdd86be98fb3682a33e88442b">more steep losses,</a>&nbsp;as fears worsened about a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-jobs-unemployment-federal-reserve-inflation-22095766804d9c1532b4fcc29565be49">slowing</a>&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-recession-jobs-unemployment-c7f1985b1ab3a7b781920c2693cd0438">economy.</a>

The S&amp;P 500 dropped 3% for its worst day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reeled by 1,033 points, or 2.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4%.

The drops were the latest in a global sell-off that began last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped begin Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

It was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">employers slowed their hiring</a>&nbsp;last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-rates-fed-currency-f0e7ee229738c6496ba3a8e12dfe05ae">weaker than expected</a>, and it’s all raised fear the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-federal-reserve-interest-rates-04d2877f47f3913acc2f992d8ef1581b">Federal Reserve</a>&nbsp;has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-75c0c905b4f5d9b703be7aaa11fafad1">interest rates</a>&nbsp;in hopes of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-election-federal-reserve-rates-economy-d8d44ca753aace952831a8f0cb42b97c">stifling inflation</a>.

Professional investors cautioned that some technical factors could be amplifying the action in markets, and that the drops may be overdone, but the losses were still neck-snapping. South Korea’s Kospi index careened 8.8% lower, and bitcoin dropped below $54,000 from more than $61,000 on Friday.

Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped about 1%.

That’s in part because traders began wondering if the damage has been so severe that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates in an emergency meeting, before its next scheduled decision on Sept. 18. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, briefly sank below 3.70% during the morning from 3.88% late Friday and from 5% in April. It later recovered and pulled back to 3.89%.

“The Fed could ride in on a white horse to save the day with a big rate cut, but the case for an inter-meeting cut seems flimsy,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “Those are usually reserved for emergencies, like COVID, and an unemployment rate of 4.3% doesn’t really seem like an emergency.”

Of course,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-growth-inflation-gdp-consumers-federal-reserve-ffba812f747d18d1f09fcf804fe4eceb">the U.S. economy is still growing</a>, the U.S. stock market is still up a healthy amount for the year and a recession is far from a certainty. The Fed has been clear about the tightrope it began walking when it started hiking rates sharply in March 2022: Being too aggressive would choke the economy, but going too soft would give inflation more oxygen and hurt everyone.

Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle sees a higher chance of a recession within the next 12 months following Friday’s jobs report. But he still sees only a 25% probability of that, up from 15%, in part “because the data look fine overall” and he does not “see major financial imbalances.”

Some of Wall Street’s recent declines may simply be air coming out of a stock market that romped to dozens of all-time highs this year, in part on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-chip-ai-apple-microsoft-51cc2b56e5871111907de6ad9cab59ae">frenzy around artificial-intelligence</a>&nbsp;technology. Critics have been saying for a while that the stock market looked expensive after prices rose faster than corporate profits.

“Markets tend to move higher like they’re climbing stairs, and they go down like they’re falling out a window,” according to JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America. He chalks much of the recent worries to euphoria around AI subsiding, with pressure rising on companies to show how AI is turning into profits, and “a market that was ahead of itself.”

The only way for stocks to look less expensive is either for prices to fall or for their profits to strengthen. Expectations are still high for the latter, with growth for S&amp;P 500 profits this past quarter looking to be the strongest since 2021.

Professional investors also pointed to the Bank of Japan’s move last week to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-rates-boj-yen-e00919b053412fabf7a800ed78a9ad7a">raise its main interest rate from nearly zero</a>. Such a move helps boost the value of the Japanese yen, but it could also force traders to scramble out of deals where they borrowed money for virtually no cost in Japan and invested it elsewhere around the world.

Treasury yields also pared their losses Monday after a report said growth for U.S. services businesses was a touch stronger than expected. Growth was led by arts, entertainment and recreation businesses, along with accommodations and food services, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

Still, stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the economy’s strength took sharp losses on the fears about a slowdown. The small companies in the Russell 2000 index dropped 3.3%, washing out what had been a revival for it and other beaten-down areas of the market.

Making things worse for Wall Street, Big Tech stocks tumbled as the market’s most popular trade for much of this year continued to unravel. Apple, Nvidia and a handful of other Big Tech stocks known as the “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-magnificent-seven-a6e1da1a8c85c0a56f9e9c85e001ebff">Magnificent Seven</a>&nbsp;” had propelled the S&amp;P 500 to record after record this year, even as high interest rates weighed down much of the rest of the stock market.

But Big Tech’s momentum turned last month on worries investors had taken their prices too high and expectations for future growth are becoming too difficult to meet. A set of underwhelming profit reports that began with updates from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tesla-earnings-second-quarter-sales-decline-8bdd0d655cddde90f534b41fd87edc4a">Tesla</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-alphabet-second-quarter-earnings-artificial-intelligence-37db791b506a5223703e8fb7e8bebddf">Alphabet</a>&nbsp;added to the pessimism and accelerated the declines.

Apple fell 4.8% Monday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-profit-earnings-7af22b7ad654ba012d8e8803ed694aea">slashed its ownership stake</a>&nbsp;in the iPhone maker.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-artificial-intelligence-ai-gaming-1acc94ebbe6a59f728742ca20b3532cf">Nvidia</a>, the chip company that’s become the poster child of Wall Street’s AI bonanza, fell even more, 6.4%. Analysts cut their profit forecasts over the weekend for the company after a report from The Information said Nvidia’s new AI chip is delayed. The recent selling has trimmed Nvidia’s gain for the year to nearly 103% from 170% in the middle of June.

Another Big Tech titan, Alphabet, fell 4.4% after a U.S. judge ruled Google’s search engine has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-search-engine-verdict-apple-319a61f20fb11510097845a30abaefd8">illegally exploiting its dominance</a>&nbsp;to squash competition and stifle innovation.

All told, the S&amp;P 500 fell 160.23 points to 5,186.33. The Dow sank 1,033.99 to 38,703.27, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 576.08 to 16,200.08.

Worries outside corporate profits, interest rates and the economy are also weighing on the market. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-latest-5-august-2024-631cf209427743bfa105516d52c1556d">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;may be worsening, which beyond its human toll could cause sharp swings for the price of oil. That’s adding to broader worries about potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-tactical-nuclear-weapons-missile-launchers-29674804c22aea7d7de8bb6a6aa5a92d">hotspots</a>&nbsp;around the world, while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-harris-election-b8340b9b1025df7c729377794a6a3131">upcoming U.S. elections</a>&nbsp;could further scramble things.

Wall Street has been concerned about how policies coming out of November could impact markets, but the sharp swings for stock prices could affect the election itself.

The threat of a recession is likely to put Vice President Kamala Harris on the defensive. But slower growth could also further reduce inflation and force former President Donald Trump to pivot from his current focus on higher prices to outlining ways to revive the economy.

“It comes down to jobs,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. Jobs drive spending by U.S. consumers, which in turn is the biggest part of the U.S. economy.

“When we get to election day, the unemployment rate is going to be extremely important.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling Monday as fear about a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-jobs-unemployment-federal-reserve-inflation-22095766804d9c1532b4fcc29565be49">slowing</a>&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-recession-jobs-unemployment-c7f1985b1ab3a7b781920c2693cd0438">economy</a>&nbsp;worsens and sets off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-rates-yen-inflation-20ce445cdd86be98fb3682a33e88442b">another sell-off</a>&nbsp;for financial markets around the world.

The S&amp;P 500 was down by 2.4% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was reeling by 864 points, or 2.2%, as of 1:25 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.8%.

The drops were just the latest in a global sell-off that began last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped start Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

Professional investors cautioned that some technical factors could be amplifying the action in markets, but the losses were still neck-snapping. South Korea’s Kospi index careened 8.8% lower, stock markets across Europe sank more than 1% and bitcoin dropped below $55,000 from more than $61,000 on Friday.

Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped 1%.

That’s in part because traders began wondering if the damage has been so severe that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates in an emergency meeting, before its next scheduled decision on Sept. 18. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, briefly sank below 3.70% during the morning from 3.88% late Friday and from 5% in April. It later recovered and pulled back to 3.93%.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-growth-inflation-gdp-consumers-federal-reserve-ffba812f747d18d1f09fcf804fe4eceb">The U.S. economy is still growing</a>, and a recession is far from a certainty. The Fed has been clear about the tightrope it began walking when it started hiking rates sharply in March 2022: Being too aggressive would choke the economy, but going too soft would give inflation more oxygen and hurt everyone.

Some of Wall Street's recent declines may also simply be air coming out of a stock market that romped to dozens of all-time highs this year, in part on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-chip-ai-apple-microsoft-51cc2b56e5871111907de6ad9cab59ae">frenzy around artificial-intelligence</a>&nbsp;technology and hopes for coming cuts to interest rates. Critics have been saying for a while that the stock market looked expensive after prices rose faster than corporate profits.

“Markets tend to move higher like they’re climbing stairs, and they go down like they’re falling out a window,” according to JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America. He chalks much of the recent worries to euphoria around AI subsiding and “a market that was ahead of itself.”

Professional investors also pointed to the Bank of Japan's move last week to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-rates-boj-yen-e00919b053412fabf7a800ed78a9ad7a">raise its main interest rate from nearly zero</a>. Such a move helps boost the value of the Japanese yen, but it could also force traders to scramble out of deals where they borrowed money for virtually no cost in Japan and invested it elsewhere around the world.

U.S. stocks pared their losses Monday after a report said growth for U.S. services businesses was a touch stronger than expected. Growth was led by businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation businesses, along with accommodations and food services, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Treasury yields also pared their drops following the better-than-expected data.

Still, stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the economy’s strength took sharp losses on the fears about a slowdown. The small companies in the Russell 2000 index dropped 2.8%, further dousing what had been a revival for it and other beaten-down areas of the market.

Making things worse for Wall Street, Big Tech stocks also tumbled as the market’s most popular trade for much of this year continued to unravel. Apple, Nvidia and a handful of other Big Tech stocks known as the “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-magnificent-seven-a6e1da1a8c85c0a56f9e9c85e001ebff">Magnificent Seven</a>&nbsp;” had propelled the S&amp;P 500 to records this year, even as high interest rates weighed down much of the rest of the stock market.

Apple fell 3.9% Monday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-profit-earnings-7af22b7ad654ba012d8e8803ed694aea">slashed its ownership stake</a>&nbsp;in the iPhone maker.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-artificial-intelligence-ai-gaming-1acc94ebbe6a59f728742ca20b3532cf">Nvidia</a>, the chip company that’s become the poster child of Wall Street’s AI bonanza, fell even more, 5.5%. Analysts cut their profit forecasts over the weekend for the company after a report from The Information said Nvidia’s new AI chip is delayed. The recent selling has trimmed Nvidia's gain for the year to 104% from 170% in the middle of June.

Because the Magnificent Seven companies are the market’s biggest by market value, the movements for their stocks carry much more weight on the S&amp;P 500 and other indexes.

Worries outside corporate profits, interest rates and the economy are also weighing on the market. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-latest-5-august-2024-631cf209427743bfa105516d52c1556d">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;may be worsening, which beyond its human toll could also cause sharp swings for the price of oil. That’s adding to broader worries about potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-tactical-nuclear-weapons-missile-launchers-29674804c22aea7d7de8bb6a6aa5a92d">hotspots</a>&nbsp;around the world, while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-harris-election-b8340b9b1025df7c729377794a6a3131">upcoming U.S. elections</a>&nbsp;could further scramble things.

A strong jobs market supports consumer spending, which drives economic growth. The link between employment and spending will remain a key focus heading into the U.S. presidential election, said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

“It comes down to jobs,” she said. “When we get to election day, the unemployment rate is going to be extremely important.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling Monday as fear about a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-jobs-unemployment-federal-reserve-inflation-22095766804d9c1532b4fcc29565be49">slowing</a>&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-growth-inflation-gdp-consumers-federal-reserve-ffba812f747d18d1f09fcf804fe4eceb">economy</a>&nbsp;worsens and sets off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-rates-yen-inflation-20ce445cdd86be98fb3682a33e88442b">another sell-off</a>&nbsp;for financial markets around the world.

The S&amp;P 500 was down by 3.1% in early trading, coming off its worst week in more than three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 996 points, or 2.5%, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite slid 3.8%.

The drops were just the latest in a sell-off that swept the Earth. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped start Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

Losses elsewhere in the world were nearly as neck-snapping. South Korea’s Kospi index careened 8.8% lower, stock markets across Europe sank roughly 3% and bitcoin dropped 12%.

Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped 1.6%.

That’s in part because traders are wondering if the damage has been so severe that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates in an emergency meeting, before its next scheduled decision on Sept. 18. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, fell to 3.79% from 3.88% late Friday and from 5% in April.

“The Fed could respond by stopping” the shrinking of its holdings of Treasurys and other bonds, which could put less upward pressure on longer-term yields, he said. “That could at least by a symbolic action that they’re not blind to what’s going on.”

Of course, the U.S. economy is still growing, and a recession is far from assured. The Fed has been clear about the tightrope it began walking when it started hiking rates sharply in March 2022: Being too aggressive would choke the economy, but going too soft would give inflation more oxygen and hurt everyone.

After leaving the federal funds rate steady last week, before several discouraging economic reports hit, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said officials “have a lot of room to respond if we were to see weakness” in the job market after raising their main rate to the highest level in more than two decades.

Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle sees a higher chance of a recession following Friday’s jobs report. But he still sees only a 25% chance of that, up from 15%, in part “because the data look fine overall” and he does not “see major financial imbalances.”

Still, stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the economy’s strength took heavy losses on the fears about a sharp slowdown. The small companies in the Russell 2000 index dropped 5.5%, further dousing what had been a revival for it and other beaten-down areas of the market.

Making things worse for Wall Street, Big Tech stocks also tumbled sharply as the market’s most popular trade for much of this year continued to unravel. Apple, Nvidia and a handful of other Big Tech stocks known as the “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-magnificent-seven-a6e1da1a8c85c0a56f9e9c85e001ebff">Magnificent Seven</a>&nbsp;” had propelled the S&amp;P 500 to dozens of all-time highs this year, in part on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-chip-ai-apple-microsoft-51cc2b56e5871111907de6ad9cab59ae">frenzy around artificial-intelligence</a>&nbsp;technology. They were so strong that they overshadowed weakness for areas of the stock market weighed down by high interest rates.

But Big Tech’s momentum turned last month on worries investors had taken their prices too high and expectations for future growth are becoming too difficult to meet. A set of underwhelming profit reports from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tesla-earnings-second-quarter-sales-decline-8bdd0d655cddde90f534b41fd87edc4a">Tesla</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-alphabet-second-quarter-earnings-artificial-intelligence-37db791b506a5223703e8fb7e8bebddf">Alphabet</a>&nbsp;added to the pessimism and accelerated the declines.

Apple fell 4.6% Monday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-profit-earnings-7af22b7ad654ba012d8e8803ed694aea">slashed its ownership stake</a>&nbsp;in the iPhone maker.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-artificial-intelligence-ai-gaming-1acc94ebbe6a59f728742ca20b3532cf">Nvidia</a>, the chip company that’s become the poster child of Wall Street’s AI bonanza, fell even more, 8.3%. Analysts cut their profit forecasts over the weekend for the company after a report from The Information said Nvidia’s new AI chip is delayed. It has trimmed its gain for the year to 98.7% from 170% in the middle of June.

Because the Magnificent Seven companies have grown to be the market’s biggest by market value, the movements for their stocks carry much more weight on the S&amp;P 500 and other indexes.

AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.

Dow drops 1,000 points as markets quake worldwide

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A funeral for Firefighter Ty Voth will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 9 at Hartman Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Drive in Park City, according to a statement from the city of Wichita.

Before the funeral, there will be a public viewing at 9 a.m. at Hartman Arena. Information on a memorial and other details are pending.

Voth, 27,&nbsp; a 5-year- veteran of the Wichita Fire Department died from&nbsp; injuries while fighting a fire at a home in the 9800 block of South Laura near Haysville August 1.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722607741656.png" alt="Ty Voth courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Ty Voth courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A funeral for Firefighter Ty Voth will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 9 at Hartman Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Drive in Park City, according to a statement from the city of Wichita.Before the funeral, there will be a public viewing at 9 a.m. at Hartman Arena. Information on a memorial and other details are pending.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722598520202.png" alt="Image from the dignified transported from the hospital on Friday-Wichita Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>Image from the dignified transported from the hospital on Friday-Wichita Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>Voth, 27,&nbsp; a 5-year- veteran of the Wichita Fire Department died from&nbsp; injuries while fighting a fire at a home in the 9800 block of South Laura near Haysville August 1.

Funeral services announced for fallen Kansas firefighter

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;</a>

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two special prosecutors said Monday that they plan to file a criminal obstruction of justice charge against a former central Kansas police chief over his conduct following a raid last year on his town's newspaper.

In an lengthy report summarizing the findings of their investigation, the special prosecutors, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson, note that the staff of the newspaper that was raided, the Marion County Record, committed no crimes.

It wasn't clear whether they planned to charge former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with a felony or a misdemeanor, and either is possible. The prosecutors also hadn't filed their criminal case as of Monday. It could be days before they file it because they were working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which stepped in at the request of its Kansas counterpart.

There was no immediate response to a voicemail left at a possible cellphone number for Cody, and it wasn't clear who might be representing him in the potential criminal case. Attorneys defending Cody in federal lawsuits that were filed over the raid did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.

The prosecutors detailed events before, during and after the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Record and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer. The report suggested that Marion police, who were led at the time by Cody, conducted a poor investigation that led them to “reach erroneous conclusions” that Meyer and reporter Phyllis Zorn had committed identity theft or other computer crimes.

But the prosecutors concluded that they have probable cause to believe that Cody obstructed an official judicial process. They said two pages of a written statement made by a business owner following the raid were not submitted to investigators with the rest of the statement in September 2023, about six weeks after the raid. Cody had accused Meyer and Zorn of identity theft and other computer crimes related to the business owner's driving record to get warrants for the raid.

The report also makes a passing reference to text messages between Cody and the business owner after the raid. The business owner has said that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-newspaper-raid-police-chief-resigns-e4ddf5a06defbb702bc23650827e53fd">Cody asked her to delete text messages</a>&nbsp;between them, fearing people could get wrong ideas about their relationship, which she said was professional and platonic.

“The findings will be incorporated into charges which will be sought in Marion County District Court,” the special prosecutors wrote in their report.

Bennett and Wilkerson concluded that neither Meyer nor Zorn committed any crimes in verifying information in the business owner’s driving record through a database available online from the state. Their report suggested Marion police conducted a poor investigation to “reach erroneous conclusions.”

The raid sparked a national debate about press freedoms focused on Marion, a town of about of about 1,900 people set among rolling prairie hills about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. Cody resigned as chief in early October, weeks after officers were forced to return materials seized in the raid.

Meyer's 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer, who co-owned the paper and lived with him, died the day after the raid from a heart attack. Meyer attributed her death to the stress of the raid.

A felony obstruction charge could be punished by up to nine months in prison for a first-time offender, though the typical sentence would be 18 months or less on probation. A misdemeanor charge could result in up to a year in jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1692219843330.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;</a>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two special prosecutors said Monday that they plan to file a criminal obstruction of justice charge against a former central Kansas police chief over his conduct following a raid last year on his town's newspaper.In an lengthy report summarizing the findings of their investigation, the special prosecutors, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson, note that the staff of the newspaper that was raided, the Marion County Record, committed no crimes.It wasn't clear whether they planned to charge former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with a felony or a misdemeanor, and either is possible. The prosecutors also hadn't filed their criminal case as of Monday. It could be days before they file it because they were working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which stepped in at the request of its Kansas counterpart.There was no immediate response to a voicemail left at a possible cellphone number for Cody, and it wasn't clear who might be representing him in the potential criminal case. Attorneys defending Cody in federal lawsuits that were filed over the raid did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.The prosecutors detailed events before, during and after the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Record and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer. The report suggested that Marion police, who were led at the time by Cody, conducted a poor investigation that led them to “reach erroneous conclusions” that Meyer and reporter Phyllis Zorn had committed identity theft or other computer crimes.But the prosecutors concluded that they have probable cause to believe that Cody obstructed an official judicial process. They said two pages of a written statement made by a business owner following the raid were not submitted to investigators with the rest of the statement in September 2023, about six weeks after the raid. Cody had accused Meyer and Zorn of identity theft and other computer crimes related to the business owner's driving record to get warrants for the raid.The report also makes a passing reference to text messages between Cody and the business owner after the raid. The business owner has said that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-newspaper-raid-police-chief-resigns-e4ddf5a06defbb702bc23650827e53fd">Cody asked her to delete text messages</a>&nbsp;between them, fearing people could get wrong ideas about their relationship, which she said was professional and platonic.“The findings will be incorporated into charges which will be sought in Marion County District Court,” the special prosecutors wrote in their report.Bennett and Wilkerson concluded that neither Meyer nor Zorn committed any crimes in verifying information in the business owner’s driving record through a database available online from the state. Their report suggested Marion police conducted a poor investigation to “reach erroneous conclusions.”The raid sparked a national debate about press freedoms focused on Marion, a town of about of about 1,900 people set among rolling prairie hills about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. Cody resigned as chief in early October, weeks after officers were forced to return materials seized in the raid.Meyer's 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer, who co-owned the paper and lived with him, died the day after the raid from a heart attack. Meyer attributed her death to the stress of the raid.A felony obstruction charge could be punished by up to nine months in prison for a first-time offender, though the typical sentence would be 18 months or less on probation. A misdemeanor charge could result in up to a year in jail.

Prosecutors to charge former Kan. police chief over his conduct following newspaper raid

MCPHERSON COUNTY—A Kansas teen died in an accident just before 2a.m. Saturday in McPherson County.

According to the McPherson County Sheriff, a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Dalton Deist of McPherson was southbound in the 2500 Block of 6th Avenue just southeast of Marquette.

 The driver failed to negotiate a curve leading the vehicle off the road and striking several trees. There were no other injuries. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

MCPHERSON COUNTY—A Kansas teen died in an accident just before 2a.m. Saturday in McPherson County.According to the McPherson County Sheriff, a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Dalton Deist of McPherson was southbound in the 2500 Block of 6th Avenue just southeast of Marquette. The driver failed to negotiate a curve leading the vehicle off the road and striking several trees. There were no other injuries. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

Kansas teen dies after vehicle strikes several trees

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly mass shooting in Kansas City.

Just after 2a.m. Monday, police on patrol near&nbsp; 70th St. and Gregory Boulevard in Kansas City heard gunshots, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

A gunshot victim&nbsp; contacted the officers and was rushed to a nearby hospital.&nbsp; First responders found another shooting victim a short distance away who was pronounced deceased, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Investigators determined a large gathering turned violent following an argument between people in attendance. Several people engaged in gunfire, leaving behind dozens of bullet casings lying in the street.

Police do not know as of 8:15 a.m. how many people in total were there at the gathering, how many people had guns, and how many people fired shots.

EMS and private vehicles transported six to area hospitals, according to Gonzalez. She did not have details on the extent or type of injuries.

Police did not have anyone in custody and have not reported suspect information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722853365490.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly mass shooting in Kansas City.Just after 2a.m. Monday, police on patrol near&nbsp; 70th St. and Gregory Boulevard in Kansas City heard gunshots, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.A gunshot victim&nbsp; contacted the officers and was rushed to a nearby hospital.&nbsp; First responders found another shooting victim a short distance away who was pronounced deceased, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722853345249.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Investigators determined a large gathering turned violent following an argument between people in attendance. Several people engaged in gunfire, leaving behind dozens of bullet casings lying in the street.Police do not know as of 8:15 a.m. how many people in total were there at the gathering, how many people had guns, and how many people fired shots.No kids were present and involved.EMS and private vehicles transported six to area hospitals, according to Gonzalez. She did not have details on the extent or type of injuries.Police did not have anyone in custody and have not reported suspect information.

1 dead after mass shooting at gathering in Kansas City

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Former Attorney General Derek Schmidt continued to consolidate support in the Republican primary for the open 2nd District congressional seat by adding the endorsement of former GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer.

The support of Colyer was significant given that former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who preceded Colyer as governor in Kansas, endorsed Republican candidate Jeff Kahrs in May. Kahrs served in the Brownback administration, and both Brownback and Kahrs were appointees in the administration of President Donald Trump.

Colyer, chairman of the Trump presidential campaign in Kansas, was elected lieutenant governor twice on the same ticket with Brownback. Colyer’s announcement less than one week before the Aug. 6 primary followed Trump’s endorsement of Schmidt.

“Derek Schmidt and I have been in the trenches together for years fighting for our conservative values and Kansas common sense,” Colyer said. “Republicans are coming together around Derek in this race.”

Colyer was sworn into office as governor in 2018 after Brownback resigned to become ambassador of religious freedom in the Trump administration. Colyer ran for a full term, but lost a close race for the GOP nomination to Kris Kobach. In that campaign, Trump endorsed Kobach. And, Kobach went on to lose the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly. She replaced Colyer in January 2019.

“Governor Colyer knows what it takes to be a conservative leader who gets things done, and I’m grateful to have his endorsement,” Schmidt said. “Kansas needs a conservative fighter in Congress who can help make a difference for America’s future.”

The eastern Kansas congressional seat is open because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican from Topeka, decided not to seek reelection in 2024.

In addition to Schmidt and Kahrs, Republicans taking part in the primary can choose from among candidates Michael Ogle of Topeka, Sean Tiffany of&nbsp; and Chad Young of Lawrence. The Democratic Party primary is a race between Matt Kleinmann of Kansas City, Kansas, and Nancy Boyda of Baldwin City.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722612803472.png" alt=" Former Kansas GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer, sitting with two-term Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, endorsed former Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the 2nd District primary election. Colyer's predecessor, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, endorsed GOP congressional candidate Jeff Kahrs in the Aug. 6 primary election. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Former Kansas GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer, sitting with two-term Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, endorsed former Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the 2nd District primary election. Colyer's predecessor, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, endorsed GOP congressional candidate Jeff Kahrs in the Aug. 6 primary election. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Former Attorney General Derek Schmidt continued to consolidate support in the Republican primary for the open 2nd District congressional seat by adding the endorsement of former GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer.The support of Colyer was significant given that former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who preceded Colyer as governor in Kansas, endorsed Republican candidate Jeff Kahrs in May. Kahrs served in the Brownback administration, and both Brownback and Kahrs were appointees in the administration of President Donald Trump.Colyer, chairman of the Trump presidential campaign in Kansas, was elected lieutenant governor twice on the same ticket with Brownback. Colyer’s announcement less than one week before the Aug. 6 primary followed Trump’s endorsement of Schmidt.“Derek Schmidt and I have been in the trenches together for years fighting for our conservative values and Kansas common sense,” Colyer said. “Republicans are coming together around Derek in this race.”Colyer was sworn into office as governor in 2018 after Brownback resigned to become ambassador of religious freedom in the Trump administration. Colyer ran for a full term, but lost a close race for the GOP nomination to Kris Kobach. In that campaign, Trump endorsed Kobach. And, Kobach went on to lose the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly. She replaced Colyer in January 2019.“Governor Colyer knows what it takes to be a conservative leader who gets things done, and I’m grateful to have his endorsement,” Schmidt said. “Kansas needs a conservative fighter in Congress who can help make a difference for America’s future.”The eastern Kansas congressional seat is open because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican from Topeka, decided not to seek reelection in 2024.In addition to Schmidt and Kahrs, Republicans taking part in the primary can choose from among candidates Michael Ogle of Topeka, Sean Tiffany of&nbsp; and Chad Young of Lawrence. The Democratic Party primary is a race between Matt Kleinmann of Kansas City, Kansas, and Nancy Boyda of Baldwin City.

Former Kansas GOP governors split in 2nd District: Colyer for Schmidt, Brownback for Kahrs

SUMNER COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 6p.m. Sunday in Sumner County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2024 Toyota Crown driven by Cap Cung, 45, Clive, Iowa, was northbound in the southbound lanes of the Kansas Turnpike as the traveled from Bell Plaine service area.

The Toyota struck a 2013 Ford Explorer driven by&nbsp;Colby Choate, 36, Marshall, Oklahoma. After impact, a 2022 Honda Civic driven by&nbsp;Thomas Richter, 67, Edmond, Oklahoma and a 2025 Western Star semi driven by Jason Jones, 38,&nbsp;West Bay Springs, Mississippi, struck the Ford.

Colby was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; EMS transported Cung to Wesley Medical Center. The other drivers were not injured. All four were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722855104429.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>SUMNER COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 6p.m. Sunday in Sumner County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2024 Toyota Crown driven by Cap Cung, 45, Clive, Iowa, was northbound in the southbound lanes of the Kansas Turnpike as the traveled from Bell Plaine service area.The Toyota struck a 2013 Ford Explorer driven by&nbsp;Colby Choate, 36, Marshall, Oklahoma. After impact, a 2022 Honda Civic driven by&nbsp;Thomas Richter, 67, Edmond, Oklahoma and a 2025 Western Star semi driven by Jason Jones, 38,&nbsp;West Bay Springs, Mississippi, struck the Ford.Colby was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; EMS transported Cung to Wesley Medical Center. The other drivers were not injured. All four were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

1 dead after 4-vehicle wrong-way Kansas crash

KANSAS CITY —An Illinois man has been charged with a felony after he threatened on social media to shoot two individuals at the Morgan Wallen concert Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Aaron Brown, 23, of Winchester, Ill,&nbsp; faces a Class E felony of Making a Terroristic Threat in the 2nd Degree.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2409/ABrown_Redacted"> Click here to read the </a>complete charging documents.

According to court records, Kansas City police detectives and intelligence analysts in the Kansas City Fusion Center working at GEHA field at Arrowhead on Friday were monitoring threats at a planned concert when they observed on X (Twitter) threat against two individuals, who were members of the Kansas City Chiefs and were present at the event. 

Brown confirmed to police where he was located at Arrowhead. The concert was delayed for 40 minutes while Brown was located.

Brown was charged Saturday and a $15,000 bond was set.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722732498834.png" alt="Brown photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Brown photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —An Illinois man has been charged with a felony after he threatened on social media to shoot two individuals at the Morgan Wallen concert Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Aaron Brown, 23, of Winchester, Ill,&nbsp; faces a Class E felony of Making a Terroristic Threat in the 2nd Degree.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2409/ABrown_Redacted"> Click here to read the </a>complete charging documents.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722772141253.png" alt="A portion of the charging documents from the Jackson Co. Attorney's office" />
 <figcaption>A portion of the charging documents from the Jackson Co. Attorney's office</figcaption>
 </figure>According to court records, Kansas City police detectives and intelligence analysts in the Kansas City Fusion Center working at GEHA field at Arrowhead on Friday were monitoring threats at a planned concert when they observed on X (Twitter) threat against two individuals, who were members of the Kansas City Chiefs and were present at the event. Brown confirmed to police where he was located at Arrowhead. The concert was delayed for 40 minutes while Brown was located.Brown was charged Saturday and a $15,000 bond was set.

Read charging docs: Man threatened to shoot 2 KC Chiefs players at concert

ELLSWORTH COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol reported an out of this world vehicle traveling down Interstate 70 Saturday.

According to a social media report from Trooper Ben Gardner, "While patrolling in Ellsworth County, our very own Lieutenant Brown made a rather unusual observation. During a routine traffic stop, he noticed an unidentified object passing by his stopped patrol car on I-70 eastbound. Intrigued, he rewound his in-car camera footage and discovered what appeared to be a UFO flying saucer."

"What’s even more noteworthy is that this “UFO” slowed down and moved over, adhering to Kansas law by giving space to our law enforcement officers on the side of the highway."

"Apparently, the move over law is not just here on planet Earth, but in other solar systems far away as well."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722773107360.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol reported an out of this world vehicle traveling down Interstate 70 Saturday.According to a social media report from Trooper Ben Gardner, "While patrolling in Ellsworth County, our very own Lieutenant Brown made a rather unusual observation. During a routine traffic stop, he noticed an unidentified object passing by his stopped patrol car on I-70 eastbound. Intrigued, he rewound his in-car camera footage and discovered what appeared to be a UFO flying saucer.""What’s even more noteworthy is that this “UFO” slowed down and moved over, adhering to Kansas law by giving space to our law enforcement officers on the side of the highway.""Apparently, the move over law is not just here on planet Earth, but in other solar systems far away as well."

KHP reports 'UFO' on Interstate 70

FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement in southwest Kansas are investigating a deadly stabbing at a party in Garden City and have made two arrests.&nbsp;

Just before 3a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a stabbing in the 2600 block of Chainey Street in Garden City, according to a media release.

First responders found three people had been stabbed. The victims were transported to St. Catherine Hospital.&nbsp; One of the victims, identified as Xavier Castaneda, 20, later died. 

Through a collaborative investigation by the GCPD and Finney County Sheriff’s Office, it was revealed that a fight broke out during a party and&nbsp; 20-year-old&nbsp;Fernando Sandoval stabbed the three victims.

 Sandoval and 21-year-old&nbsp;Ximena Sanchez-Espinoza fled the scene before law enforcement arrived. 

Sandoval and Sanchez-Espinoza were later located in Hugoton and taken into custody, with the assistance of the Hugoton Police Department and Dodge City Police Department.

Sandoval is being held in the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Murder in the Second Degree, multiple counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and multiple counts of Aggravated Battery.

Sanchez-Espinoza is being held in the Finney County jail on a requested charge of Obstruction. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722864997643.png" alt="Sandoval photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Sandoval photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement in southwest Kansas are investigating a deadly stabbing at a party in Garden City and have made two arrests.&nbsp;Just before 3a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a stabbing in the 2600 block of Chainey Street in Garden City, according to a media release.First responders found three people had been stabbed. The victims were transported to St. Catherine Hospital.&nbsp; One of the victims, identified as Xavier Castaneda, 20, later died. Through a collaborative investigation by the GCPD and Finney County Sheriff’s Office, it was revealed that a fight broke out during a party and&nbsp; 20-year-old&nbsp;Fernando Sandoval stabbed the three victims. Sandoval and 21-year-old&nbsp;Ximena Sanchez-Espinoza fled the scene before law enforcement arrived. Sandoval and Sanchez-Espinoza were later located in Hugoton and taken into custody, with the assistance of the Hugoton Police Department and Dodge City Police Department.Sandoval is being held in the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Murder in the Second Degree, multiple counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and multiple counts of Aggravated Battery.Sanchez-Espinoza is being held in the Finney County jail on a requested charge of Obstruction.

Police ID victim in deadly SW Kansas party stabbing

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.

Tensions have soared following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">nearly 10 months of war in Gaza</a>&nbsp;and the killing last week of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-strike-beirut-52c2a1711e274859b60daf8d2db3e0e2">senior Hezbollah commander</a>&nbsp;in Lebanon and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hamas-israel-30968a7acb31cd8b259de9650014b779">Hamas’ top political leader</a>&nbsp;in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan's foreign minister was making&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-jordan-israel-hezbollah-hamas-us-tensions-732e70e991115364141d7a16e0cc7475">a rare trip to Iran</a>&nbsp;as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-israel-iran-hamas-hezbollah-418a990ab69cb766e126c60dbaebedb3">Pentagon has moved significant assets</a>&nbsp;to the region.

“We are doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told ABC.

In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/strait-of-hormuz-vessel-33fcffde2d867380e98c89403776a8ac">Iran's unprecedented direct military assault in April</a>&nbsp;following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.

A stabbing attack on Sunday near Tel Aviv killed a woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, and two others were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized.”

Inside Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 25 people were killed and 19 others injured when Israel struck two schools in Gaza City. AP video showed at least one child among the dead. Israel's military, which regularly accuses Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it hit Hamas command centers.

“As you can see, there is no equipment to recover the injured. Rescuers are digging with their hands,” said one man, Yusuf Al-Mashharawi.

Earlier, Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people. One hit a tent camp for thousands of displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including one woman, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Palestinian militant in the strike, which it said caused secondary explosions, "indicating the presence of weaponry in the area.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722801011505.png" alt="An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility -File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility -File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.Tensions have soared following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">nearly 10 months of war in Gaza</a>&nbsp;and the killing last week of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-strike-beirut-52c2a1711e274859b60daf8d2db3e0e2">senior Hezbollah commander</a>&nbsp;in Lebanon and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hamas-israel-30968a7acb31cd8b259de9650014b779">Hamas’ top political leader</a>&nbsp;in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan's foreign minister was making&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-jordan-israel-hezbollah-hamas-us-tensions-732e70e991115364141d7a16e0cc7475">a rare trip to Iran</a>&nbsp;as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-israel-iran-hamas-hezbollah-418a990ab69cb766e126c60dbaebedb3">Pentagon has moved significant assets</a>&nbsp;to the region.“We are doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told ABC.In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/strait-of-hormuz-vessel-33fcffde2d867380e98c89403776a8ac">Iran's unprecedented direct military assault in April</a>&nbsp;following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.A stabbing attack on Sunday near Tel Aviv killed a woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, and two others were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized.”Inside Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 25 people were killed and 19 others injured when Israel struck two schools in Gaza City. AP video showed at least one child among the dead. Israel's military, which regularly accuses Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it hit Hamas command centers.“As you can see, there is no equipment to recover the injured. Rescuers are digging with their hands,” said one man, Yusuf Al-Mashharawi.Earlier, Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people. One hit a tent camp for thousands of displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including one woman, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Palestinian militant in the strike, which it said caused secondary explosions, "indicating the presence of weaponry in the area.”The hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza as many others in the territory no longer function. A separate strike on a home near Deir al-Balah killed a girl and her parents, according to the hospital.Another strike flattened a house in northern Gaza, killing at least eight, including three children, their parents and their grandmother, according to the Health Ministry. Another three people were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, according to Civil Defense first responders.Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least five projectiles at Israeli communities near the border without causing casualties or damage, the military said. The military later told people in some parts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to evacuate.The Health Ministry also said an Israeli strike on Saturday at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 16 people. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command center.The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.Israel's massive offensive in response has killed at least 39,580 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, often multiple times.The militant group Hezbollah and Israel have continued to trade fire along the Lebanon border since the war began, with the severity growing in recent months. The Lebanese state-run National News Agency said an Israeli strike targeted a house in Beit Lef, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said two people were critically wounded.Hezbollah says it's aimed at relieving pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas. A growing number of countries, including the U.S., are encouraging citizens to leave Lebanon after last week's killing of a senior commander.___