DOUGLAS COUNTY —A Kansas felon is going back to prison for child sex crimes.

This week, George Joseph Burgess Jr., 45, was sentenced to serve 618 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for one count of rape followed by 25 years for a second rape conviction, according to&nbsp;Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.

&nbsp;In January a jury convicted Burgess of two counts of rape and six counts of indecent liberties with a child.

Charges stemmed from incidents that occurred between January 1, 2017 and February 7, 2019 when the child was between 6 and 8 years old.&nbsp;

“The young survivor showed exceptional grace and courage while testifying against her perpetrator particularly during intense questioning by the defense,” District Attorney Valdez said. “We are committed to seeking justice for victims of sexual violence and ensuring the safety of all children in our community.”&nbsp; Burgess has a previous conviction for burglary, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718462614249.png" alt="Burgess photo Douglas Co." />
 <figcaption>Burgess photo Douglas Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —A Kansas felon is going back to prison for child sex crimes.This week, George Joseph Burgess Jr., 45, was sentenced to serve 618 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for one count of rape followed by 25 years for a second rape conviction, according to&nbsp;Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.&nbsp;In January a jury convicted Burgess of two counts of rape and six counts of indecent liberties with a child.Charges stemmed from incidents that occurred between January 1, 2017 and February 7, 2019 when the child was between 6 and 8 years old.&nbsp;“The young survivor showed exceptional grace and courage while testifying against her perpetrator particularly during intense questioning by the defense,” District Attorney Valdez said. “We are committed to seeking justice for victims of sexual violence and ensuring the safety of all children in our community.”&nbsp; Burgess has a previous conviction for burglary, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

DA: Young survivor showed courage testifying against her perpetrator 

HARPER COUNTY —The Kansas Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Harper, Kansas, man.

&nbsp;David L. Reese, 73,&nbsp;&nbsp;is believed to be driving a white Chevy Silverado bearing Kansas tag 885NEW.

Reese was last seen on Thursday evening, Aug. 1, but investigators believe he was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 281 near Medicine Lodge, on Friday morning around 7:40 a.m. 

 Reese is a white male who is 5-feet-11 inches tall and weighs around 250 pounds. He has brown eyes, a white beard, and is balding. 

He may be traveling with a chocolate Labrador retriever, and is likely wearing a baseball cap. Reese has diabetes, anxiety, and a condition impairing cognition and memory. 

If you see David Reese or his vehicle, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about his whereabouts, please call the Harper Police Department at (620) 842-3830.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722706150273.png" alt="David Reese courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>David Reese courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>HARPER COUNTY —The Kansas Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Harper, Kansas, man.&nbsp;David L. Reese, 73,&nbsp;&nbsp;is believed to be driving a white Chevy Silverado bearing Kansas tag 885NEW.Reese was last seen on Thursday evening, Aug. 1, but investigators believe he was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 281 near Medicine Lodge, on Friday morning around 7:40 a.m. Reese is a white male who is 5-feet-11 inches tall and weighs around 250 pounds. He has brown eyes, a white beard, and is balding. He may be traveling with a chocolate Labrador retriever, and is likely wearing a baseball cap. Reese has diabetes, anxiety, and a condition impairing cognition and memory. If you see David Reese or his vehicle, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about his whereabouts, please call the Harper Police Department at (620) 842-3830.

KBI: Silver Alert continues for missing Kansas man

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —A Kansas man remains jailed for altercation that led to a man's death.

On July 26, police issued a warrant for the arrest of 41-year-old Ryan J. McCullough of Neodesha in connection with the death of 63-year-old David L. Wintjen of Coffeyville, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

On May 5, McCullough was involved in an altercation with Wintjen who died a few days later, according to the sheriff's office. After a thorough investigation by Coffeyville police, authorities made an arrest.

McCullough remains jailed on charges of Murder in the 2nd degree.Unintentional but reckless, Aggravated battery and Knowingly cause great bodily harm or disfigurement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722425559031.png" alt="McCullough-photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>McCullough-photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY —A Kansas man remains jailed for altercation that led to a man's death.On July 26, police issued a warrant for the arrest of 41-year-old Ryan J. McCullough of Neodesha in connection with the death of 63-year-old David L. Wintjen of Coffeyville, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.On May 5, McCullough was involved in an altercation with Wintjen who died a few days later, according to the sheriff's office. After a thorough investigation by Coffeyville police, authorities made an arrest.McCullough remains jailed on charges of Murder in the 2nd degree.Unintentional but reckless, Aggravated battery and Knowingly cause great bodily harm or disfigurement.

Kansas man accused of altercation that led to man's death

WASHINGTON (AP) — New blood tests could help doctors diagnose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-kisunla-leqembi-donanemab-fd804c1271ae185a62f080e072d21698">Alzheimer’s</a>&nbsp;disease faster and more accurately, researchers reported Sunday – but some appear to work far better than others.

It’s tricky to tell if memory problems are caused by Alzheimer’s. That requires confirming one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-dementia-amyloid-tau-b31db4ce15caf8b5c9c722b6240b2951">disease’s hallmark signs</a>&nbsp;— buildup of a sticky protein called beta-amyloid — with a hard-to-get brain scan or uncomfortable spinal tap. Many patients instead are diagnosed based on symptoms and cognitive exams.

Labs have begun offering a variety of tests that can detect certain signs of Alzheimer's in blood. Scientists are excited by their potential but the tests aren't widely used yet because there's little data to guide doctors about which kind to order and when. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't formally approved any of them and there's little insurance coverage.

“What tests can we trust?” asked Dr. Suzanne Schindler, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis who’s part of a research project examining that. While some are very accurate, “other tests are not much better than a flip of a coin.”

Demand for earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis is increasing

More than 6 million people in the United States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. Its telltale “biomarkers” are brain-clogging amyloid plaques and abnormal tau protein that leads to neuron-killing tangles.

New drugs,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimer-leqembi-slow-start-f9022b85b16cc6de4491594ce875657b">Leqembi</a>&nbsp;and Kisunla, can modestly slow worsening symptoms by removing gunky amyloid from the brain. But they only work in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s and proving patients qualify in time can be difficult. Measuring amyloid in spinal fluid is invasive. A special PET scan to spot plaques is costly and getting an appointment can take months.

Even specialists can struggle to tell if Alzheimer’s or something else is to blame for a patient’s symptoms.

“I have patients not infrequently who I am convinced have Alzheimer’s disease and I do testing and it’s negative,” Schindler said.

New study suggests blood tests for Alzheimer’s can be simpler and faster

Blood tests so far have been used mostly in carefully controlled research settings. But a new study of about 1,200 patients in Sweden shows they also can work in the real-world bustle of doctors' offices — especially primary care doctors who see far more people with memory problems than specialists but have fewer tools to evaluate them.

In the study, patients who visited either a primary care doctor or a specialist for memory complaints got an initial diagnosis using traditional exams, gave blood for testing and were sent for a confirmatory spinal tap or brain scan.

Blood testing was far more accurate, Lund University researchers reported Sunday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Philadelphia. The primary care doctors' initial diagnosis was 61% accurate and the specialists' 73% — but the blood test was 91% accurate, according to the findings, which also were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Which blood tests for Alzheimer’s work best?

There’s almost “a wild West” in the variety being offered, said Dr. John Hsiao of the National Institute on Aging. They measure different biomarkers, in different ways.

Doctors and researchers should only use blood tests proven to have a greater than 90% accuracy rate, said Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer Maria Carrillo.

Today's tests most likely to meet that benchmark measure what’s called p-tau217, Carrillo and Hsiao agreed. Schindler helped lead an unusual direct comparison of several kinds of blood tests, funded by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, that came to the same conclusion.

That type of test measures a form of tau that correlates with how much plaque buildup someone has, Schindler explained. A high level signals a strong likelihood the person has Alzheimer’s while a low level indicates that’s probably not the cause of memory loss.

Several companies are developing p-tau217 tests including ALZpath Inc., Roche, Eli Lilly and C2N Diagnostics, which supplied the version used in the Swedish study.

Who should use blood tests for Alzheimer’s?

Only doctors can order them from labs. The Alzheimer’s Association is working on guidelines and several companies plan to seek FDA approval, which would clarify proper use.

For now, Carrillo said doctors should use blood testing only in people with memory problems, after checking the accuracy of the type they order.

Especially for primary care physicians, “it really has great potential to help them in sorting out who to give a reassuring message and who to send on to memory specialists,” said Dr. Sebastian Palmqvist of Lund University, who led the Swedish study with Lund’s Dr. Oskar Hansson.

The tests aren't yet for people who don't have symptoms but worry about Alzheimer's in the family — unless it's part of enrollment in research studies, Schindler stressed.

That's partly because amyloid buildup can begin two decades before the first sign of memory problems, and so far there are no preventive steps other than basic advice to eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep. But there are studies underway testing possible therapies for people at high risk of Alzheimer's, and some include blood testing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — New blood tests could help doctors diagnose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-drug-kisunla-leqembi-donanemab-fd804c1271ae185a62f080e072d21698">Alzheimer’s</a>&nbsp;disease faster and more accurately, researchers reported Sunday – but some appear to work far better than others.It’s tricky to tell if memory problems are caused by Alzheimer’s. That requires confirming one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimers-dementia-amyloid-tau-b31db4ce15caf8b5c9c722b6240b2951">disease’s hallmark signs</a>&nbsp;— buildup of a sticky protein called beta-amyloid — with a hard-to-get brain scan or uncomfortable spinal tap. Many patients instead are diagnosed based on symptoms and cognitive exams.Labs have begun offering a variety of tests that can detect certain signs of Alzheimer's in blood. Scientists are excited by their potential but the tests aren't widely used yet because there's little data to guide doctors about which kind to order and when. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't formally approved any of them and there's little insurance coverage.“What tests can we trust?” asked Dr. Suzanne Schindler, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis who’s part of a research project examining that. While some are very accurate, “other tests are not much better than a flip of a coin.”<h2>Demand for earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis is increasing</h2>More than 6 million people in the United States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. Its telltale “biomarkers” are brain-clogging amyloid plaques and abnormal tau protein that leads to neuron-killing tangles.New drugs,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alzheimer-leqembi-slow-start-f9022b85b16cc6de4491594ce875657b">Leqembi</a>&nbsp;and Kisunla, can modestly slow worsening symptoms by removing gunky amyloid from the brain. But they only work in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s and proving patients qualify in time can be difficult. Measuring amyloid in spinal fluid is invasive. A special PET scan to spot plaques is costly and getting an appointment can take months.Even specialists can struggle to tell if Alzheimer’s or something else is to blame for a patient’s symptoms.“I have patients not infrequently who I am convinced have Alzheimer’s disease and I do testing and it’s negative,” Schindler said.<h2>New study suggests blood tests for Alzheimer’s can be simpler and faster</h2>Blood tests so far have been used mostly in carefully controlled research settings. But a new study of about 1,200 patients in Sweden shows they also can work in the real-world bustle of doctors' offices — especially primary care doctors who see far more people with memory problems than specialists but have fewer tools to evaluate them.In the study, patients who visited either a primary care doctor or a specialist for memory complaints got an initial diagnosis using traditional exams, gave blood for testing and were sent for a confirmatory spinal tap or brain scan.Blood testing was far more accurate, Lund University researchers reported Sunday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Philadelphia. The primary care doctors' initial diagnosis was 61% accurate and the specialists' 73% — but the blood test was 91% accurate, according to the findings, which also were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.<h2>Which blood tests for Alzheimer’s work best?</h2>There’s almost “a wild West” in the variety being offered, said Dr. John Hsiao of the National Institute on Aging. They measure different biomarkers, in different ways.Doctors and researchers should only use blood tests proven to have a greater than 90% accuracy rate, said Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer Maria Carrillo.Today's tests most likely to meet that benchmark measure what’s called p-tau217, Carrillo and Hsiao agreed. Schindler helped lead an unusual direct comparison of several kinds of blood tests, funded by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, that came to the same conclusion.That type of test measures a form of tau that correlates with how much plaque buildup someone has, Schindler explained. A high level signals a strong likelihood the person has Alzheimer’s while a low level indicates that’s probably not the cause of memory loss.Several companies are developing p-tau217 tests including ALZpath Inc., Roche, Eli Lilly and C2N Diagnostics, which supplied the version used in the Swedish study.<h2>Who should use blood tests for Alzheimer’s?</h2>Only doctors can order them from labs. The Alzheimer’s Association is working on guidelines and several companies plan to seek FDA approval, which would clarify proper use.For now, Carrillo said doctors should use blood testing only in people with memory problems, after checking the accuracy of the type they order.Especially for primary care physicians, “it really has great potential to help them in sorting out who to give a reassuring message and who to send on to memory specialists,” said Dr. Sebastian Palmqvist of Lund University, who led the Swedish study with Lund’s Dr. Oskar Hansson.The tests aren't yet for people who don't have symptoms but worry about Alzheimer's in the family — unless it's part of enrollment in research studies, Schindler stressed.That's partly because amyloid buildup can begin two decades before the first sign of memory problems, and so far there are no preventive steps other than basic advice to eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep. But there are studies underway testing possible therapies for people at high risk of Alzheimer's, and some include blood testing.

New blood test can help diagnose Alzheimer's faster, more accurately

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

The ACLU of Kansas will provide a statewide voter assistance hotline for the 2024 primary and general elections, staffed by lawyers and on-site poll monitors to help voters with any issues or concerns.&nbsp;

The hotline offers assistance in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog. Voters who call 1-866-OUR-VOTE will be connected with an attorney, thanks to a partnership with Kansas City law firm Stinson Leonard Street.&nbsp;

“Most of the issues we anticipate could be as simple as someone at the wrong polling location because they moved and didn’t update their information,” said staff attorney Kunyu Ching in a news release. “Historically, we’ve resolved the vast majority of calls quickly. In those cases, voters benefitted from just talking to one of our trained hotline attorneys about the next step they could take to make sure their votes counted.”

This is the ACLU’s sixth year providing the service. Calls are logged, tracked for trends and flagged for follow-up.&nbsp;

In August 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/02/kansas-voters-defeat-abortion-amendment-in-unexpected-landslide-1/">when the Kansasabortion amendment was on the ballot</a>, the hotline reported that multiple voters were turned away from a polling location in Maize. They were in line before 7 p.m., meaning they were legally allowed to vote. According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksn.com/news/your-local-election-hq/maize-recreation-center-polling-location-makes-wrong-decision-in-telling-voters-to-leave/" target="_blank">Dawn Johanson for KSNT</a>, a line of voters was wrapped around the building. Johanson said an election worker told the voters in line that computers were down and they needed to go to a different polling location.&nbsp;

The Mazie voters contacted the election protection hotline, which resulted in the county releasing a statement that night saying election workers “did not have the authority to make this decision.” Those&nbsp; who were turned away voted provisionally at a different polling location.

Ching, leads the hotline, said the ACLU is prepared to address serious issues. The primary Aug. 6 will come just days after a&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/01/judge-clears-way-for-civic-groups-to-resume-voter-registration-drives/">judge cleared the way</a>&nbsp;for civic groups to resume voter registration.&nbsp;

Earlier this year, Micah Kubic, executive director for the Kansas ACLU, told&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/12/kansans-arent-having-it-aclu-loud-light-talk-state-elections-restrictions/">Kansas Reflector</a>&nbsp;about multiple bills from theKansas legislative session that could prevent people from voting. He referenced former president Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him as a reason.&nbsp;

“Amidst heightened attacks from the Legislature on our right to vote as well as a barrage of politicized rhetoric aimed at undermining faith in our election, the ACLU of Kansas remains determined to ensure that every vote counts and that voters have the assistance they need – because citizens actually participating makes our democracy stronger,” Kubic said in the news release.&nbsp;

Hotline calls will be answered live on the primary and general election days, and during weeks leading up to the elections during business hours.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722612986208.png" alt="Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, talks democratic needs. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, talks democratic needs. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a> The ACLU of Kansas will provide a statewide voter assistance hotline for the 2024 primary and general elections, staffed by lawyers and on-site poll monitors to help voters with any issues or concerns.&nbsp;The hotline offers assistance in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog. Voters who call 1-866-OUR-VOTE will be connected with an attorney, thanks to a partnership with Kansas City law firm Stinson Leonard Street.&nbsp;“Most of the issues we anticipate could be as simple as someone at the wrong polling location because they moved and didn’t update their information,” said staff attorney Kunyu Ching in a news release. “Historically, we’ve resolved the vast majority of calls quickly. In those cases, voters benefitted from just talking to one of our trained hotline attorneys about the next step they could take to make sure their votes counted.”This is the ACLU’s sixth year providing the service. Calls are logged, tracked for trends and flagged for follow-up.&nbsp;In August 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/02/kansas-voters-defeat-abortion-amendment-in-unexpected-landslide-1/">when the Kansasabortion amendment was on the ballot</a>, the hotline reported that multiple voters were turned away from a polling location in Maize. They were in line before 7 p.m., meaning they were legally allowed to vote. According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksn.com/news/your-local-election-hq/maize-recreation-center-polling-location-makes-wrong-decision-in-telling-voters-to-leave/" target="_blank">Dawn Johanson for KSNT</a>, a line of voters was wrapped around the building. Johanson said an election worker told the voters in line that computers were down and they needed to go to a different polling location.&nbsp;The Mazie voters contacted the election protection hotline, which resulted in the county releasing a statement that night saying election workers “did not have the authority to make this decision.” Those&nbsp; who were turned away voted provisionally at a different polling location.Ching, leads the hotline, said the ACLU is prepared to address serious issues. The primary Aug. 6 will come just days after a&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/01/judge-clears-way-for-civic-groups-to-resume-voter-registration-drives/">judge cleared the way</a>&nbsp;for civic groups to resume voter registration.&nbsp;Earlier this year, Micah Kubic, executive director for the Kansas ACLU, told&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/12/kansans-arent-having-it-aclu-loud-light-talk-state-elections-restrictions/">Kansas Reflector</a>&nbsp;about multiple bills from theKansas legislative session that could prevent people from voting. He referenced former president Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him as a reason.&nbsp;“Amidst heightened attacks from the Legislature on our right to vote as well as a barrage of politicized rhetoric aimed at undermining faith in our election, the ACLU of Kansas remains determined to ensure that every vote counts and that voters have the assistance they need – because citizens actually participating makes our democracy stronger,” Kubic said in the news release.&nbsp;Hotline calls will be answered live on the primary and general election days, and during weeks leading up to the elections during business hours.

Kansas ACLU offers voter assistance hotline for primary and general elections

HAMILTON COUNTY—Law enforcement across Kansas continue to&nbsp; see more drivers traveling well above the posted speed limit. Despite a statewide campaign to crack down on excessive speeding. 

Last week, the Hamilton County Kansas Sheriff’s Office reported a traffic stop on Kansas 27 Highway where the driver was traveling 136 mph in a 65 mph zone.

As of July 22, 2024, KHP troopers have issued 1,501 citations for speeds greater than 100 mph, according to a social media report. Over the past four years the Kansas Highway Patrol&nbsp;issued over 12,000 tickets for drivers going over 100 miles per hour.

The Hamilton County Sheriff asked drivers to&nbsp;"Please slow down even if you’re late to work."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722480066970.png" alt="Photo Hamilton Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Hamilton Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>HAMILTON COUNTY—Law enforcement across Kansas continue to&nbsp; see more drivers traveling well above the posted speed limit. Despite a statewide campaign to crack down on excessive speeding. Last week, the Hamilton County Kansas Sheriff’s Office reported a traffic stop on Kansas 27 Highway where the driver was traveling 136 mph in a 65 mph zone.As of July 22, 2024, KHP troopers have issued 1,501 citations for speeds greater than 100 mph, according to a social media report. Over the past four years the Kansas Highway Patrol&nbsp;issued over 12,000 tickets for drivers going over 100 miles per hour.The Hamilton County Sheriff asked drivers to&nbsp;"Please slow down even if you’re late to work."

Sheriff: Driver was traveling 71 mph over speed limit in Kansas

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22ADRIANA%20GOMEZ%20LICON%20and%20AMELIA%20THOMSON-DEVEAUX%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press</a>

Most Americans have doubts about the Secret Service's ability to keep presidential candidates safe after last month's attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, a new poll from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/">Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>&nbsp;finds.

Only around 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that the Secret Service can keep the presidential candidates safe from violence before the election, according to the poll. The survey also found that about 7 in 10 Americans think the Secret Service bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt.

The law enforcement agency tasked with protecting presidents for more than a century is under intense scrutiny after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-4e3415b1461f5acefbc8e1fadad0375b">gunman got within 150 yards of Trump</a>&nbsp;and fired several bullets from an AR-style rifle. Trump was injured in one ear but was millimeters away from being killed.

The poll was conducted after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-director-trump-rally-8b1b13cece2ff25590c81093032dceb4">resignation of director Kimberly Cheatle</a>, who faced intense questioning at a congressional hearing that was broadcast live last week and in which she gave evasive answers. The new acting director Ronald Rowe said earlier this week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-secret-service-a382e3ec081dd13e85eaa9e726cca02c">he was “ashamed”</a>&nbsp;after the July 13 attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman was not secured.

During a news conference Friday, Rowe acknowledged the agency’s loss of trust from the American people. He said people generally only know about the agency’s failures — not its successes. He praised the agency’s staff who are quietly “working in the background” to protect political rallies, inauguration day and other events.

“We will earn back your trust,” he vowed.

The poll revealed that Americans were most likely to say that political division in the U.S. had “a great deal” of responsibility for the assassination attempt.

Half of U.S. adults say that, while about 4 in 10 say the Secret Service bears a high level of responsibility, and about 4 in 10 say the widespread availability of guns is greatly responsible.

Democrats were far more likely to blame the availability of guns while Republicans were more likely to blame the Secret Service.

Roger Berg, a 70-year-old farmer from Keota, Iowa, is planning to vote for Trump, the Republican nominee, in November. But he expressed discontent about Republicans blaming President Joe Biden for issues he thought Biden had no control over. Biden ended his reelection bid eight days after the shooting and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, now the likely Democratic nominee.

“The people that are making everything about politics, I wish they would just quit,” Berg said. “They pin it all on Biden, and I don’t believe in that.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are substantially more likely than independents or Republicans to say the availability of guns bears a great deal of responsibility. Six in 10 Democrats say this, compared to about one-third of independents and 15% of Republicans.

Republican respondents were more likely than independents and Democrats to blame the Secret Service: About half of Republicans think the Secret Service has a great deal of responsibility, compared to around 4 in 10 Democrats and independents.

George Velasco, a 65-year-old Navy veteran from Tucson, Arizona, said he thought both the Secret Service and local law enforcement were to blame along with poor communication and a lack of proper planning. The Secret Service’s acting director said earlier this week that it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a roof, while also recognizing the Secret Service assumed that state and local police had presence.

“It was as if the Secret Service expected those guys to know what they had to do,” Velasco said. “It was a very small area, a small town. How did they expect them to know how to prepare for something huge like that rally?”

The poll found that half of Americans think local law enforcement in Pennsylvania had at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt, although only about 2 in 10 said it had “a great deal” of responsibility.

The Secret Service was first created as part of the Treasury Department to investigate the counterfeiting of U.S. currency during the Civil War. The agency began informally protecting presidents in 1894, according to the its records. Congress requested Secret Service protection of U.S. presidents after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901.

Protection was extended to the president's immediate family, presidents-elect and vice presidents after a White House police officer was shot and killed while protecting President Harry S. Truman in 1950. It was later extended to former presidents in 1965. After the 1968 assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates.

About one-third of Americans are extremely or very confident that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, will conduct a full and fair investigation of the assassination attempt, while about one-third are somewhat confident and about 3 in 10 are not very confident or not at all confident.

The poll of 1143 adults was conducted July 25-29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720953321409.png" alt="File photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22ADRIANA%20GOMEZ%20LICON%20and%20AMELIA%20THOMSON-DEVEAUX%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press</a>Most Americans have doubts about the Secret Service's ability to keep presidential candidates safe after last month's attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, a new poll from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/">Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>&nbsp;finds.Only around 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that the Secret Service can keep the presidential candidates safe from violence before the election, according to the poll. The survey also found that about 7 in 10 Americans think the Secret Service bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt.The law enforcement agency tasked with protecting presidents for more than a century is under intense scrutiny after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-4e3415b1461f5acefbc8e1fadad0375b">gunman got within 150 yards of Trump</a>&nbsp;and fired several bullets from an AR-style rifle. Trump was injured in one ear but was millimeters away from being killed.The poll was conducted after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-director-trump-rally-8b1b13cece2ff25590c81093032dceb4">resignation of director Kimberly Cheatle</a>, who faced intense questioning at a congressional hearing that was broadcast live last week and in which she gave evasive answers. The new acting director Ronald Rowe said earlier this week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-secret-service-a382e3ec081dd13e85eaa9e726cca02c">he was “ashamed”</a>&nbsp;after the July 13 attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman was not secured.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe: &quot;The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PcYQX1kEqQ">pic.twitter.com/PcYQX1kEqQ</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1819436676768239780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>During a news conference Friday, Rowe acknowledged the agency’s loss of trust from the American people. He said people generally only know about the agency’s failures — not its successes. He praised the agency’s staff who are quietly “working in the background” to protect political rallies, inauguration day and other events.“We will earn back your trust,” he vowed.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe: &quot;In no way should any state or local agency supporting us in Butler on July 13th be held responsible for a Secret Service failure.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xFGfAE81DI">pic.twitter.com/xFGfAE81DI</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1819436815733960996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The poll revealed that Americans were most likely to say that political division in the U.S. had “a great deal” of responsibility for the assassination attempt.Half of U.S. adults say that, while about 4 in 10 say the Secret Service bears a high level of responsibility, and about 4 in 10 say the widespread availability of guns is greatly responsible.Democrats were far more likely to blame the availability of guns while Republicans were more likely to blame the Secret Service.Roger Berg, a 70-year-old farmer from Keota, Iowa, is planning to vote for Trump, the Republican nominee, in November. But he expressed discontent about Republicans blaming President Joe Biden for issues he thought Biden had no control over. Biden ended his reelection bid eight days after the shooting and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, now the likely Democratic nominee.“The people that are making everything about politics, I wish they would just quit,” Berg said. “They pin it all on Biden, and I don’t believe in that.”Democrats, meanwhile, are substantially more likely than independents or Republicans to say the availability of guns bears a great deal of responsibility. Six in 10 Democrats say this, compared to about one-third of independents and 15% of Republicans.Republican respondents were more likely than independents and Democrats to blame the Secret Service: About half of Republicans think the Secret Service has a great deal of responsibility, compared to around 4 in 10 Democrats and independents.George Velasco, a 65-year-old Navy veteran from Tucson, Arizona, said he thought both the Secret Service and local law enforcement were to blame along with poor communication and a lack of proper planning. The Secret Service’s acting director said earlier this week that it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a roof, while also recognizing the Secret Service assumed that state and local police had presence.“It was as if the Secret Service expected those guys to know what they had to do,” Velasco said. “It was a very small area, a small town. How did they expect them to know how to prepare for something huge like that rally?”The poll found that half of Americans think local law enforcement in Pennsylvania had at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt, although only about 2 in 10 said it had “a great deal” of responsibility.The Secret Service was first created as part of the Treasury Department to investigate the counterfeiting of U.S. currency during the Civil War. The agency began informally protecting presidents in 1894, according to the its records. Congress requested Secret Service protection of U.S. presidents after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901.Protection was extended to the president's immediate family, presidents-elect and vice presidents after a White House police officer was shot and killed while protecting President Harry S. Truman in 1950. It was later extended to former presidents in 1965. After the 1968 assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates.About one-third of Americans are extremely or very confident that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, will conduct a full and fair investigation of the assassination attempt, while about one-third are somewhat confident and about 3 in 10 are not very confident or not at all confident.—The poll of 1143 adults was conducted July 25-29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.__Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

AP-NORC Poll: Few trust the Secret Service after a gunman nearly killed Trump

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.

On April 19, police responded to a disturbance at 32nd and Brighton in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

First responders found a man suffering from trauma. He was transported to the hospital where he remained until he died.&nbsp; On Friday, police ruled the death was a homicide, according to Forte'.

Police have released suspect details or reported an arrest.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.On April 19, police responded to a disturbance at 32nd and Brighton in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forte'.First responders found a man suffering from trauma. He was transported to the hospital where he remained until he died.&nbsp; On Friday, police ruled the death was a homicide, according to Forte'.Police have released suspect details or reported an arrest.

KCPD: Man's death in April now ruled a homicide

Kansas may spend billions of dollars to lure pro sports teams from Missouri, just a few miles away

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/kevinhardy/">KEVIN HARDY</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

For decades, academic research has been clear: Taxpayers almost never get their money back on subsidized sports stadiums.

And yet, over and over again, U.S. cities and states find themselves locked in lopsided negotiations with beloved football, baseball and basketball teams, hoping to keep them from jumping to a new market.

In the newest bidding war, Kansas aims to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to lure the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs or MLB’s Royals from their side-by-side stadiums in Missouri just a few miles away. It could be one of the most expensive stadium deals yet, according to Victor Matheson, a researcher who studies stadium subsidies.

“This is wildly destructive,” he said. “This is in some ways significantly worse than intercity competition, because you’re just spending billions of dollars to just move economic activity from one point in the metro area to another.”

Matheson, an economics professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, watched closely in June as lawmakers in Topeka, Kansas, approved an expansion of an often-criticized tax incentive program with the aim of subsidizing a new stadium for one or both teams.

The bidding war for the teams is being viewed as particularly irresponsible by those who hailed a 2019 compact between Kansas and Missouri that some had hoped would set a new model for states across the country to curb corporate tax incentives.

Five years ago, the Democratic governor of Kansas and the Republican governor of Missouri celebrated an end to the so-called economic Border War, a long-standing practice in which governments would offer lucrative subsidies to lure companies back and forth across state lines in the Kansas City area. People saw the practice as wasteful, since it paid companies to relocate without spurring new growth for the regional economy.

The truce was momentous for Kansas and Missouri, two states whose rivalry traces back to bloody Civil War days. But it also garnered national acclaim from both liberals and conservatives who saw the move as a blow to corporate welfare and the cynical practice of companies pitting governments against each other.

But more powerful than the bipartisan cross-border cease-fire, apparently, is the allure of a new professional sports venue.

“Literally every piece of public policy that people said was bad before is being seen here,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas.

Across the country, professional sports teams are playing various local and state governments against each other — a trend that will likely accelerate as a wave of existing stadium leases begin to expire across the country.

It’s a page from the pro sports playbook: Teams often threaten to move to other markets — one without an NFL or NBA franchise, for example. But when those efforts don’t work, team owners often seek to spark competition among local jurisdictions, Matheson said.

New Jersey officials are currently in talks with the owner of the Philadelphia 76ers to get that NBA franchise to hop over to Camden, New Jersey. And the NFL’s Washington Commanders, whose current stadium is in Maryland, are in talks with officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia as they look to build a new facility.

“If there’s not a credible threat to relocate,” Matheson said, “the only way to really get the money out of people’s hands is to play localities against one another.”

Lucas said the bidding war between Kansas and Missouri — and local governments in each — gives more leverage to the Chiefs and Royals in negotiations. But it’s up to elected officials to keep from being outmatched.

“I do think some support is important,” Lucas said. “Giving away the farm is not.”

In Topeka, the GOP-controlled legislature expanded Kansas’ Sales Tax and Revenue Bond program, known as STAR, which would redirect sales tax generated at the stadiums and surrounding areas to pay off construction debt. If the teams were to hop the state line, they could benefit from an unprecedented level of taxpayer support: as much as 70% of the costs of two stadiums, which could amount to billions.

The law allows the state to strike stadium deals with little to no public involvement, doubles down on a state incentive program with a spotty track record of success and potentially puts the state’s finances at risk — all for the prospect of luring a sports team a few miles away.

“I do not like this. It feels gross,” Kansas state Rep. Jason Probst said during a caucus meeting of House Democrats in June. “This whole show that’s going on feels disgusting to me. And it’s still the right thing to do.”

In an interview, Probst, who is from Hutchinson in central Kansas, said the reality of professional sports requires governments “to play the game” and offer public assistance, lest they risk losing teams altogether.

“You can stand on your principles. … But if another state isn’t playing by the same set of rules you are, then they’re going to make that investment and they’re going to take that away,” he said.

On a hot summer day in 2019, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate an end to Missouri’s and Kansas’ practice of offering tax incentives to move companies and jobs from one state to the other.

<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article233725152.html" target="_blank">By one estimate</a>, the practice cost taxpayers more than $300 million over a decade and created almost no new jobs for the Kansas City metro area, which straddles both states.

“Sometimes common sense does prevail,” Missouri’s Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article233725152.html" target="_blank">Gov. Mike Parson said at the time.&nbsp;</a>“Because you don’t have to be a scientist to figure out this was a bad deal for both states.”

Parson’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this story. But in July, the governor said he was confident the NFL team would stay put at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri.

“I’m not too worried about Kansas at this point,” Parson said.

This spring,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2024-04-02/royals-chiefs-stadium-sales-tax-question-1-results-jackson-county-kansas-city-election" target="_blank">voters’ rejection of a 40-year sales tax</a>&nbsp;to help finance a new Royals stadium — and upgrades for Arrowhead — sparked a fear that the teams might leave if they don’t get new facilities. Claiming voters in the Chiefs’ and Royals’ home county had “dropped the ball,” Republican leaders in Kansas pushed to offer the teams a deal, worried they could leave the region altogether.

That fear was enough to reignite the dormant competition between officials in the two states.

“And then they said, ‘Oh, but this is sports, that doesn’t count,’” Matheson said. “Bad economics with sports teams seems to have few boundaries.”

While some&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/20/missouri-lawmakers-criticize-kansas-attempt-to-poach-royals-chiefs/" target="_blank">Missouri officials have criticized Kansas’ overtures</a>&nbsp;to the teams, Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said in June she made no promises about leaving the teams alone when she signed the Border War truce.

This week, Kelly’s office declined to comment on the legislation, referring questions to the Kansas Department of Commerce, which would oversee any stadium deals. That agency did not answer questions but provided a statement saying such projects “require discretion and confidentiality.”

“The department will not disclose any details regarding the activity surrounding negotiations or future agreements,” department spokesperson Patrick Lowry wrote in an email.

Missouri House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Republican from Lee’s Summit in suburban Kansas City, likewise said the truce wasn’t meant to cover sports teams — and he wants his state to keep the teams. He expects the state to respond with an offer of its own.

“The sports teams are sort of in a special category of their own. I don’t think that’s what that legislation really was meant for,” Patterson said of the truce.

Kansas’ offer to the Chiefs and Royals enhances an often-criticized program meant to bring major tourist attractions to the state.

But in most cases, the STAR bond program, according to a state audit, failed at its goal of increasing tourism. There may have been some cases, the audit said, where certain projects kept Kansans spending money in Kansas rather than going to Missouri.

“But we think it’s more often that local visitors simply move existing economic activity from one part of Kansas to another,” the audit said.

Prairiefire, a sprawling development in the Kansas suburb of Overland Park,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article283839588.html" target="_blank">defaulted on its STAR construction bonds</a>&nbsp;earlier this year because sales tax revenues from its restaurants, movie theater and museum came in far below projections.

The proposal for the stadiums would allow the Chiefs or Royals to pay off construction loans using the increased sales and liquor tax collections at the stadium. In pushing for the legislation, lawmakers noted that the money for the stadium would come from spending in and around the stadiums, not general taxpayers.

And they claimed that bond investors would be on the hook — not the state — if sales tax collections come up short.

But Geoffrey Propheter, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, said it’s unclear how interested investors will be in loaning huge sums for stadium projects, which typically do not create enough revenue to cover costs.

And if those state-issued bonds were ever at risk of failure, he said, lawmakers would feel implicit pressure to bail out the stadium.

“In the real world, there’s a huge risk to Kansas state taxpayers,” he said. “They’re going to have to decide to either bail out the project or do nothing. And if they do nothing, their credit, the state’s credit worthiness, will take a hit. And that will make all future borrowing more expensive.”

Experts viewed the Kansas-Missouri truce as a model that other states and cities could emulate.

“We were very interested in the Kansas and Missouri situation, because it gives a test as to whether this will work,” said Marc Joffe, a state policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank. “And there have been some encouraging results since 2019 … but I think sports teams are just too big of a war, and they weren’t able to avoid the temptation.”

The institute&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/how-kansas-city-chiefs-royals-restarted-subsidies-war" target="_blank">is studying</a>&nbsp;the Kansas-Missouri truce, in its larger effort to end bidding wars for factories and other major employers.

Joffe criticized such competition as wasteful, and said bidding for stadiums was no exception.

“It is at best a zero-sum game,” Joffe said, “and because of all the waste involved, it’s a really negative-sum game.”

Joffe pointed to the Coalition to Phase Out Corporate Tax Giveaways, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers that sponsored bills in more than a dozen legislatures between 2019 and 2021.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Christopher Rabb, a Democrat, has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2021&amp;sind=0&amp;body=H&amp;type=B&amp;bn=873" target="_blank">twice introduced legislation in Harrisburg</a>&nbsp;to end corporate subsidies. He said he was motivated by Amazon’s 2018 announcement that it was seeking a new corporate headquarters, a move that set off a national bidding war among cities.

He broadly believes corporate incentives are wasteful, especially for professional sports teams. Rabb views the Philadelphia 76ers talks of moving across the Delaware River to New Jersey as a ploy for public subsidies.

He noted most average people can’t afford to attend pro games and likened chasing the purported economic benefits of stadiums and arenas to hunting for “fool’s gold.”

“How does this really change the collective quality of opportunity for regular Philadelphians? It doesn’t,” he said. “Let’s be honest: This is the sandbox of billionaires.”

Rabb said elected leaders should be focused on policies that help marginalized people, not the “excessively wealthy,” such as team owners.

After talks stalled over a new arena for the 76ers in Philadelphia, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said&nbsp;<a href="https://6abc.com/post/new-jersey-officials-vying-philadelphia-76ers-open-new/15083409/" target="_blank">he proposed the team relocate</a>&nbsp;just a few miles to Camden.

Murphy’s office declined to comment, but the Democratic governor&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/gov-murphy-answers-viewers-questions-on-ask-gov-murphy-program-july-25-2024" target="_blank">told a local television station&nbsp;</a>last week that the team’s interest was “legitimate.”

“We think we got an angle here. We’re taking it seriously. Where it lands? I can’t promise you,” he said. “I think they are taking it seriously as well — we shall see. I say this as a Boston Celtics fan — don’t get mad at me.”

But this sort of jockeying between states only benefits team owners, said Neil deMause, a journalist who has written a book about stadium subsidies. Taxpayers and fans, he said, stand to gain little, especially if game tickets become more expensive at new facilities.

“All the economists I know say the best thing you could do is reject it for your state and have the stadiums get built in the other state,” deMause said. “You still get to go drive across the border and see the games the same way as you would otherwise … but you don’t have to pay for building the thing.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669408667473.png" alt="A red-clad crowd packs Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector)." />
 <figcaption>A red-clad crowd packs Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Kansas may spend billions of dollars to lure pro sports teams from Missouri, just a few miles away</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/kevinhardy/">KEVIN HARDY</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>For decades, academic research has been clear: Taxpayers almost never get their money back on subsidized sports stadiums.And yet, over and over again, U.S. cities and states find themselves locked in lopsided negotiations with beloved football, baseball and basketball teams, hoping to keep them from jumping to a new market.In the newest bidding war, Kansas aims to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to lure the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs or MLB’s Royals from their side-by-side stadiums in Missouri just a few miles away. It could be one of the most expensive stadium deals yet, according to Victor Matheson, a researcher who studies stadium subsidies.“This is wildly destructive,” he said. “This is in some ways significantly worse than intercity competition, because you’re just spending billions of dollars to just move economic activity from one point in the metro area to another.”Matheson, an economics professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, watched closely in June as lawmakers in Topeka, Kansas, approved an expansion of an often-criticized tax incentive program with the aim of subsidizing a new stadium for one or both teams.The bidding war for the teams is being viewed as particularly irresponsible by those who hailed a 2019 compact between Kansas and Missouri that some had hoped would set a new model for states across the country to curb corporate tax incentives.Five years ago, the Democratic governor of Kansas and the Republican governor of Missouri celebrated an end to the so-called economic Border War, a long-standing practice in which governments would offer lucrative subsidies to lure companies back and forth across state lines in the Kansas City area. People saw the practice as wasteful, since it paid companies to relocate without spurring new growth for the regional economy.The truce was momentous for Kansas and Missouri, two states whose rivalry traces back to bloody Civil War days. But it also garnered national acclaim from both liberals and conservatives who saw the move as a blow to corporate welfare and the cynical practice of companies pitting governments against each other.But more powerful than the bipartisan cross-border cease-fire, apparently, is the allure of a new professional sports venue.“Literally every piece of public policy that people said was bad before is being seen here,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas.Across the country, professional sports teams are playing various local and state governments against each other — a trend that will likely accelerate as a wave of existing stadium leases begin to expire across the country.It’s a page from the pro sports playbook: Teams often threaten to move to other markets — one without an NFL or NBA franchise, for example. But when those efforts don’t work, team owners often seek to spark competition among local jurisdictions, Matheson said.New Jersey officials are currently in talks with the owner of the Philadelphia 76ers to get that NBA franchise to hop over to Camden, New Jersey. And the NFL’s Washington Commanders, whose current stadium is in Maryland, are in talks with officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia as they look to build a new facility.“If there’s not a credible threat to relocate,” Matheson said, “the only way to really get the money out of people’s hands is to play localities against one another.”Lucas said the bidding war between Kansas and Missouri — and local governments in each — gives more leverage to the Chiefs and Royals in negotiations. But it’s up to elected officials to keep from being outmatched.“I do think some support is important,” Lucas said. “Giving away the farm is not.”In Topeka, the GOP-controlled legislature expanded Kansas’ Sales Tax and Revenue Bond program, known as STAR, which would redirect sales tax generated at the stadiums and surrounding areas to pay off construction debt. If the teams were to hop the state line, they could benefit from an unprecedented level of taxpayer support: as much as 70% of the costs of two stadiums, which could amount to billions.The law allows the state to strike stadium deals with little to no public involvement, doubles down on a state incentive program with a spotty track record of success and potentially puts the state’s finances at risk — all for the prospect of luring a sports team a few miles away.“I do not like this. It feels gross,” Kansas state Rep. Jason Probst said during a caucus meeting of House Democrats in June. “This whole show that’s going on feels disgusting to me. And it’s still the right thing to do.”In an interview, Probst, who is from Hutchinson in central Kansas, said the reality of professional sports requires governments “to play the game” and offer public assistance, lest they risk losing teams altogether.“You can stand on your principles. … But if another state isn’t playing by the same set of rules you are, then they’re going to make that investment and they’re going to take that away,” he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722689139327.png" alt=" Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson at a 2019 event in Kansas City. (Missouri Governor’s Office)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson at a 2019 event in Kansas City. (Missouri Governor’s Office)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Reigniting the Border War</h2>On a hot summer day in 2019, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate an end to Missouri’s and Kansas’ practice of offering tax incentives to move companies and jobs from one state to the other.<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article233725152.html" target="_blank">By one estimate</a>, the practice cost taxpayers more than $300 million over a decade and created almost no new jobs for the Kansas City metro area, which straddles both states.“Sometimes common sense does prevail,” Missouri’s Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article233725152.html" target="_blank">Gov. Mike Parson said at the time.&nbsp;</a>“Because you don’t have to be a scientist to figure out this was a bad deal for both states.”Parson’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this story. But in July, the governor said he was confident the NFL team would stay put at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri.“I’m not too worried about Kansas at this point,” Parson said.This spring,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2024-04-02/royals-chiefs-stadium-sales-tax-question-1-results-jackson-county-kansas-city-election" target="_blank">voters’ rejection of a 40-year sales tax</a>&nbsp;to help finance a new Royals stadium — and upgrades for Arrowhead — sparked a fear that the teams might leave if they don’t get new facilities. Claiming voters in the Chiefs’ and Royals’ home county had “dropped the ball,” Republican leaders in Kansas pushed to offer the teams a deal, worried they could leave the region altogether.That fear was enough to reignite the dormant competition between officials in the two states.“And then they said, ‘Oh, but this is sports, that doesn’t count,’” Matheson said. “Bad economics with sports teams seems to have few boundaries.”While some&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/20/missouri-lawmakers-criticize-kansas-attempt-to-poach-royals-chiefs/" target="_blank">Missouri officials have criticized Kansas’ overtures</a>&nbsp;to the teams, Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said in June she made no promises about leaving the teams alone when she signed the Border War truce.This week, Kelly’s office declined to comment on the legislation, referring questions to the Kansas Department of Commerce, which would oversee any stadium deals. That agency did not answer questions but provided a statement saying such projects “require discretion and confidentiality.”“The department will not disclose any details regarding the activity surrounding negotiations or future agreements,” department spokesperson Patrick Lowry wrote in an email.Missouri House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Republican from Lee’s Summit in suburban Kansas City, likewise said the truce wasn’t meant to cover sports teams — and he wants his state to keep the teams. He expects the state to respond with an offer of its own.“The sports teams are sort of in a special category of their own. I don’t think that’s what that legislation really was meant for,” Patterson said of the truce.Kansas’ offer to the Chiefs and Royals enhances an often-criticized program meant to bring major tourist attractions to the state.But in most cases, the STAR bond program, according to a state audit, failed at its goal of increasing tourism. There may have been some cases, the audit said, where certain projects kept Kansans spending money in Kansas rather than going to Missouri.“But we think it’s more often that local visitors simply move existing economic activity from one part of Kansas to another,” the audit said.Prairiefire, a sprawling development in the Kansas suburb of Overland Park,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article283839588.html" target="_blank">defaulted on its STAR construction bonds</a>&nbsp;earlier this year because sales tax revenues from its restaurants, movie theater and museum came in far below projections.The proposal for the stadiums would allow the Chiefs or Royals to pay off construction loans using the increased sales and liquor tax collections at the stadium. In pushing for the legislation, lawmakers noted that the money for the stadium would come from spending in and around the stadiums, not general taxpayers.And they claimed that bond investors would be on the hook — not the state — if sales tax collections come up short.But Geoffrey Propheter, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, said it’s unclear how interested investors will be in loaning huge sums for stadium projects, which typically do not create enough revenue to cover costs.And if those state-issued bonds were ever at risk of failure, he said, lawmakers would feel implicit pressure to bail out the stadium.“In the real world, there’s a huge risk to Kansas state taxpayers,” he said. “They’re going to have to decide to either bail out the project or do nothing. And if they do nothing, their credit, the state’s credit worthiness, will take a hit. And that will make all future borrowing more expensive.”<h2>‘Zero-sum’ game between states</h2>Experts viewed the Kansas-Missouri truce as a model that other states and cities could emulate.“We were very interested in the Kansas and Missouri situation, because it gives a test as to whether this will work,” said Marc Joffe, a state policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank. “And there have been some encouraging results since 2019 … but I think sports teams are just too big of a war, and they weren’t able to avoid the temptation.”The institute&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/how-kansas-city-chiefs-royals-restarted-subsidies-war" target="_blank">is studying</a>&nbsp;the Kansas-Missouri truce, in its larger effort to end bidding wars for factories and other major employers.Joffe criticized such competition as wasteful, and said bidding for stadiums was no exception.“It is at best a zero-sum game,” Joffe said, “and because of all the waste involved, it’s a really negative-sum game.”Joffe pointed to the Coalition to Phase Out Corporate Tax Giveaways, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers that sponsored bills in more than a dozen legislatures between 2019 and 2021.Pennsylvania state Rep. Christopher Rabb, a Democrat, has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2021&amp;sind=0&amp;body=H&amp;type=B&amp;bn=873" target="_blank">twice introduced legislation in Harrisburg</a>&nbsp;to end corporate subsidies. He said he was motivated by Amazon’s 2018 announcement that it was seeking a new corporate headquarters, a move that set off a national bidding war among cities.He broadly believes corporate incentives are wasteful, especially for professional sports teams. Rabb views the Philadelphia 76ers talks of moving across the Delaware River to New Jersey as a ploy for public subsidies.He noted most average people can’t afford to attend pro games and likened chasing the purported economic benefits of stadiums and arenas to hunting for “fool’s gold.”“How does this really change the collective quality of opportunity for regular Philadelphians? It doesn’t,” he said. “Let’s be honest: This is the sandbox of billionaires.”Rabb said elected leaders should be focused on policies that help marginalized people, not the “excessively wealthy,” such as team owners.After talks stalled over a new arena for the 76ers in Philadelphia, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said&nbsp;<a href="https://6abc.com/post/new-jersey-officials-vying-philadelphia-76ers-open-new/15083409/" target="_blank">he proposed the team relocate</a>&nbsp;just a few miles to Camden.Murphy’s office declined to comment, but the Democratic governor&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/gov-murphy-answers-viewers-questions-on-ask-gov-murphy-program-july-25-2024" target="_blank">told a local television station&nbsp;</a>last week that the team’s interest was “legitimate.”“We think we got an angle here. We’re taking it seriously. Where it lands? I can’t promise you,” he said. “I think they are taking it seriously as well — we shall see. I say this as a Boston Celtics fan — don’t get mad at me.”But this sort of jockeying between states only benefits team owners, said Neil deMause, a journalist who has written a book about stadium subsidies. Taxpayers and fans, he said, stand to gain little, especially if game tickets become more expensive at new facilities.“All the economists I know say the best thing you could do is reject it for your state and have the stadiums get built in the other state,” deMause said. “You still get to go drive across the border and see the games the same way as you would otherwise … but you don’t have to pay for building the thing.”

Kansas v. Missouri stadium battle shows how states are reigniting border wars

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man is going to prison for killing a man and stealing the victim's bicycle in a Wichita park in 2021.

This week, Judge David Dahl sentenced&nbsp;23-year-old Derek Zamzow to life in prison for the shooting death and bike theft of 32-year-old Jason Huber, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

In May, a jury convicted Zamzow of first degree murder, aggravated robbery and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

The crime occurred in September of 2021 in the 800 block of West Murdock. Police found Huber with a gunshot wound.&nbsp;Zamzow shot Huber before stealing his bicycle and riding away. EMS transported Huber to a local hospital where he died.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722690596488.png" alt="Zamzow-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Zamzow-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man is going to prison for killing a man and stealing the victim's bicycle in a Wichita park in 2021.This week, Judge David Dahl sentenced&nbsp;23-year-old Derek Zamzow to life in prison for the shooting death and bike theft of 32-year-old Jason Huber, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.In May, a jury convicted Zamzow of first degree murder, aggravated robbery and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.The crime occurred in September of 2021 in the 800 block of West Murdock. Police found Huber with a gunshot wound.&nbsp;Zamzow shot Huber before stealing his bicycle and riding away. EMS transported Huber to a local hospital where he died.&nbsp;

Kansas man killed victim and took his bicycle 

OSAGE COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 8p.m. Friday in Osage County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2021 GMC Sierra driven by Clinton W&nbsp;Fagen, 45, Shawnee, Kansas, was westbound on Kansas 31 just west of S Jordan.

The driver pulled to the right shoulder and made an illegal U-turn in front of a westbound 2008 Ford Expedition Fire and EMS vehicle with lights and sirens activated on the way to a call and driven by Gary D. Kitt, 62, Melvern.&nbsp;

The SUV and pickup collided.&nbsp; After impact the pickup became disabled on the highway and the SUV became disabled in the north ditch.

EMS transported both drivers to Stormont Vail in Topeka. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

OSAGE COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 8p.m. Friday in Osage County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2021 GMC Sierra driven by Clinton W&nbsp;Fagen, 45, Shawnee, Kansas, was westbound on Kansas 31 just west of S Jordan.The driver pulled to the right shoulder and made an illegal U-turn in front of a westbound 2008 Ford Expedition Fire and EMS vehicle with lights and sirens activated on the way to a call and driven by Gary D. Kitt, 62, Melvern.&nbsp;The SUV and pickup collided.&nbsp; After impact the pickup became disabled on the highway and the SUV became disabled in the north ditch.EMS transported both drivers to Stormont Vail in Topeka. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kan. driver made illegal U-turn in front of fire-EMS SUV on way to a call

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman will spend the rest of her life in prison after admitting in court that she kidnapped and killed a pregnant Arkansas woman in what prosecutors say was an attempt to claim her baby.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-kidnapping-missouri-springfield-dc7c8e944f6d8ef9260a44c6ab38713c">Amber Waterman</a>, 44, of Pineville, Missouri, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Springfield to one count each of kidnapping resulting in death and causing the death of a child in utero. U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said Waterman's mandatory sentence will be life in prison without parole. Formal sentencing is Oct. 15.

In her plea, Waterman admitted that she used a false name to contact Ashley Bush of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on Facebook. Bush, 33, was about 31 weeks pregnant at the time.

Federal prosecutors said Waterman and Bush agreed to meet at an Arkansas convenience store on Oct. 31, 2022, under the guise of Waterman helping Bush get a job. Instead, Waterman drove Bush to Waterman's home in Pineville.

Hours later, first responders were called to the home on a report that a baby was not breathing. The baby was pronounced dead. Waterman at first claimed she had given birth. In her plea, she admitted the baby was Bush's. Bush was also the mother of three other children.

Bush's body was found in a separate location. Arkansas authorities said she died from a gunshot wound, but police and prosecutors declined to provide more information on how the baby died.

Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping dispose of Bush’s body. His trial is scheduled for October.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722439469260.png" alt="Waterman photo Benton Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Waterman photo Benton Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman will spend the rest of her life in prison after admitting in court that she kidnapped and killed a pregnant Arkansas woman in what prosecutors say was an attempt to claim her baby.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-kidnapping-missouri-springfield-dc7c8e944f6d8ef9260a44c6ab38713c">Amber Waterman</a>, 44, of Pineville, Missouri, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Springfield to one count each of kidnapping resulting in death and causing the death of a child in utero. U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said Waterman's mandatory sentence will be life in prison without parole. Formal sentencing is Oct. 15.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722439716070.png" alt="Jamie Waterman is being held in Greene Co." />
 <figcaption>Jamie Waterman is being held in Greene Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>In her plea, Waterman admitted that she used a false name to contact Ashley Bush of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on Facebook. Bush, 33, was about 31 weeks pregnant at the time.Federal prosecutors said Waterman and Bush agreed to meet at an Arkansas convenience store on Oct. 31, 2022, under the guise of Waterman helping Bush get a job. Instead, Waterman drove Bush to Waterman's home in Pineville.Hours later, first responders were called to the home on a report that a baby was not breathing. The baby was pronounced dead. Waterman at first claimed she had given birth. In her plea, she admitted the baby was Bush's. Bush was also the mother of three other children.Bush's body was found in a separate location. Arkansas authorities said she died from a gunshot wound, but police and prosecutors declined to provide more information on how the baby died.Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping dispose of Bush’s body. His trial is scheduled for October.

Woman admits kidnapping, killing a pregnant Arkansas woman

West Yellowstone, Montana—The National Park Service is working to get the attention of "all citizen scientists" following the geyser explosion last month.

 Yellowstone and Geological Survey are seeking information regarding the hydrothermal explosion event that took place in Biscuit Basin on July 23, 2024.


Who can help:
· People in Biscuit Basin or surrounding area who directly observed the even,&nbsp; people who have photos or videos of Black Diamond Pool, Black Opal Pool, or Wall Pool during the period of July 16-July 23.



If you are in either of these groups and would like to help, please contact the Yellowstone Geology Program: yell_geology@nps.gov



Hydrothermal explosions are common, but not often witnessed. By sharing your observations and media, you can directly contribute to important scientific research on this underappreciated geologic hazard. 



If you’re not in either of these groups, you can still help by liking and sharing this post on the Yellowstone facebook page.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721940347052.png" alt="Photo National Park Service" />
 <figcaption>Photo National Park Service</figcaption>
 </figure>West Yellowstone, Montana—The National Park Service is working to get the attention of "all citizen scientists" following the geyser explosion last month. Yellowstone and Geological Survey are seeking information regarding the hydrothermal explosion event that took place in Biscuit Basin on July 23, 2024.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721765630612.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
Who can help:
· People in Biscuit Basin or surrounding area who directly observed the even,&nbsp; people who have photos or videos of Black Diamond Pool, Black Opal Pool, or Wall Pool during the period of July 16-July 23.

If you are in either of these groups and would like to help, please contact the Yellowstone Geology Program: yell_geology@nps.gov

Hydrothermal explosions are common, but not often witnessed. By sharing your observations and media, you can directly contribute to important scientific research on this underappreciated geologic hazard. 

If you’re not in either of these groups, you can still help by liking and sharing this post on the Yellowstone facebook page.-----------

Park Service asking public for info following Yellowstone geyser explosion 

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children’s online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency.

The complaint, filed together with the Federal Trade Commission in a California federal court, comes as the U.S. and the prominent social media company are embroiled in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-censorship-us-data-240e11d9bb6212b0c9b1adab821e5005">yet another legal battle</a>&nbsp;that will determine if – or how – TikTok will continue to operate in the country.

The latest lawsuit focuses on allegations that TikTok, a trend-setting platform popular among young users, and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent before collecting personal information of children under 13.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control,” Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

The U.S. decided to file the lawsuit following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-ftc-justice-investigation-children-6044e57cc7adf9e57319e351c671483c">an investigation by the FTC</a>&nbsp;that looked into whether the companies were complying with a previous settlement involving TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly.

In 2019, the federal government sued Musical.ly, alleging it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, by failing to notify parents about its collection and use of personal information for kids under 13.

That same year, Musical.ly — acquired by ByteDance in 2017 and merged with TikTok — agreed to pay $5.7 million to resolve those allegations. The two companies were also subject to a court order requiring them to comply with COPPA, which the government says hasn’t happened.

In the complaint, the Justice Department and the FTC allege TikTok has knowingly allowed children to create accounts and retained their personal information without notifying their parents. This practice extends to accounts created in “Kids Mode,” a version of TikTok for children under 13, Justice said in a press release explaining the lawsuit.

The two agencies allege the information collected included activities on the app and other identifiers used to build user profiles. They also accuse TikTok of sharing the data with other companies – such as Meta’s Facebook and an analytics company called AppsFlyer – to persuade “Kids Mode” users to be on the platform more, a practice TikTok called “re-targeting less active users.”

The complaint says TikTok also allowed children to create accounts without having to provide their age, or obtain parental approval, by using credentials from third-party services. It classified these as “age unknown” accounts, which the agencies say have grown into millions.

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children’s online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency.The complaint, filed together with the Federal Trade Commission in a California federal court, comes as the U.S. and the prominent social media company are embroiled in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-censorship-us-data-240e11d9bb6212b0c9b1adab821e5005">yet another legal battle</a>&nbsp;that will determine if – or how – TikTok will continue to operate in the country.The latest lawsuit focuses on allegations that TikTok, a trend-setting platform popular among young users, and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent before collecting personal information of children under 13.TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control,” Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.The U.S. decided to file the lawsuit following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-ftc-justice-investigation-children-6044e57cc7adf9e57319e351c671483c">an investigation by the FTC</a>&nbsp;that looked into whether the companies were complying with a previous settlement involving TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly.In 2019, the federal government sued Musical.ly, alleging it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, by failing to notify parents about its collection and use of personal information for kids under 13.That same year, Musical.ly — acquired by ByteDance in 2017 and merged with TikTok — agreed to pay $5.7 million to resolve those allegations. The two companies were also subject to a court order requiring them to comply with COPPA, which the government says hasn’t happened.In the complaint, the Justice Department and the FTC allege TikTok has knowingly allowed children to create accounts and retained their personal information without notifying their parents. This practice extends to accounts created in “Kids Mode,” a version of TikTok for children under 13, Justice said in a press release explaining the lawsuit.The two agencies allege the information collected included activities on the app and other identifiers used to build user profiles. They also accuse TikTok of sharing the data with other companies – such as Meta’s Facebook and an analytics company called AppsFlyer – to persuade “Kids Mode” users to be on the platform more, a practice TikTok called “re-targeting less active users.”The complaint says TikTok also allowed children to create accounts without having to provide their age, or obtain parental approval, by using credentials from third-party services. It classified these as “age unknown” accounts, which the agencies say have grown into millions.After parents discovered some of their children’s accounts and asked for them to be deleted, federal officials said their requests were not honored. In a press release explaining the lawsuit, Justice said the alleged violations have resulted in millions of children under 13 using the regular TikTok app, allowing them to interact with adults and access adult content.In March, a person with the matter had told the AP the FTC’s investigation was also looking into whether TikTok violated a portion of federal law that prohibits “unfair and deceptive” business practices by denying that individuals in China had access to U.S. user data.Those allegations were not included in the complaint, which is seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief.