SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged sexual battery and continue asking the public&nbsp; for help identifying a suspect, according to a social media report from Wichita police.

If you have any information on who this suspect is, please contact detectives at 316-268-4380.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696453447690.png" alt="Photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged sexual battery and continue asking the public&nbsp; for help identifying a suspect, according to a social media report from Wichita police.If you have any information on who this suspect is, please contact detectives at 316-268-4380.

Police still working to ID Kansas sexual battery suspect

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize.

The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19.

The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing Monday night would be an estimated $679.8 million.

The jackpot is now the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">fourth-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">top prize on July 19</a>. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.

The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize.The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19.The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing Monday night would be an estimated $679.8 million.The jackpot is now the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">fourth-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">top prize on July 19</a>. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million.Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball jackpot up to $1.55 billion as lottery losing streak continues

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

WASHINGTON — Additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine was on shaky ground earlier this week, before U.S. House Republicans evicted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office.

The revolt by eight members of the House GOP Conference, largely spurred by bipartisan deals McCarthy struck on the debt limit and a short-term government funding bill, complicated prospects for moving additional aid to Ukraine through Congress.

Future relief dollars are now closely tied to who House Republicans elect as their next speaker. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/louisianas-steve-scalise-and-ohios-jim-jordan-jump-race-us-house-speaker">mid-session contest for the gavel</a>&nbsp;currently pits Louisiana’s Steve Scalise against Ohio’s Jim Jordan, though more GOP lawmakers are mulling campaigns to lead their party. An election could be as soon as next week though that’s not certain.

The two lawmakers have slightly different records on Ukraine, with Scalise having supported relief funding in the beginning, while Jordan voted against all the bills that included military and humanitarian assistance.

In the U.S. Senate, both Republicans and Democrats say they’re looking for a path to keep Ukraine in Ukrainian hands and resist the Russian military onslaught to end democracy in the Eastern European country.

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, chair of the Defense spending panel, said there is likely a path forward for Ukraine aid, despite House GOP infighting.

“I think you’ve got to continue to work in a positive way in the Senate,” Tester said. “And I think, as I told people in the caucus this morning, it’ll always be a s- – – show over there, so let’s do our job.”

Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun said any aid for Ukraine will likely be tied to additional funding for border security.

“I think that would unite our conference for the ones that have been lukewarm on Ukraine — thinking that the top priority should be the border. And I think that’s the way it gets through,” Braun said.

“And then the next issue would be for any of us that are fiscal conservatives — are you going to actually pay for it?” he added.

The change in House Republican leadership shouldn’t impact those discussions, Braun said.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said there are enough votes to pass Ukraine aid in the House if the next GOP speaker puts a bipartisan bill on the floor.

“My hope is that we’ll do something significant and bipartisan in the Senate and we may be able to act first to sort of lead the way,” Kaine said.

The next Ukraine aid bill to go to the Senate floor, Kaine said, will likely be structured to provide longer term aid to the country, saying there’s a “logic” to that proposal.

“Rather than try to do this in small bites that make it harder and harder and harder. Let’s just be candid with people about what the longer term need is and see if we could do it,” Kaine said. “And we do think we’ve got the votes in both houses.”

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday there were no updates on negotiations over military aid to Ukraine.

“We’re going to have to work it with the House obviously, so we’ll see,” Ernst said, deferring to House lawmakers on how a change in leadership could impact prospects in that chamber.

Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said discussions about providing aid for Ukraine and approving additional money for border security are moving on a separate track from conversations about getting all dozen of the full-year spending bills approved.

The deadline for funding the government or passing a second stopgap spending bill is Nov. 17, though that timeline wouldn’t impact negotiations on Ukraine and border security — unless party leaders decide to roll them into one package as they have in the past.

The typical conference process, where House and Senate lawmakers meet to reconcile the differences on legislation, cannot begin until the House GOP decides who leads the party, Moran said.

Conferencing bills, he said, “suggests that someone has the ability to negotiate and work on behalf of the House, which yet has to be determined.”

“It’s a huge challenge but we can compromise on numbers. That’s among the easiest things to do,” Moran said of the full-year government spending bills. “It’s the policy kinds of things that make conference more difficult.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, have pledged to provide more relief funding to Ukraine, though those plans were&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/next-battle-congress-over-ukraine-aid-biden-presses-house-speaker-vote">already in trouble</a>&nbsp;before McCarthy’s removal as speaker.

Congress has approved four relief packages for Ukraine so far, totaling more than $110 billion in military, economic and humanitarian support. The funding has gone to departments and agencies run by the U.S. government, including the Defense and State departments.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-reaches-deal-massive-spending-package-billions-covid-aid-ukraine">first aid bill</a>, enacted in March 2022, included $13.6 billion. The funding was added to a $1.5 trillion spending package that included all 12 of the annual government spending measures, but the House used a procedural tool, called “dividing the question,” to take two votes on the package.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202265">vote</a>&nbsp;on the portions that included military aid to Ukraine as well as other items, got Scalise’s vote, but not Jordan’s support. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202266">voted</a>&nbsp;against passing the sections of the package that provided non-military assistance to Ukraine and held numerous other bills.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-clears-40b-ukraine-aid-bidens-signature-some-gop-balk">second assistance package</a>, passed in May 2022, appropriated $40 billion. Scalise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022145">voted</a>&nbsp;for aid while Jordan voted against the bill.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hours-ahead-shutdown-deadline-us-house-sends-biden-stopgap-spending-bill">third relief package</a>, cleared in September 2022, provided more than $12 billion. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022476">voted</a>&nbsp;against the legislation, which included a stopgap spending bill, billions in natural disaster relief and increased funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-approves-17-trillion-funding-package-and-sends-it-biden">fourth supplemental package</a>, enacted in December 2022, included $45 billion. Both Scalise and Jordan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022549?Date=12%2F23%2F2022">voted</a>&nbsp;against approving the package, which also included all of the full-year government spending bills and other provisions.

Scalise, unlike Jordan, originally backed funding for Ukraine and wrote in a statement alongside other House GOP leaders in February 2022 that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “reprehensible.”

“We stand in complete solidarity with the innocent Ukrainian people and vow to continue to support them as they defend themselves from Putin’s unprovoked onslaught,” they&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scalise.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-republican-leadership-s-statement-russia-s-invasion-ukraine">wrote</a>.

The group of six GOP leaders said that China, Iran and North Korea were watching how the United States would respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “They must see us respond firmly to this Russian aggression.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695327062140.png" alt="Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a September visit with President Biden-photo White House" />
 <figcaption>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a September visit with President Biden-photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WASHINGTON — Additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine was on shaky ground earlier this week, before U.S. House Republicans evicted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office.The revolt by eight members of the House GOP Conference, largely spurred by bipartisan deals McCarthy struck on the debt limit and a short-term government funding bill, complicated prospects for moving additional aid to Ukraine through Congress.Future relief dollars are now closely tied to who House Republicans elect as their next speaker. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/louisianas-steve-scalise-and-ohios-jim-jordan-jump-race-us-house-speaker">mid-session contest for the gavel</a>&nbsp;currently pits Louisiana’s Steve Scalise against Ohio’s Jim Jordan, though more GOP lawmakers are mulling campaigns to lead their party. An election could be as soon as next week though that’s not certain.The two lawmakers have slightly different records on Ukraine, with Scalise having supported relief funding in the beginning, while Jordan voted against all the bills that included military and humanitarian assistance.<h2>Senate backing continues</h2>In the U.S. Senate, both Republicans and Democrats say they’re looking for a path to keep Ukraine in Ukrainian hands and resist the Russian military onslaught to end democracy in the Eastern European country.Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, chair of the Defense spending panel, said there is likely a path forward for Ukraine aid, despite House GOP infighting.“I think you’ve got to continue to work in a positive way in the Senate,” Tester said. “And I think, as I told people in the caucus this morning, it’ll always be a s- – – show over there, so let’s do our job.”Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun said any aid for Ukraine will likely be tied to additional funding for border security.“I think that would unite our conference for the ones that have been lukewarm on Ukraine — thinking that the top priority should be the border. And I think that’s the way it gets through,” Braun said.“And then the next issue would be for any of us that are fiscal conservatives — are you going to actually pay for it?” he added.The change in House Republican leadership shouldn’t impact those discussions, Braun said.Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said there are enough votes to pass Ukraine aid in the House if the next GOP speaker puts a bipartisan bill on the floor.“My hope is that we’ll do something significant and bipartisan in the Senate and we may be able to act first to sort of lead the way,” Kaine said.The next Ukraine aid bill to go to the Senate floor, Kaine said, will likely be structured to provide longer term aid to the country, saying there’s a “logic” to that proposal.“Rather than try to do this in small bites that make it harder and harder and harder. Let’s just be candid with people about what the longer term need is and see if we could do it,” Kaine said. “And we do think we’ve got the votes in both houses.”Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday there were no updates on negotiations over military aid to Ukraine.“We’re going to have to work it with the House obviously, so we’ll see,” Ernst said, deferring to House lawmakers on how a change in leadership could impact prospects in that chamber.Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said discussions about providing aid for Ukraine and approving additional money for border security are moving on a separate track from conversations about getting all dozen of the full-year spending bills approved.<h2>Deadline for new spending bill</h2>The deadline for funding the government or passing a second stopgap spending bill is Nov. 17, though that timeline wouldn’t impact negotiations on Ukraine and border security — unless party leaders decide to roll them into one package as they have in the past.The typical conference process, where House and Senate lawmakers meet to reconcile the differences on legislation, cannot begin until the House GOP decides who leads the party, Moran said.Conferencing bills, he said, “suggests that someone has the ability to negotiate and work on behalf of the House, which yet has to be determined.”“It’s a huge challenge but we can compromise on numbers. That’s among the easiest things to do,” Moran said of the full-year government spending bills. “It’s the policy kinds of things that make conference more difficult.”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, have pledged to provide more relief funding to Ukraine, though those plans were&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/next-battle-congress-over-ukraine-aid-biden-presses-house-speaker-vote">already in trouble</a>&nbsp;before McCarthy’s removal as speaker.<h2>Scalise and Jordan’s records</h2>Congress has approved four relief packages for Ukraine so far, totaling more than $110 billion in military, economic and humanitarian support. The funding has gone to departments and agencies run by the U.S. government, including the Defense and State departments.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-reaches-deal-massive-spending-package-billions-covid-aid-ukraine">first aid bill</a>, enacted in March 2022, included $13.6 billion. The funding was added to a $1.5 trillion spending package that included all 12 of the annual government spending measures, but the House used a procedural tool, called “dividing the question,” to take two votes on the package.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202265">vote</a>&nbsp;on the portions that included military aid to Ukraine as well as other items, got Scalise’s vote, but not Jordan’s support. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202266">voted</a>&nbsp;against passing the sections of the package that provided non-military assistance to Ukraine and held numerous other bills.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-clears-40b-ukraine-aid-bidens-signature-some-gop-balk">second assistance package</a>, passed in May 2022, appropriated $40 billion. Scalise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022145">voted</a>&nbsp;for aid while Jordan voted against the bill.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hours-ahead-shutdown-deadline-us-house-sends-biden-stopgap-spending-bill">third relief package</a>, cleared in September 2022, provided more than $12 billion. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022476">voted</a>&nbsp;against the legislation, which included a stopgap spending bill, billions in natural disaster relief and increased funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-approves-17-trillion-funding-package-and-sends-it-biden">fourth supplemental package</a>, enacted in December 2022, included $45 billion. Both Scalise and Jordan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022549?Date=12%2F23%2F2022">voted</a>&nbsp;against approving the package, which also included all of the full-year government spending bills and other provisions.Scalise, unlike Jordan, originally backed funding for Ukraine and wrote in a statement alongside other House GOP leaders in February 2022 that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “reprehensible.”“We stand in complete solidarity with the innocent Ukrainian people and vow to continue to support them as they defend themselves from Putin’s unprovoked onslaught,” they&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scalise.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-republican-leadership-s-statement-russia-s-invasion-ukraine">wrote</a>.The group of six GOP leaders said that China, Iran and North Korea were watching how the United States would respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “They must see us respond firmly to this Russian aggression.”

A murky outlook for Ukraine aid with U.S. House leadership in turmoil

WICHITA– A Kansas man was sentenced to almost 70 years in prison after sexually assaulting a girl he met while on social media.

A judge sentenced Donquez Jones, 31 of Wichita, to 818 months in prison,&nbsp;according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

On July 31, a jury convicted Jones of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, criminal sodomy, and aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to the district attorney's office.

In March of 2015, Jones sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl that he met on Facebook.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657801038155.png" alt="Jones-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Jones-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA– A Kansas man was sentenced to almost 70 years in prison after sexually assaulting a girl he met while on social media.A judge sentenced Donquez Jones, 31 of Wichita, to 818 months in prison,&nbsp;according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.On July 31, a jury convicted Jones of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, criminal sodomy, and aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to the district attorney's office.In March of 2015, Jones sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl that he met on Facebook.=

Kan. man man sexually assaulted 15-year-old he met online

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on drug allegations.

Just before 10p.m. Oct. 2, a sheriff's deputy on routine patrol on U.S. 75 Highway&nbsp; near 150th Road&nbsp; encountered a vehicle that he noticed had a tag light violation.&nbsp; 

During the traffic stop and talk with the driver identified as Shedrick Ford,&nbsp; 58, of Liberty, Texas,&nbsp; the deputy detected an odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.&nbsp; 

After investigation, Ford was arrested on requested charges of Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Expired Vehicle Registration,No Proof of insurance and Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended orRevoked and transported to the Brown County jail.&nbsp; &nbsp;He remains jailed without bond, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696435560235.png" alt="Ford-photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Ford-photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on drug allegations.Just before 10p.m. Oct. 2, a sheriff's deputy on routine patrol on U.S. 75 Highway&nbsp; near 150th Road&nbsp; encountered a vehicle that he noticed had a tag light violation.&nbsp; During the traffic stop and talk with the driver identified as Shedrick Ford,&nbsp; 58, of Liberty, Texas,&nbsp; the deputy detected an odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.&nbsp; After investigation, Ford was arrested on requested charges of Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Expired Vehicle Registration,No Proof of insurance and Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended orRevoked and transported to the Brown County jail.&nbsp; &nbsp;He remains jailed without bond, according to online jail records.

Texas man caught transporting meth, marijuana in Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/07/statement-from-president-joe-biden-condemning-terrorist-attacks-in-israel/">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Saturday decried the “appalling assault" by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas militants</a>&nbsp;and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">surprise attack</a>&nbsp;that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies.

(click below to watch comments from President Biden)

Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House. He also called Jordan's King Abdullah II. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the White House for meetings and was phoning foreign counterparts, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister.

“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people,” Biden said in a statement that also warned “any other party hostile to Israel” against “seeking advantage in this situation.” Washington's support for “Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” the president said. His Pentagon chief said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel to “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.

Hamas' unprecedented incursion, coming on a major Jewish holiday, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and was threatening to spiral into a broader conflict. Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. “We are at war,” Netanyahu said.

The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-netanyahu-politics-4d07d9fd0413c6893d1ddfb944919ae0">to expand</a>&nbsp;the Arab-Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bahrain-israel-united-arab-emirates-middle-east-elections-7544b322a254ebea1693e387d83d9d8b">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;normalization agreements, not only with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-saudi-arabia-normalization-jake-sullivan-mbs-peace-deal-377e3c1e4b4732124b565ed968c5f0c8">Saudi Arabia</a>, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-prince-us-politics-fox-a65f1e4c39ee2d83667aa433f59b59c8">commanded most of the public attention</a>, but also with smaller Arab states.

U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead but acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blinken had been planning a trip to the Middle East, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, later this month, but those plans are now on hold, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

In the immediate term, these officials said the U.S. would work Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among Arab partners in the region, to try to deescalate the situation. But given the scale of the Hamas attacks and Israel's military response, the officials said they were not optimistic about any short-term solution.

Like Biden, who said the U.S. “unequivocally condemns this appalling assault,” many world leaders stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself and they pledged solidarity.

“We believe that order will be restored and the terrorists will be destroyed,” Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a post on his official Telegram channel. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said “Israel’s right to self-defense cannot be questioned."

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen denounced the “senseless attack” by Hamas and said, “This violence is neither a political solution nor an act of bravery. It is purely terrorism.”

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz said his country stands beside Israel, a sentiment echoed by the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was shocked by the attacks and that “Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.”

In Vienna, the Israeli flag was raised at the Austrian chancellor’s office and Foreign Ministry in a gesture of solidarity. "There is no excuse for terror,” Nehammer said in a post on X.

Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, told the state Tass agency that Moscow was in touch with “all parties (of the conflict), including Arab countries” and urged “an immediate cease-fire and peace” between Hamas and Israel.

Bogdanov did not specify the Arab nations with which Russian diplomats were speaking.

Saudi Arabia called for an immediate halt to the fighting, urging both sides to protect civilians and exercise restraint.

“The kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation, the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights and the repetition of system provocations against” them by Israel, a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.

But in Iran, Israel’s regional archenemy, members of parliament opened their session Saturday by chanting “Death to Israel” and “Israel will be doomed, Palestine will be the conqueror.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said “today’s operation created a new page in the field of resistance and armed operation against occupiers,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

In Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate the operation by Hamas. In the Bourj al-Barajneh camp south of Beirut, residents danced in the streets, while young men in the northern city of Tripoli distributed celebratory sweets to passersby in the streets.

In the Bekaa Valley, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the roads. The country’s highest Sunni religious authority called for mosques to broadcast “God is great” over loudspeakers following afternoon prayers “in solidarity with our people in Palestine.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/07/statement-from-president-joe-biden-condemning-terrorist-attacks-in-israel/">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Saturday decried the “appalling assault" by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas militants</a>&nbsp;and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">surprise attack</a>&nbsp;that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies.(click below to watch comments from President Biden)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gixYhd8pjhw?si=4K0HnG4r2VbRUc_z&amp;start=3" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House. He also called Jordan's King Abdullah II. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the White House for meetings and was phoning foreign counterparts, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our hearts go out to Israel in their fight for their lives right now against the barbaric attacks on civilians at the hands of Hamas terrorist. America stands with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Israeli people, and our unwavering commitment to their safety and security.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1710667132088828188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The United States stands with Israel. I fully support Israel’s right to defend themselves from these ruthless, unprovoked Hamas terrorist attacks. Join me in praying for the people of Israel as they fight to defend their freedom. 🇺🇸🇮🇱 <a href="https://t.co/Kui5ZKASx7">pic.twitter.com/Kui5ZKASx7</a>&mdash; Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLaTurner/status/1710658653110382634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The world is seeing appalling images. Thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli cities. Hamas terrorists killing not only Israeli soldiers, but civilians on the streets and in their homes. It’s unconscionable. Israel has a right to defend itself – full stop.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1710761931399709074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people,” Biden said in a statement that also warned “any other party hostile to Israel” against “seeking advantage in this situation.” Washington's support for “Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” the president said. His Pentagon chief said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel to “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.Hamas' unprecedented incursion, coming on a major Jewish holiday, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and was threatening to spiral into a broader conflict. Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. “We are at war,” Netanyahu said.The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-netanyahu-politics-4d07d9fd0413c6893d1ddfb944919ae0">to expand</a>&nbsp;the Arab-Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bahrain-israel-united-arab-emirates-middle-east-elections-7544b322a254ebea1693e387d83d9d8b">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;normalization agreements, not only with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-saudi-arabia-normalization-jake-sullivan-mbs-peace-deal-377e3c1e4b4732124b565ed968c5f0c8">Saudi Arabia</a>, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-prince-us-politics-fox-a65f1e4c39ee2d83667aa433f59b59c8">commanded most of the public attention</a>, but also with smaller Arab states.U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead but acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.Blinken had been planning a trip to the Middle East, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, later this month, but those plans are now on hold, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.In the immediate term, these officials said the U.S. would work Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among Arab partners in the region, to try to deescalate the situation. But given the scale of the Hamas attacks and Israel's military response, the officials said they were not optimistic about any short-term solution.Like Biden, who said the U.S. “unequivocally condemns this appalling assault,” many world leaders stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself and they pledged solidarity.“We believe that order will be restored and the terrorists will be destroyed,” Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a post on his official Telegram channel. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said “Israel’s right to self-defense cannot be questioned."European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen denounced the “senseless attack” by Hamas and said, “This violence is neither a political solution nor an act of bravery. It is purely terrorism.”German Chancellor OIaf Scholz said his country stands beside Israel, a sentiment echoed by the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was shocked by the attacks and that “Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.”In Vienna, the Israeli flag was raised at the Austrian chancellor’s office and Foreign Ministry in a gesture of solidarity. "There is no excuse for terror,” Nehammer said in a post on X.Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, told the state Tass agency that Moscow was in touch with “all parties (of the conflict), including Arab countries” and urged “an immediate cease-fire and peace” between Hamas and Israel.Bogdanov did not specify the Arab nations with which Russian diplomats were speaking.Saudi Arabia called for an immediate halt to the fighting, urging both sides to protect civilians and exercise restraint.“The kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation, the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights and the repetition of system provocations against” them by Israel, a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.But in Iran, Israel’s regional archenemy, members of parliament opened their session Saturday by chanting “Death to Israel” and “Israel will be doomed, Palestine will be the conqueror.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said “today’s operation created a new page in the field of resistance and armed operation against occupiers,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.In Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate the operation by Hamas. In the Bourj al-Barajneh camp south of Beirut, residents danced in the streets, while young men in the northern city of Tripoli distributed celebratory sweets to passersby in the streets.In the Bekaa Valley, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the roads. The country’s highest Sunni religious authority called for mosques to broadcast “God is great” over loudspeakers following afternoon prayers “in solidarity with our people in Palestine.”___

🎥Biden, Kan. lawmakers condemn “appalling assault" on Israel 

WICHITA, KAN. – The owner of a used car dealership and a former salesperson have entered into a consent judgment with the Office of the Sedgwick County District Attorney, resolving multiple allegations of violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, according to a statement from District Attorney Marc Bennett.

 The District Attorney’s Office investigated three separate consumer complaints regarding the purchase of the same vehicle from a dealership formerly located at 1348 N. Cleveland in Wichita.

The Consumer Protection Division alleged Carlos Porter and Brandon Walker repeatedly sold a Mercedes without having title to the vehicle, improperly repossessed the vehicle and failed to disclose known defects as part of a consumer transaction. A consumer alleged the dealership improperly repossessed the Mercedes and forced him to sign an agreement voiding the sale. A second consumer complained after she purchased the same Mercedes and did not receive title or a refund. The third consumer complained after he too, purchased the Mercedes and did not receive title or a refund. 

Investigation by the Consumer Protection Division identified that Walker and Porter failed to tell the third consumer known defects with the Mercedes.

While both Porter and Walker denied intentionally violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, they both agreed to settle the matter to resolve the allegations. Both men agreed to a 41-month probationary period with the Consumer Protection Division during which they will be required to pay back $15,720 in restitution to the impacted consumers.

The consent judgment also includes $60,000 in civil penalties as well as additional investigative expenses and court costs.

The District Attorney reminds residents that buyers should receive certificates of title within 60 days of vehicle purchase so they can register the vehicle. Failure to provide title within 60 days makes the transaction “fraudulent and void” entitling customers to a full refund.

K.S.A. 8-135(c)(7). The Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide on every used vehicle they offer for sale. The Buyer’s Guide gives consumers important purchasing and warranty information.

The consent judgment was approved by Judge Eric Commer and filed on September 29, 2023. The matter was investigated by Kristen Zluticky with the District Attorney’s Office. 

WICHITA, KAN. – The owner of a used car dealership and a former salesperson have entered into a consent judgment with the Office of the Sedgwick County District Attorney, resolving multiple allegations of violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, according to a statement from District Attorney Marc Bennett. The District Attorney’s Office investigated three separate consumer complaints regarding the purchase of the same vehicle from a dealership formerly located at 1348 N. Cleveland in Wichita.The Consumer Protection Division alleged Carlos Porter and Brandon Walker repeatedly sold a Mercedes without having title to the vehicle, improperly repossessed the vehicle and failed to disclose known defects as part of a consumer transaction. A consumer alleged the dealership improperly repossessed the Mercedes and forced him to sign an agreement voiding the sale. A second consumer complained after she purchased the same Mercedes and did not receive title or a refund. The third consumer complained after he too, purchased the Mercedes and did not receive title or a refund. Investigation by the Consumer Protection Division identified that Walker and Porter failed to tell the third consumer known defects with the Mercedes.While both Porter and Walker denied intentionally violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, they both agreed to settle the matter to resolve the allegations. Both men agreed to a 41-month probationary period with the Consumer Protection Division during which they will be required to pay back $15,720 in restitution to the impacted consumers.The consent judgment also includes $60,000 in civil penalties as well as additional investigative expenses and court costs.The District Attorney reminds residents that buyers should receive certificates of title within 60 days of vehicle purchase so they can register the vehicle. Failure to provide title within 60 days makes the transaction “fraudulent and void” entitling customers to a full refund.K.S.A. 8-135(c)(7). The Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide on every used vehicle they offer for sale. The Buyer’s Guide gives consumers important purchasing and warranty information.The consent judgment was approved by Judge Eric Commer and filed on September 29, 2023. The matter was investigated by Kristen Zluticky with the District Attorney’s Office.

Kan. used car dealer sold car without a title to 3 different buyers

By TIM CARPENTER&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/09/21/kansas-board-of-regents-sculpts-plan-for-boosting-state-aid-to-public-higher-education/?emci=78717300-c858-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=fc107f78-2659-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

Kansas Republican legislative leadership remains steadfast in opposition

PITTSBURG — Blake Benson stood in his hometown’s hospital lobby to deliver economic and health care justification for expanding Medicaid enrollment among lower-income workers in Kansas.

Benson, president of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce and board chairman of Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, said a resolution had to be found to political conflict that left Kansas among 10 states stiff arming appeals to broaden access to health benefits of Medicaid.

Ending the blockade on expansion by Republican leaders of the Kansas Legislature would deliver $11 million annually to hospitals and clinics in Crawford County, he said.

“Expanding health care coverage to more than 1,600 uninsured employees right here in our community would create a healthier workforce and increase productivity while reducing absenteeism and employee turnover in our local businesses,” Benson said.

Benson said Medicaid expansion proposals offered by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and strategies adopted in 40 states, including the four surrounding Kansas, would deliver health insurance under the state- and federal-funded Medicaid program to people who made too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but not enough to afford traditional private health insurance.

“Folks, these are our neighbors,” Benson said. “They work hard. They’re good people. And, they deserve access to health care.”

Kelly, who has submitted five plans for Medicaid expansion during her tenure as governor, was in Pittsburg for the third leg of her “Healthy Workers, Healthy Economy” tour to ask Kansans to contact House and Senate members to urge action on Medicaid. Her bid to ignite public interest in the issue took her previously to Winfield and Garden City. She expects to continue the statewide tour until start of the 2024 legislative session in January.

She said she would present the Legislature with her sixth plan for reforming Medicaid and declared it would be her top priority in the upcoming session.

“The reason I’m so focused on this issue is because by expanding Medicaid we’ll give thousands of working Kansans access to affordable health care,” Kelly said. “Contrary to what some would have you believe, 140,000 Kansans work but don’t have health insurance. Many hold down jobs waiting tables. They work in our child care centers. They care for our seniors. Or they’re in other industries that don’t traditionally offer employee-based health insurance.”

The governor said expansion would create thousands of jobs in Kansas, assist financially vulnerable hospitals and clinics, and allow people to have prompt, affordable access to medical care.

Under federal law, 90% of the cost for expanding Medicaid would be funded by the federal government and Kansas would be responsible for providing 10% of the funding. Kansas foregoes about $66 million in federal aid each month it didn’t take advantage of expansion provisions under the Affordable Care Act, Kelly said.

Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, have argued Medicaid expansion was an unwarranted overreach by Congress that ballooned federal spending and unnecessarily disturbed the health insurance market. The Legislature’s GOP leaders described the governor’s Medicaid tour as a pitch to deepen the welfare state for benefit of “able-bodied adults” who opted not to hold down a job.

In March 2017, then-Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed a bill, passed 81-44 in the House and 25-13 in the Senate, that would have added Kansas to states expanding Medicaid access. Brownback, who personally opposed Medicaid expansion, said the cost of enlarging Medicaid was “irresponsible and unsustainable.”

So far, Kelly said, Kansas had rejected $6.6 billion in federal funding that could have flowed into the state had lawmakers agreed to expand eligibility.

Kelly said expansion shouldn’t be viewed as a Republican or Democratic issue because a survey of Kansans showed 78% of participants, regardless of partisan affiliation, supported enlarging the reach of Medicaid.

She asserted expansion could have prevented closure of three southeast Kansas hospitals since 2014. She pointed to reports indicating as many as 60 rural hospitals in Kansas were in financial jeopardy.

“Trust me when I tell you that there are many Republican legislators who are just as frustrated as I am that we are unable to get this done,” Kelly said. “I refuse to give up on this fight with the Legislature.”

She said the state’s Medicaid eligibility standards were inadequate. She said rules in Kansas meant a single mother of two could qualify for Medicaid — known as KanCare in Kansas — if her annual income was less than $9,500. In other words, the governor said, a mother of two working 30 hours per week at a minimum wage job earned too much to qualify in Kansas.

Currently, 480,000 Kansans were enrolled in Medicaid. An estimated 260,000 people, including 38,000 children, go without health insurance in Kansas, Kelly said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696611748699.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly traveled to a Pittsburg hospital to encourage Kansans to pressure legislators to support expansion of Medicaid health insurance benefits to low-income working Kansans. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly traveled to a Pittsburg hospital to encourage Kansans to pressure legislators to support expansion of Medicaid health insurance benefits to low-income working Kansans. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/09/21/kansas-board-of-regents-sculpts-plan-for-boosting-state-aid-to-public-higher-education/?emci=78717300-c858-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=fc107f78-2659-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a><h2>Kansas Republican legislative leadership remains steadfast in opposition</h2>PITTSBURG — Blake Benson stood in his hometown’s hospital lobby to deliver economic and health care justification for expanding Medicaid enrollment among lower-income workers in Kansas.Benson, president of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce and board chairman of Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, said a resolution had to be found to political conflict that left Kansas among 10 states stiff arming appeals to broaden access to health benefits of Medicaid.Ending the blockade on expansion by Republican leaders of the Kansas Legislature would deliver $11 million annually to hospitals and clinics in Crawford County, he said.“Expanding health care coverage to more than 1,600 uninsured employees right here in our community would create a healthier workforce and increase productivity while reducing absenteeism and employee turnover in our local businesses,” Benson said.Benson said Medicaid expansion proposals offered by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and strategies adopted in 40 states, including the four surrounding Kansas, would deliver health insurance under the state- and federal-funded Medicaid program to people who made too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but not enough to afford traditional private health insurance.“Folks, these are our neighbors,” Benson said. “They work hard. They’re good people. And, they deserve access to health care.”Kelly, who has submitted five plans for Medicaid expansion during her tenure as governor, was in Pittsburg for the third leg of her “Healthy Workers, Healthy Economy” tour to ask Kansans to contact House and Senate members to urge action on Medicaid. Her bid to ignite public interest in the issue took her previously to Winfield and Garden City. She expects to continue the statewide tour until start of the 2024 legislative session in January.She said she would present the Legislature with her sixth plan for reforming Medicaid and declared it would be her top priority in the upcoming session.“The reason I’m so focused on this issue is because by expanding Medicaid we’ll give thousands of working Kansans access to affordable health care,” Kelly said. “Contrary to what some would have you believe, 140,000 Kansans work but don’t have health insurance. Many hold down jobs waiting tables. They work in our child care centers. They care for our seniors. Or they’re in other industries that don’t traditionally offer employee-based health insurance.”The governor said expansion would create thousands of jobs in Kansas, assist financially vulnerable hospitals and clinics, and allow people to have prompt, affordable access to medical care.Under federal law, 90% of the cost for expanding Medicaid would be funded by the federal government and Kansas would be responsible for providing 10% of the funding. Kansas foregoes about $66 million in federal aid each month it didn’t take advantage of expansion provisions under the Affordable Care Act, Kelly said.Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, have argued Medicaid expansion was an unwarranted overreach by Congress that ballooned federal spending and unnecessarily disturbed the health insurance market. The Legislature’s GOP leaders described the governor’s Medicaid tour as a pitch to deepen the welfare state for benefit of “able-bodied adults” who opted not to hold down a job.In March 2017, then-Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed a bill, passed 81-44 in the House and 25-13 in the Senate, that would have added Kansas to states expanding Medicaid access. Brownback, who personally opposed Medicaid expansion, said the cost of enlarging Medicaid was “irresponsible and unsustainable.”So far, Kelly said, Kansas had rejected $6.6 billion in federal funding that could have flowed into the state had lawmakers agreed to expand eligibility.Kelly said expansion shouldn’t be viewed as a Republican or Democratic issue because a survey of Kansans showed 78% of participants, regardless of partisan affiliation, supported enlarging the reach of Medicaid.She asserted expansion could have prevented closure of three southeast Kansas hospitals since 2014. She pointed to reports indicating as many as 60 rural hospitals in Kansas were in financial jeopardy.“Trust me when I tell you that there are many Republican legislators who are just as frustrated as I am that we are unable to get this done,” Kelly said. “I refuse to give up on this fight with the Legislature.”She said the state’s Medicaid eligibility standards were inadequate. She said rules in Kansas meant a single mother of two could qualify for Medicaid — known as KanCare in Kansas — if her annual income was less than $9,500. In other words, the governor said, a mother of two working 30 hours per week at a minimum wage job earned too much to qualify in Kansas.Currently, 480,000 Kansans were enrolled in Medicaid. An estimated 260,000 people, including 38,000 children, go without health insurance in Kansas, Kelly said.

Gov. Kelly parachutes into Pittsburg to advocate for Medicaid expansion

War: Surprise attack stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a man's murder and continue asking the public for help to locate a woman as part of the investigation.

Just after 10:30 p.m. September 25, police responded to report of a shooting in the 2200 Block SW Plass Avenue in Topeka, according to a media release. First responders found a man suffering from a gunshot wound.&nbsp; The victim was transported to a local hospital with injuries considered to be life threatening.

On September 27, the victim identified as 39-year-old Durant R. Redmond of Topeka died of his injuries in the hospital.&nbsp;

Police are working to locate 31-year-old Chelsee A. Baugh (Retana) Topeka. Investigators believe she has information about the shooting and they would like to speak to her.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696031364543.png" alt="Baugh-photo Topeka Police" />
 <figcaption>Baugh-photo Topeka Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a man's murder and continue asking the public for help to locate a woman as part of the investigation.Just after 10:30 p.m. September 25, police responded to report of a shooting in the 2200 Block SW Plass Avenue in Topeka, according to a media release. First responders found a man suffering from a gunshot wound.&nbsp; The victim was transported to a local hospital with injuries considered to be life threatening.On September 27, the victim identified as 39-year-old Durant R. Redmond of Topeka died of his injuries in the hospital.&nbsp;Police are working to locate 31-year-old Chelsee A. Baugh (Retana) Topeka. Investigators believe she has information about the shooting and they would like to speak to her.

Search continues for woman in connection with murder of Kan. man

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">JACOB FISCHLER</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

WASHINGTON — The stunning ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday —&nbsp;the first time a speaker has been removed in Congress’ 234-year history —&nbsp;created a leadership vacuum in the chamber and left multiple questions about how legislative business would proceed.

North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry ascended to the role of speaker pro tempore following the vote to unseat McCarthy. McHenry’s rise occurred under a House rule created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that allowed McCarthy to secretly choose a temporary successor in advance, in the event the speaker’s office was vacated.

The rule seems designed to keep the chamber running without an elected speaker, but in an institution governed largely by precedent, the unprecedented nature of the situation provoked a buzz of uncertainty, speculation and opinion in D.C. on the day after McCarthy’s unwilling exit.

“The only thing I’m certain about is that anyone who says that they have any certainty on this is lying,” said Josh Chafetz, a professor of law and politics at Georgetown Law. “There’s absolutely no precedents on any of this because this hasn’t happened before.”

Members were exasperated. “The House of Representatives is effectively frozen,” Rep. Garret Graves, a Louisiana Republican and McCarthy ally, told reporters Wednesday. “We’re not able to actually advance legislation. We can’t even refer bills to committee.”

McHenry has called for House members to vote on the next speaker on Oct. 11. Until then, the House is unlikely to try to conduct business —&nbsp;even as a government funding deadline approaches Nov. 17. But there’s also the possibility that the House won’t — or is unable to — choose a speaker for even longer.

Here are some questions about how the chamber moves forward in the absence of an elected speaker, with answers from legal and congressional experts.

Why does the role of speaker pro tempore exist in the U.S. House of Representatives, and what powers does that person hold?&nbsp;

Molly E. Reynolds, senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, said Wednesday during a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhKzpLLLxQ">panel discussion</a>&nbsp;the role of speaker pro tempore was designed as a way to bolster continuity of government.

“The language of the rule itself isn’t entirely clear on what powers the speaker pro tem has — whether it’s all of the powers of the Office of the Speaker, or just authorities that allow him to effectuate a new election for speaker,” Reynolds said.

There are two schools of thought about how much power a speaker pro tempore holds, Reynolds said.

“I would put myself in the camp that the speaker pro tem, McHenry, has the full powers of the speakership with the possible exception of sitting in the line of succession.” Reynolds said.

“My logic there is that given how this rule was originally designed, which was to allow someone to act as speaker in the event of a real crisis, that you would not necessarily have wanted to develop a rule that would limit that person’s power in an actual emergency,” Reynolds said.

“The idea behind a pro tempore is: The person can act in the absence of a speaker,” Jason Roberts, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina, told States Newsroom. “So I interpret that to mean the speaker pro tempore can do basically whatever they choose to do.”

Nearly every move McHenry makes would become a precedent for future temporary speakers, Roberts said.

Tests to McHenry’s power could end up being settled by a majority of the House, experts said.

“The way that precedents in the House work when things are unprecedented is when someone does something, that becomes a precedent,” Roberts said. “If someone is unhappy with what they did, they can raise a point of order… And then the House would vote on that, and if they sustain the point of order then that would become the precedent.”

For the time being, McHenry is taking the more restrained approach to his authority as the temporary speaker of the House. He has not yet referred bills to committee or scheduled floor votes on any legislation, Reynolds said.

But that could change if Republicans cannot quickly elect another speaker.

“This is all pretty untested and it may well be the case that McHenry’s choice to act in this more limited way is a political one,” Reynolds said.

Because this has never happened before, anything McHenry does during the days or weeks to come could be used as precedent in the future if the House ever needs to lean on another speaker pro tempore, Reynolds said.

“In the kind of situation that this rule originally anticipated — a true catastrophic emergency — I think we would probably want the person acting as speaker pro tem to have more expansive powers than McHenry is at least planning at this moment to exercise,” Reynolds said.

Steven S. Smith, a professor at Arizona State University, said that if a leadership vacuum persists past next week, McHenry may have to consider a more robust approach.

“If no new speaker manages to get elected that quickly and he remains the speaker pro tem, then I’m guessing that he’ll have to start thinking about exercising the real powers of the speakership,” Smith said.

Though a temporary speaker could —&nbsp;possibly —&nbsp;use many of the official powers of the office, McHenry lacks some of the power speakers typically enjoy as the leader of the House.

McHenry would lack the power to appoint Rules Committee members, for example, which is what allows a speaker to control the House floor and makes the position as powerful as it is, Smith said.

“If McHenry ends up being, say, a medium-term speaker pro tem, it’s going to be somewhat awkward because none of the Rules Committee members owe their presence there to him,” Smith said. “And he’s not empowered to do anything about it under the conference rules.”

McHenry would also lack the power to appoint members to the steering committee, which makes appointments to every committee in the House, Smith said.

The official&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules118.house.gov/files/documents/Rules%20and%20Resources/118-House-Rules-Clerk.pdf">rules of the House</a>&nbsp;detail what the chamber should do if the speaker becomes ill for a long period of time, or if the office is vacated.

Section 8(b)(3)(A) of Rule I states: “In the case of a vacancy in the Office of Speaker, the next Member on the list described in subdivision (B) shall act as Speaker pro tempore until the election of a Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore. Pending such election the Member acting as Speaker pro tempore may exercise such authorities of the Office of the Speaker as may be necessary and appropriate to that end.”

What is “necessary and appropriate to that end” is the part that leads to some debate among experts.

What can the House do without a speaker?&nbsp;

The speaker pro tempore position was intended to allow the House to continue to function as normal, even without an elected speaker.

In practice, though, at least in the short term, it’s a major disruption to House business.

Graves blasted Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who led the challenge to McCarthy, saying he undermined conservative goals and stripped powers from the Republican office.

“You can’t offer subpoenas, you can’t go after Hunter Biden, you can’t go after any of the controversies that this administration has carried out,” Graves said.

Experts said it was unclear how subpoena power could be affected.

If McHenry becomes more assertive as an acting speaker during a prolonged period without an elected one, the House itself would ultimately decide the extent of that position’s power.

“The most fundamental thing about the House is a majority of the House can do anything the majority wants to do,” Roberts said.

Can House committees meet for hearings or to report bills to the floor?

Nothing but political considerations would prevent committees from meeting, Smith said.

Committees’ authorities, organized under a rules package approved at the beginning of this Congress and in effect even after McCarthy’s ouster, “don’t change at all,” Roberts said.

“I can’t think of any reason why committees couldn’t meet,” Chafetz said. “Committees don’t need the permission of the speaker to hold a meeting.”

Can the House change the rules that allowed for McCarthy’s ouster?

Yes. The House can change its rules at any time, through a majority vote on the floor, Smith said.

McCarthy agreed to a rule change allowing any single member to bring a motion to vacate, the procedure that Gaetz used to trigger the speaker’s fall.

With that in mind, McCarthy’s successor may seek to add a minimum number of members who must sign on to such a motion.

Though rules packages are usually only passed at the beginning of a two-year Congress, a majority can choose to change them at any time.

The House speaker is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president.

With that office vacant, the president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, currently Washington Democrat Patty Murray, would move up to second in line, Roberts said. Murray holds the position by virtue of being the most senior member of the Senate’s majority party.

While McHenry could exercise most of the speaker’s powers within the House, he is not technically the speaker for the purposes of succession.

“Officially, the speaker’s office is vacant,” Roberts said.

Does the vote to remove McCarthy as speaker increase the odds of a government shutdown or spending cuts?

Reynolds from Brookings said one of the challenges for the next GOP speaker will be when and how to make trade-offs with the hard-right members of the conference or the centrists, who are most at risk of losing reelection next year.

“If you try to pass an appropriations bill that is embraced by those on the right end of the conference, you’re going to lose votes from the left end of the conference,” Reynolds said.

“So it’s a much different political struggle to manage those differences in the conference,” Reynolds said. “And that’s not going to go away for whoever is the next speaker of the House and in some ways the stakes of all of this are going to get higher the longer we go into the fiscal year.”

A provision in the debt limit law that President Joe Biden and McCarthy brokered in May would institute a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/1-cut-federal-spending-debt-limit-law-its-complicated">1% across-the-board spending cut</a>&nbsp;to defense and domestic discretionary programs next year if Congress cannot pass all 12 of the annual spending bills before the spring.

That provision wouldn’t have any real-world effects until April 30, though if any of the bills aren’t law before then, all of the departments and agencies would be forced to cut spending.

The “Sword of Damocles” provision, as Reynolds called it, will likely galvanize defense hawks in the House and Senate to broker agreement on all the bills before that deadline.

“But one thing that we should take away from this episode, is that if we think what Kevin McCarthy did over the weekend was the right thing, that does not necessarily save him, or any future speaker, from punishment from a dissident faction of his own conference, even though ultimately it may be the right choice for the government and for the country,” Reynolds said.

Matthew Green, professor of politics at Catholic University of America, said the next Republican speaker will likely have a brief time to broker bipartisan agreements without facing the same motion to vacate that McCarthy did.

“I think there is probably a small window for the next speaker to be able to get things through, even if that requires cooperating with the Democrats and the president — which it almost certainly will — that it won’t necessarily end their speakership,” Green said.

Another challenge for House Republicans is that dealing with the speakership race eats up precious time they need to pass spending bills, Smith said. A new speaker won’t take office until Oct. 11 at the earliest.

“Taking out about 25% of the remaining days before the CR expires is going to put Republicans in a pinch,” Smith said, referring to the continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 17.

How did the House Republican Conference get here, and what does it mean for the future?

Green, of Catholic University of America, said that changes in the GOP’s goals over time have partially led to what happened this week when eight members were able to oust a speaker who was backed by more than 210 of his Republican colleagues.

The trend can be traced back to former Speaker Newt Gingrich, and leaders before him, who Green said began shifting the goals to having power, having a majority and communicating. The central goal, he said, wasn’t always legislating.

“That objective and that way of viewing one’s political career gets certain folks elected, who may have genuine views and beliefs and political preferences — but they also don’t see Congress as a place to solve problems and legislate,” Green said. “And that’s in many ways why we are where we are today.”

Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said sometimes House Republicans “get distracted from the fact that they are members of a legislature that ultimately has to pass laws with majorities of two chambers and get the signature of the president.”

How does kicking McCarthy out as speaker affect House Republicans’ fundraising prospects heading into the 2024 elections?

Kevin R. Kosar, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said that the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy might have created long-lasting problems for House GOP fundraising efforts.

“He was a tremendous fundraiser. He raised gobs and gobs of money for his party, just as Pelosi had done. That’s one of the duties of the modern speaker, is to be this sort of a cash cow,” Kosar said.

“The GOP dissidents just killed that cash cow,” Kosar added. “And I wonder inside the GOP conference, how many members are seething about that because many of them are heavily reliant on the speaker to raise money for them.”

&nbsp;Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696366148194.png" alt="A view of the House chamber during the historic vote on Tuesday-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>A view of the House chamber during the historic vote on Tuesday-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">JACOB FISCHLER</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WASHINGTON — The stunning ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday —&nbsp;the first time a speaker has been removed in Congress’ 234-year history —&nbsp;created a leadership vacuum in the chamber and left multiple questions about how legislative business would proceed.North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry ascended to the role of speaker pro tempore following the vote to unseat McCarthy. McHenry’s rise occurred under a House rule created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that allowed McCarthy to secretly choose a temporary successor in advance, in the event the speaker’s office was vacated.The rule seems designed to keep the chamber running without an elected speaker, but in an institution governed largely by precedent, the unprecedented nature of the situation provoked a buzz of uncertainty, speculation and opinion in D.C. on the day after McCarthy’s unwilling exit.“The only thing I’m certain about is that anyone who says that they have any certainty on this is lying,” said Josh Chafetz, a professor of law and politics at Georgetown Law. “There’s absolutely no precedents on any of this because this hasn’t happened before.”Members were exasperated. “The House of Representatives is effectively frozen,” Rep. Garret Graves, a Louisiana Republican and McCarthy ally, told reporters Wednesday. “We’re not able to actually advance legislation. We can’t even refer bills to committee.”McHenry has called for House members to vote on the next speaker on Oct. 11. Until then, the House is unlikely to try to conduct business —&nbsp;even as a government funding deadline approaches Nov. 17. But there’s also the possibility that the House won’t — or is unable to — choose a speaker for even longer.Here are some questions about how the chamber moves forward in the absence of an elected speaker, with answers from legal and congressional experts.Why does the role of speaker pro tempore exist in the U.S. House of Representatives, and what powers does that person hold?&nbsp;Molly E. Reynolds, senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, said Wednesday during a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhKzpLLLxQ">panel discussion</a>&nbsp;the role of speaker pro tempore was designed as a way to bolster continuity of government.“The language of the rule itself isn’t entirely clear on what powers the speaker pro tem has — whether it’s all of the powers of the Office of the Speaker, or just authorities that allow him to effectuate a new election for speaker,” Reynolds said.There are two schools of thought about how much power a speaker pro tempore holds, Reynolds said.“I would put myself in the camp that the speaker pro tem, McHenry, has the full powers of the speakership with the possible exception of sitting in the line of succession.” Reynolds said.“My logic there is that given how this rule was originally designed, which was to allow someone to act as speaker in the event of a real crisis, that you would not necessarily have wanted to develop a rule that would limit that person’s power in an actual emergency,” Reynolds said.Other experts agreed with that view.“The idea behind a pro tempore is: The person can act in the absence of a speaker,” Jason Roberts, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina, told States Newsroom. “So I interpret that to mean the speaker pro tempore can do basically whatever they choose to do.”Nearly every move McHenry makes would become a precedent for future temporary speakers, Roberts said.Tests to McHenry’s power could end up being settled by a majority of the House, experts said.“The way that precedents in the House work when things are unprecedented is when someone does something, that becomes a precedent,” Roberts said. “If someone is unhappy with what they did, they can raise a point of order… And then the House would vote on that, and if they sustain the point of order then that would become the precedent.”How is McHenry approaching the job?For the time being, McHenry is taking the more restrained approach to his authority as the temporary speaker of the House. He has not yet referred bills to committee or scheduled floor votes on any legislation, Reynolds said.But that could change if Republicans cannot quickly elect another speaker.“This is all pretty untested and it may well be the case that McHenry’s choice to act in this more limited way is a political one,” Reynolds said.Because this has never happened before, anything McHenry does during the days or weeks to come could be used as precedent in the future if the House ever needs to lean on another speaker pro tempore, Reynolds said.“In the kind of situation that this rule originally anticipated — a true catastrophic emergency — I think we would probably want the person acting as speaker pro tem to have more expansive powers than McHenry is at least planning at this moment to exercise,” Reynolds said.Steven S. Smith, a professor at Arizona State University, said that if a leadership vacuum persists past next week, McHenry may have to consider a more robust approach.“If no new speaker manages to get elected that quickly and he remains the speaker pro tem, then I’m guessing that he’ll have to start thinking about exercising the real powers of the speakership,” Smith said.Though a temporary speaker could —&nbsp;possibly —&nbsp;use many of the official powers of the office, McHenry lacks some of the power speakers typically enjoy as the leader of the House.McHenry would lack the power to appoint Rules Committee members, for example, which is what allows a speaker to control the House floor and makes the position as powerful as it is, Smith said.“If McHenry ends up being, say, a medium-term speaker pro tem, it’s going to be somewhat awkward because none of the Rules Committee members owe their presence there to him,” Smith said. “And he’s not empowered to do anything about it under the conference rules.”McHenry would also lack the power to appoint members to the steering committee, which makes appointments to every committee in the House, Smith said.What exactly does the rule say?The official&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules118.house.gov/files/documents/Rules%20and%20Resources/118-House-Rules-Clerk.pdf">rules of the House</a>&nbsp;detail what the chamber should do if the speaker becomes ill for a long period of time, or if the office is vacated.Section 8(b)(3)(A) of Rule I states: “In the case of a vacancy in the Office of Speaker, the next Member on the list described in subdivision (B) shall act as Speaker pro tempore until the election of a Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore. Pending such election the Member acting as Speaker pro tempore may exercise such authorities of the Office of the Speaker as may be necessary and appropriate to that end.”What is “necessary and appropriate to that end” is the part that leads to some debate among experts.What can the House do without a speaker?&nbsp;The speaker pro tempore position was intended to allow the House to continue to function as normal, even without an elected speaker.In practice, though, at least in the short term, it’s a major disruption to House business.Graves blasted Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who led the challenge to McCarthy, saying he undermined conservative goals and stripped powers from the Republican office.“You can’t offer subpoenas, you can’t go after Hunter Biden, you can’t go after any of the controversies that this administration has carried out,” Graves said.Experts said it was unclear how subpoena power could be affected.If McHenry becomes more assertive as an acting speaker during a prolonged period without an elected one, the House itself would ultimately decide the extent of that position’s power.“The most fundamental thing about the House is a majority of the House can do anything the majority wants to do,” Roberts said.Can House committees meet for hearings or to report bills to the floor?Nothing but political considerations would prevent committees from meeting, Smith said.Committees’ authorities, organized under a rules package approved at the beginning of this Congress and in effect even after McCarthy’s ouster, “don’t change at all,” Roberts said.“I can’t think of any reason why committees couldn’t meet,” Chafetz said. “Committees don’t need the permission of the speaker to hold a meeting.”Can the House change the rules that allowed for McCarthy’s ouster?Yes. The House can change its rules at any time, through a majority vote on the floor, Smith said.McCarthy agreed to a rule change allowing any single member to bring a motion to vacate, the procedure that Gaetz used to trigger the speaker’s fall.With that in mind, McCarthy’s successor may seek to add a minimum number of members who must sign on to such a motion.Though rules packages are usually only passed at the beginning of a two-year Congress, a majority can choose to change them at any time.What about the line of succession?The House speaker is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president.With that office vacant, the president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, currently Washington Democrat Patty Murray, would move up to second in line, Roberts said. Murray holds the position by virtue of being the most senior member of the Senate’s majority party.While McHenry could exercise most of the speaker’s powers within the House, he is not technically the speaker for the purposes of succession.“Officially, the speaker’s office is vacant,” Roberts said.Does the vote to remove McCarthy as speaker increase the odds of a government shutdown or spending cuts?Reynolds from Brookings said one of the challenges for the next GOP speaker will be when and how to make trade-offs with the hard-right members of the conference or the centrists, who are most at risk of losing reelection next year.“If you try to pass an appropriations bill that is embraced by those on the right end of the conference, you’re going to lose votes from the left end of the conference,” Reynolds said.“So it’s a much different political struggle to manage those differences in the conference,” Reynolds said. “And that’s not going to go away for whoever is the next speaker of the House and in some ways the stakes of all of this are going to get higher the longer we go into the fiscal year.”A provision in the debt limit law that President Joe Biden and McCarthy brokered in May would institute a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/1-cut-federal-spending-debt-limit-law-its-complicated">1% across-the-board spending cut</a>&nbsp;to defense and domestic discretionary programs next year if Congress cannot pass all 12 of the annual spending bills before the spring.That provision wouldn’t have any real-world effects until April 30, though if any of the bills aren’t law before then, all of the departments and agencies would be forced to cut spending.The “Sword of Damocles” provision, as Reynolds called it, will likely galvanize defense hawks in the House and Senate to broker agreement on all the bills before that deadline.“But one thing that we should take away from this episode, is that if we think what Kevin McCarthy did over the weekend was the right thing, that does not necessarily save him, or any future speaker, from punishment from a dissident faction of his own conference, even though ultimately it may be the right choice for the government and for the country,” Reynolds said.Matthew Green, professor of politics at Catholic University of America, said the next Republican speaker will likely have a brief time to broker bipartisan agreements without facing the same motion to vacate that McCarthy did.“I think there is probably a small window for the next speaker to be able to get things through, even if that requires cooperating with the Democrats and the president — which it almost certainly will — that it won’t necessarily end their speakership,” Green said.Another challenge for House Republicans is that dealing with the speakership race eats up precious time they need to pass spending bills, Smith said. A new speaker won’t take office until Oct. 11 at the earliest.“Taking out about 25% of the remaining days before the CR expires is going to put Republicans in a pinch,” Smith said, referring to the continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 17.How did the House Republican Conference get here, and what does it mean for the future?Green, of Catholic University of America, said that changes in the GOP’s goals over time have partially led to what happened this week when eight members were able to oust a speaker who was backed by more than 210 of his Republican colleagues.The trend can be traced back to former Speaker Newt Gingrich, and leaders before him, who Green said began shifting the goals to having power, having a majority and communicating. The central goal, he said, wasn’t always legislating.“That objective and that way of viewing one’s political career gets certain folks elected, who may have genuine views and beliefs and political preferences — but they also don’t see Congress as a place to solve problems and legislate,” Green said. “And that’s in many ways why we are where we are today.”Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said sometimes House Republicans “get distracted from the fact that they are members of a legislature that ultimately has to pass laws with majorities of two chambers and get the signature of the president.”How does kicking McCarthy out as speaker affect House Republicans’ fundraising prospects heading into the 2024 elections?Kevin R. Kosar, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said that the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy might have created long-lasting problems for House GOP fundraising efforts.“He was a tremendous fundraiser. He raised gobs and gobs of money for his party, just as Pelosi had done. That’s one of the duties of the modern speaker, is to be this sort of a cash cow,” Kosar said.“The GOP dissidents just killed that cash cow,” Kosar added. “And I wonder inside the GOP conference, how many members are seething about that because many of them are heavily reliant on the speaker to raise money for them.”&nbsp;Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.

How does a ‘frozen’ U.S. House function without a speaker?

KANSAS CITY. – A Kansas City man has been charged with three fentanyl overdose deaths in Belton, Mo., alongside six other metropolitan area residents indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that included illegal firearms and money laundering, according to the United State's Attorney.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696014760468.png" alt="Draggoo-photo Lee's Summit PD" />
 <figcaption>Draggoo-photo Lee's Summit PD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY. – A Kansas City man has been charged with three fentanyl overdose deaths in Belton, Mo., alongside six other metropolitan area residents indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that included illegal firearms and money laundering, according to the United State's Attorney.Tiger Dean Draggoo, 23, his brother, Colt Justin Draggoo, 20, Jose Amparan, also known as “Lil Mex” and “Jose Garcia,” 20, Luis Manuel Morales, also known as “Trulu,” “Lulu,” “Luis,” and “Luis Mor,” 23, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Andrew R.A. Williams, also known as “DrewB Grittin,” 22, of Grandview, Mo.; Alexander D. Barnett, also known as “Alex” and “Cobra,” 22, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; and Javier Armanmdo Alvarez, also known as “Mexxican,” Gomi,” and “Gummi,” 21, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a 13-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Sept. 27. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrest and initial court appearances of Barnett and Morales. Colt Draggoo also was arrested today and will have an initial court appearance tomorrow.The superseding indictment replaces the original indictment returned on Feb. 7, 2023, which only charged Tiger Draggoo, and includes additional charges and defendants.The federal indictment charges Tiger Draggoo with three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl on Sept. 3, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl between Aug. 22 and Sept. 13, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl between Dec. 7 and 20, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person.According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint that was filed against Draggoo on Jan. 23, 2023, three Belton teenagers who were associated with Draggoo died from acute fentanyl intoxication. On at least three more occasions, the affidavit says, Belton police officers were called because a juvenile was under the influence of fentanyl (one of those juveniles, who turned 18 after being contacted by police officers, is among the three fentanyl deaths).The indictment alleges that all seven defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl from Dec. 1, 2021, to May 3, 2023. The indictment also alleges that Tiger Draggoo, Alvarez, Amparan, Morales and Williams participated in a money-laundering conspiracy.Tiger Draggoo is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm. According to the indictment, Draggoo was in possession of a Jimenez Arms .380-caliber pistol, an Armscor .45-caliber pistol, a Taurus .357-caliber revolver, a Palmetto State Armory multi-caliber rifle, and a short-barreled Savage 12-gauge on Jan. 20, 2023. Those charges are related to Draggoo’s arrest on the federal complaint. Officers seized the fentanyl and firearms from Draggoo’s residence and vehicle when he was taken into custody.Additionally, Tiger Dragoo is charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of illegally possessing machine guns. Those charges were basis of the original criminal complaint filed against Draggoo.According to an affidavit filed in support of that complaint, police officers were conducting surveillance at an apartment complex on Sept. 22, 2022, when Tiger and Colt Draggoo left the apartment and got into a Jeep Renegade. Officers followed the Jeep and saw it commit numerous traffic violations while displaying erratic driving. A Jackson County sheriff’s deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled from the deputy.A few minutes later, the Jeep returned to the apartment complex and Tiger and Colt Draggoo entered the apartment. Tiger Draggoo carried a large laundry bag from the apartment and placed it in the backseat of the Jeep. When a Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy drove into the parking lot, Tiger Draggoo ran back into the apartment building. When officers knocked on the door of Tiger Draggoo’s apartment, the affidavit says, his girlfriend initially told them he wasn’t there. After she allowed officers to enter the apartment, she admitted that Tiger Draggoo had run into the apartment and out the back door.Officers searched the apartment and found 17 firearms, including two machine guns, ammunition of various calibers, $246,769 in cash, a ballistic vest with plates, a money counter, numerous pills that contained fentanyl, eight suspected LSD tabs, and marijuana. The 17 firearms included a Del-Ton 5.56-caliber rifle (converted into a machine gun), a Glock switch (used to convert a Glock pistol into a machine gun), three Marlin .22-caliber rifles, a Norinco 7.62-caliber rifle, a Mosin-Nagant rifle, an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, an Armscorp USA .308-caliber rifle, a Century Arms 7.62-caliber rifle, a Herbert Schmidt .22-caliber revolver, a New England Firearms .22-caliber revolver, a Kimber 9mm pistol, a Glock 9mm pistol, a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, and a Metro Arms .45-caliber pistol.Williams is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Williams allegedly was in possession of a Springfield Armory 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a Girsan .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on April 19, 2023.The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.