By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/michelle-chapman">MICHELLE CHAPMAN</a>

Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow, claiming the popular real estate website is refusing to accept home listings for properties that have been initially advertised for sale elsewhere.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Compass claims that “Zillow has sought to rely on anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws.”

Compass says that Zillow has implemented an exclusionary policy that says if a home seller and their real estate agent market their property off Zillow for more than one day, that Zillow and its allies, Redfin and eXp Realty, will ban that home from being listed on their search platforms.

“The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered on to its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly,” Compass said in the lawsuit.

Compass alleges that the ‘Zillow Ban’ was enacted to prevent rivals from competing against it and reduces homeowner choice.

“In a free and competitive market, competitors’ products and strategies should rise and fall on merit—not the whims of a monopolist gatekeeper like Zillow,” Compass said.

Home sellers generally benefit from having their home advertised to as many potential home shoppers as possible. More interested buyers often can translate to multiple offers, which helps sellers ensure their property sells for the best price the market can offer.

But one drawback to listing a home on the multiple listing services, or MLS, and large listing search sites like Zillow, is that such listings show how long a home has been on the market and whether it has had any price reductions over time. Such information can be a signal to potential buyers that they may have more leverage to negotiate a lower price, or other concessions, from the seller.

To mitigate this, Compass and other brokerages give sellers the option to initially just share their home listing internally among their own brokers, avoiding the internet and the MLS, what is known in the real estate industry as a pocket listing or office exclusive.

Compass also gives sellers the option to make their listing public — but on the brokerage’s own website. These listings also don’t display how long a property has been on the market or whether it has had its price reduced.

The listings can be found by real estate agents from other brokerages who search the site, but the properties don’t appear on Zillow or similar sites.

Compass contends that, as a result of Zillow’s current policy, homes listed for more than a day on Compass.com would not be included on Zillow once the seller opts to advertise them more broadly.

Compass wants an injunction that would prohibit Zillow from implementing and enforcing its ‘Zillow Ban’ and implementing and enforcing similar policies. The company also wants a trial by jury and an unspecified amount in damages.

A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the company believes the claims in the lawsuit are unfounded and that it will vigorously defend against them.

“Our focus remains on creating a level playing field that serves the best interests of everyone in the home buying and selling journey,” the spokesperson said.

The housing market is always competitive, but has become more fierce of late. Last month the National Association of Realtors reported that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-863952eebc7038e23291cdb80a5760a7">sales</a>&nbsp;of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-95f1c23b38700f5ca41f337cc130e766">mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and rising prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-affordability-home-prices-real-estate-f17aa54776a04e4622d0c5afa9f09ff8">discouraged prospective homebuyers</a>&nbsp;during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

Existing home sales dropped 0.5% in April, from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales decline marked the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009 in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. March’s sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.

Sales of existing homes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-2331cd0a212a1c1e8a9d8f0641696203">barely moved</a>&nbsp;in May, with existing home sales up 0.8% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Stubbornly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-d16e61390390d6b96a75c1c98e91276f">high mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-real-estate-affordability-mortgage-rates-a8fad991e022d541c1ac4d95f78ccffa">rising prices</a>&nbsp;made homebuying less affordable even as the inventory of properties on the market continued to increase.

There’s also been the issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-real-estate-affordability-mortgage-rates-a8fad991e022d541c1ac4d95f78ccffa">more sellers than homebuyers</a>, with potential buyers skittish over high prices and mortgage rates. As of April, the U.S. housing market had nearly 34% more sellers than buyers shopping for a home, according to an analysis by Redfin.

Aside from April 2020, when the pandemic brought the economy and home sales activity to a standstill, there haven’t been this few buyers in the market for a home before, based on records that date back to 2013.

AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750882243856.png" alt="Image Zillow" />
 <figcaption>Image Zillow</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/michelle-chapman">MICHELLE CHAPMAN</a>Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow, claiming the popular real estate website is refusing to accept home listings for properties that have been initially advertised for sale elsewhere.In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Compass claims that “Zillow has sought to rely on anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws.”Compass says that Zillow has implemented an exclusionary policy that says if a home seller and their real estate agent market their property off Zillow for more than one day, that Zillow and its allies, Redfin and eXp Realty, will ban that home from being listed on their search platforms.“The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered on to its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly,” Compass said in the lawsuit.Compass alleges that the ‘Zillow Ban’ was enacted to prevent rivals from competing against it and reduces homeowner choice.“In a free and competitive market, competitors’ products and strategies should rise and fall on merit—not the whims of a monopolist gatekeeper like Zillow,” Compass said.Home sellers generally benefit from having their home advertised to as many potential home shoppers as possible. More interested buyers often can translate to multiple offers, which helps sellers ensure their property sells for the best price the market can offer.But one drawback to listing a home on the multiple listing services, or MLS, and large listing search sites like Zillow, is that such listings show how long a home has been on the market and whether it has had any price reductions over time. Such information can be a signal to potential buyers that they may have more leverage to negotiate a lower price, or other concessions, from the seller.To mitigate this, Compass and other brokerages give sellers the option to initially just share their home listing internally among their own brokers, avoiding the internet and the MLS, what is known in the real estate industry as a pocket listing or office exclusive.Compass also gives sellers the option to make their listing public — but on the brokerage’s own website. These listings also don’t display how long a property has been on the market or whether it has had its price reduced.The listings can be found by real estate agents from other brokerages who search the site, but the properties don’t appear on Zillow or similar sites.Compass contends that, as a result of Zillow’s current policy, homes listed for more than a day on Compass.com would not be included on Zillow once the seller opts to advertise them more broadly.Compass wants an injunction that would prohibit Zillow from implementing and enforcing its ‘Zillow Ban’ and implementing and enforcing similar policies. The company also wants a trial by jury and an unspecified amount in damages.A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the company believes the claims in the lawsuit are unfounded and that it will vigorously defend against them.“Our focus remains on creating a level playing field that serves the best interests of everyone in the home buying and selling journey,” the spokesperson said.The housing market is always competitive, but has become more fierce of late. Last month the National Association of Realtors reported that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-863952eebc7038e23291cdb80a5760a7">sales</a>&nbsp;of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-95f1c23b38700f5ca41f337cc130e766">mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and rising prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-affordability-home-prices-real-estate-f17aa54776a04e4622d0c5afa9f09ff8">discouraged prospective homebuyers</a>&nbsp;during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.Existing home sales dropped 0.5% in April, from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales decline marked the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009 in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. March’s sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.Sales of existing homes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-2331cd0a212a1c1e8a9d8f0641696203">barely moved</a>&nbsp;in May, with existing home sales up 0.8% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Stubbornly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-d16e61390390d6b96a75c1c98e91276f">high mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-real-estate-affordability-mortgage-rates-a8fad991e022d541c1ac4d95f78ccffa">rising prices</a>&nbsp;made homebuying less affordable even as the inventory of properties on the market continued to increase.There’s also been the issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-real-estate-affordability-mortgage-rates-a8fad991e022d541c1ac4d95f78ccffa">more sellers than homebuyers</a>, with potential buyers skittish over high prices and mortgage rates. As of April, the U.S. housing market had nearly 34% more sellers than buyers shopping for a home, according to an analysis by Redfin.Aside from April 2020, when the pandemic brought the economy and home sales activity to a standstill, there haven’t been this few buyers in the market for a home before, based on records that date back to 2013.___AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.

Zillow in a legal fight over home listings policy

WASHINGTON (AP) — At some 940-pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Now it's up to Congress to decide whether President Donald Trump's signature's domestic policy package will become law.

<a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/the_one_big_beautiful_bill_act.pdf">Click here to read the bill</a>

Trump told Republicans, who hold majority power in the House and Senate, to skip their holiday vacations and deliver the bill by the Fourth of July.

Senators were working through the weekend to pass the bill and send it back to the House for a final vote. Democrats are united against it.

Here's the latest on what's in the bill. There could be changes as lawmakers negotiate.

Republicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. The legislation contains roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts.

The existing tax rates and brackets would become permanent under the bill. It temporarily would add new tax breaks that Trump campaigned on: no taxes on tips, overtime pay or some automotive loans, along with a bigger $6,000 deduction in the Senate draft for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year.

It would boost the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200 under the Senate proposal. Families at lower income levels would not see the full amount.

A cap on state and local deductions, called SALT, would quadruple to $40,000 for five years. It's a provision important to New York and other high tax states, though the House wanted it to last for 10 years.

There are scores of business-related tax cuts.

The wealthiest households would see a $12,000 increase from the legislation, which would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House's version.

Middle-income taxpayers would see a tax break of $500 to $1,500, the CBO said.

Money for deportations, a border wall and the Golden Dome

The bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump's border and national security agenda, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to fulfill his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.

Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year.

The homeland security secretary would have a new $10 billion fund for grants for states that help with federal immigration enforcement and deportation actions. The attorney general would have $3.5 billion for a similar fund, known as Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide, or BIDEN, referring to former Democratic President Joe Biden.

To help pay for it all, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections.

For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for ship building, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Defense Department would have $1 billion for border security.

How to pay for it? Cuts to Medicaid and other programs

To help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans aim to cut back some long-running government programs: Medicaid, food stamps, green energy incentives and others. It's essentially unraveling the accomplishments of the past two Democratic presidents, Biden and Barack Obama.

Republicans argue they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.

The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the program's work requirements.

There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services.

Some 80 million people rely on Medicaid, which expanded under Obama's Affordable Care Act, and 40 million use the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Most already work, according to analysts.

All told, the CBO estimates that under the House-passed bill, at least 10.9 million more people would go without health coverage and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps.

The Senate proposes a $25 billion Rural Hospital Transformation Program to help offset reduced Medicaid dollars. It's a new addition, intended to win over holdout GOP senators and a coalition of House Republicans warning that the proposed Medicaid provider tax cuts would hurt rural hospitals.

Both the House and Senate bills propose a dramatic rollback of the Biden-era green energy tax breaks for electric vehicles. They also would phase out or terminate the various production and investment tax credits companies use to stand up wind, solar and other renewable energy projects.

In total, cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs would be expected to produce at least $1.5 trillion in savings.

Trump savings accounts and so, so much more

A number of extra provisions reflect other GOP priorities.

The House and Senate both have a new children's savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury.

The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump's long-sought "National Garden of American Heroes."

There's a new excise tax on university endowments. A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars money to family planning providers, namely Planned Parenthood, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee. Another section expands the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a hard-fought provision from Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, for those impacted by nuclear development and testing.

Billions would go for the Artemis moon mission and for exploration to Mars.

The bill would deter states from regulating artificial intelligence by linking certain federal AI infrastructure money to maintaining a freeze. Seventeen Republican governors asked GOP leaders to drop the provision.

Additionally, a provision would increase the nation's debt limit, by $5 trillion, to allow continued borrowing to pay already accrued bills.

Altogether, keeping the existing tax breaks and adding the new ones is expected to cost $3.8 trillion over the decade, the CBO says in its analysis of the House bill. An analysis of the Senate draft is pending.

The CBO estimates the House-passed package would add $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade.

Or not, depending on how one does the math.

Senate Republicans are proposing a unique strategy of not counting the existing tax breaks as a new cost because those breaks are already "current policy." Senators say the Senate Budget Committee chairman has the authority to set the baseline for the preferred approach.

Under the Senate GOP view, the tax provisions cost $441 billion, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

Democrats and others say this is "magic math" that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget puts the Senate tally at $4.2 trillion over the decade.

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — At some 940-pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Now it's up to Congress to decide whether President Donald Trump's signature's domestic policy package will become law.<a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/the_one_big_beautiful_bill_act.pdf">Click here to read the bill</a>Trump told Republicans, who hold majority power in the House and Senate, to skip their holiday vacations and deliver the bill by the Fourth of July.Senators were working through the weekend to pass the bill and send it back to the House for a final vote. Democrats are united against it.Here's the latest on what's in the bill. There could be changes as lawmakers negotiate.Tax cuts are the priorityRepublicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. The legislation contains roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts.The existing tax rates and brackets would become permanent under the bill. It temporarily would add new tax breaks that Trump campaigned on: no taxes on tips, overtime pay or some automotive loans, along with a bigger $6,000 deduction in the Senate draft for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year.It would boost the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200 under the Senate proposal. Families at lower income levels would not see the full amount.A cap on state and local deductions, called SALT, would quadruple to $40,000 for five years. It's a provision important to New York and other high tax states, though the House wanted it to last for 10 years.There are scores of business-related tax cuts.The wealthiest households would see a $12,000 increase from the legislation, which would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House's version.Middle-income taxpayers would see a tax break of $500 to $1,500, the CBO said.Money for deportations, a border wall and the Golden DomeThe bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump's border and national security agenda, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to fulfill his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year.The homeland security secretary would have a new $10 billion fund for grants for states that help with federal immigration enforcement and deportation actions. The attorney general would have $3.5 billion for a similar fund, known as Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide, or BIDEN, referring to former Democratic President Joe Biden.To help pay for it all, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections.For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for ship building, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Defense Department would have $1 billion for border security.How to pay for it? Cuts to Medicaid and other programsTo help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans aim to cut back some long-running government programs: Medicaid, food stamps, green energy incentives and others. It's essentially unraveling the accomplishments of the past two Democratic presidents, Biden and Barack Obama.Republicans argue they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the program's work requirements.There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services.Some 80 million people rely on Medicaid, which expanded under Obama's Affordable Care Act, and 40 million use the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Most already work, according to analysts.All told, the CBO estimates that under the House-passed bill, at least 10.9 million more people would go without health coverage and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps.The Senate proposes a $25 billion Rural Hospital Transformation Program to help offset reduced Medicaid dollars. It's a new addition, intended to win over holdout GOP senators and a coalition of House Republicans warning that the proposed Medicaid provider tax cuts would hurt rural hospitals.Both the House and Senate bills propose a dramatic rollback of the Biden-era green energy tax breaks for electric vehicles. They also would phase out or terminate the various production and investment tax credits companies use to stand up wind, solar and other renewable energy projects.In total, cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs would be expected to produce at least $1.5 trillion in savings.Trump savings accounts and so, so much moreA number of extra provisions reflect other GOP priorities.The House and Senate both have a new children's savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury.The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump's long-sought "National Garden of American Heroes."There's a new excise tax on university endowments. A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars money to family planning providers, namely Planned Parenthood, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee. Another section expands the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a hard-fought provision from Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, for those impacted by nuclear development and testing.Billions would go for the Artemis moon mission and for exploration to Mars.The bill would deter states from regulating artificial intelligence by linking certain federal AI infrastructure money to maintaining a freeze. Seventeen Republican governors asked GOP leaders to drop the provision.Additionally, a provision would increase the nation's debt limit, by $5 trillion, to allow continued borrowing to pay already accrued bills.What's the final cost?Altogether, keeping the existing tax breaks and adding the new ones is expected to cost $3.8 trillion over the decade, the CBO says in its analysis of the House bill. An analysis of the Senate draft is pending.The CBO estimates the House-passed package would add $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade.Or not, depending on how one does the math.Senate Republicans are proposing a unique strategy of not counting the existing tax breaks as a new cost because those breaks are already "current policy." Senators say the Senate Budget Committee chairman has the authority to set the baseline for the preferred approach.Under the Senate GOP view, the tax provisions cost $441 billion, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.Democrats and others say this is "magic math" that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget puts the Senate tally at $4.2 trillion over the decade.

What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill now before the Senate

Missouri is one of only two states in which judges can unilaterally impose the death penalty when a jury can’t agree on whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. In most other states, a deadlocked jury results in a sentence of life without parole

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/">CLARA BATES</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

A Missouri man who was sentenced to death by a trial judge in 2009 despite a jury deadlocking on whether he should be executed has been scheduled to undergo lethal injection in October.&nbsp;

The Missouri Supreme Court last week issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SC90286WARRANT.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209718" target="_blank">warrant</a>&nbsp;for the execution of Lance Shockley, who recently exhausted his state and federal appeals and was convicted of the 2005 murder of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr.&nbsp;

The court announced the execution date last week.

Graham was shot and killed in his rural Carter County driveway. Graham had been investigating Shockley’s role in a fatal drunk driving accident, which the prosecution argued gave Shockley the motive to kill him. Shockley has insisted he’s innocent.

A jury in 2009 found Shockley guilty of first-degree murder. But&nbsp;in the punishment phase of Shockley’s trial, the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on whether he should be executed.&nbsp;

In most states with active death penalty laws, that deadlock would have resulted in the defendant being sentenced to life without parole.&nbsp;

But under Missouri law, Shockley’s penalty case then got handed off to a Carter County circuit judge who, after independent review, sentenced him to death.

Only Missouri and Indiana give judges the authority to unilaterally decide on the death penalty, a fact that&nbsp;<a href="https://philadelphia.citybuzz.co/article/483510/dla-piper-files-amicus-brief-with-us-supreme-court-in-missouri-capital-case" target="_blank">over the years</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-missouri-lets-judges-impose-death-sentences-if-juries-dont-that-should-change/article_b6c15e00-4cc4-11ee-bd57-8b920a2a85f0.html" target="_blank">has drawn scrutiny</a>&nbsp;from those who believe it places too much power in the hands of one person and denies defendants their constitutional rights to trial by jury and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

In 2023 Amber McLaughlin was executed because of the unilateral decision of a trial judge.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article270281972.html" target="_blank">S</a><a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article270281972.html" target="_blank">everal retired judges&nbsp;</a>opposed the execution in a letter to then-Gov. Mike Parson, calling it a “flaw in Missouri’s capital sentencing scheme.”

An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pogo.org/analysis/who-should-make-decision-on-life-and-death" target="_blank">analysis included in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court organized by the national nonprofit watchdog group Project on Government Oversight&nbsp;</a>found Missouri judges, who are elected in most parts of the state, have been more likely than juries to impose death sentences.&nbsp;

In cases without jury deadlock, from 2000 to 2018, the jury imposed a death sentence in 64% of cases. But in deadlocked cases with a trial judge making the decision, the death penalty was imposed in 86% of cases, according to the brief.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/10/group-of-republican-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-missouri-death-penalty/">in recent years have filed legislation&nbsp;</a>to eliminate judge-imposed executions, but the proposals have made little progress.

Shockley has denied his involvement in Graham’s death, citing the lack of physical evidence or eyewitnesses. His attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/APPELLANT%20LANCE%20SHOCKLEYS%20SUR-REPLY%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20THE%20STATES%20MOTION%20TO%20SET%20AN%20EXECUTION%20DATE.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209165" target="_blank">have tried</a>&nbsp;unsuccessfully to get evidence from the crime scene tested for DNA and have argued the police failed to investigate other possible suspects.

“Shockley’s defense at trial was that he was not the one who killed Sgt. Graham,” his attorney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/APPELLANT%20LANCE%20SHOCKLEYS%20SUR-REPLY%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20THE%20STATES%20MOTION%20TO%20SET%20AN%20EXECUTION%20DATE.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209165" target="_blank">wrote in a brief last month.</a>&nbsp;“Shockley has never wavered in that position.”&nbsp;

His attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The prosecution said Shockley borrowed a relative’s car the afternoon of Graham’s death and the car matched the description witnesses gave of one parked near Graham’s house the afternoon of his murder. Prosecutors also argued the recovered bullets may have been consistent with the caliber of a rifle Shockley owned. No murder weapon was found.

The Missouri&nbsp;<a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/missouri/supreme-court/2013/sc90286.html" target="_blank">Supreme Court</a>, responding to the defense’s argument that the death penalty was excessive or disproportionate punishment for a case relying on circumstantial proof, said courts have previously upheld death sentences in cases hinging on strong circumstantial evidence and here, “the circumstantial evidence was strong.”

Shockley would be the first person executed in Missouri this year, barring intervention from Gov. Mike Kehoe or the U.S. Supreme Court.&nbsp;

Last year, Missouri executed four people. It was one of four states responsible for 76% of executions that year,&nbsp;<a href="https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/DPI-2024-Year-End-Report.pdf?dm=1735847939" target="_blank">according to the Death Penalty Information Center.&nbsp;</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750874127475.png" alt="Shockley photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Shockley photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Missouri is one of only two states in which judges can unilaterally impose the death penalty when a jury can’t agree on whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. In most other states, a deadlocked jury results in a sentence of life without parole</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/">CLARA BATES</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>A Missouri man who was sentenced to death by a trial judge in 2009 despite a jury deadlocking on whether he should be executed has been scheduled to undergo lethal injection in October.&nbsp;The Missouri Supreme Court last week issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SC90286WARRANT.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209718" target="_blank">warrant</a>&nbsp;for the execution of Lance Shockley, who recently exhausted his state and federal appeals and was convicted of the 2005 murder of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr.&nbsp;The court announced the execution date last week.Graham was shot and killed in his rural Carter County driveway. Graham had been investigating Shockley’s role in a fatal drunk driving accident, which the prosecution argued gave Shockley the motive to kill him. Shockley has insisted he’s innocent.A jury in 2009 found Shockley guilty of first-degree murder. But&nbsp;in the punishment phase of Shockley’s trial, the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on whether he should be executed.&nbsp;In most states with active death penalty laws, that deadlock would have resulted in the defendant being sentenced to life without parole.&nbsp;But under Missouri law, Shockley’s penalty case then got handed off to a Carter County circuit judge who, after independent review, sentenced him to death.Only Missouri and Indiana give judges the authority to unilaterally decide on the death penalty, a fact that&nbsp;<a href="https://philadelphia.citybuzz.co/article/483510/dla-piper-files-amicus-brief-with-us-supreme-court-in-missouri-capital-case" target="_blank">over the years</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-missouri-lets-judges-impose-death-sentences-if-juries-dont-that-should-change/article_b6c15e00-4cc4-11ee-bd57-8b920a2a85f0.html" target="_blank">has drawn scrutiny</a>&nbsp;from those who believe it places too much power in the hands of one person and denies defendants their constitutional rights to trial by jury and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.In 2023 Amber McLaughlin was executed because of the unilateral decision of a trial judge.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article270281972.html" target="_blank">S</a><a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article270281972.html" target="_blank">everal retired judges&nbsp;</a>opposed the execution in a letter to then-Gov. Mike Parson, calling it a “flaw in Missouri’s capital sentencing scheme.”An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pogo.org/analysis/who-should-make-decision-on-life-and-death" target="_blank">analysis included in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court organized by the national nonprofit watchdog group Project on Government Oversight&nbsp;</a>found Missouri judges, who are elected in most parts of the state, have been more likely than juries to impose death sentences.&nbsp;In cases without jury deadlock, from 2000 to 2018, the jury imposed a death sentence in 64% of cases. But in deadlocked cases with a trial judge making the decision, the death penalty was imposed in 86% of cases, according to the brief.A bipartisan group of lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/10/group-of-republican-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-missouri-death-penalty/">in recent years have filed legislation&nbsp;</a>to eliminate judge-imposed executions, but the proposals have made little progress.Shockley has denied his involvement in Graham’s death, citing the lack of physical evidence or eyewitnesses. His attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/APPELLANT%20LANCE%20SHOCKLEYS%20SUR-REPLY%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20THE%20STATES%20MOTION%20TO%20SET%20AN%20EXECUTION%20DATE.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209165" target="_blank">have tried</a>&nbsp;unsuccessfully to get evidence from the crime scene tested for DNA and have argued the police failed to investigate other possible suspects.“Shockley’s defense at trial was that he was not the one who killed Sgt. Graham,” his attorney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/APPELLANT%20LANCE%20SHOCKLEYS%20SUR-REPLY%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20THE%20STATES%20MOTION%20TO%20SET%20AN%20EXECUTION%20DATE.PDF?courtCode=SC&amp;di=209165" target="_blank">wrote in a brief last month.</a>&nbsp;“Shockley has never wavered in that position.”&nbsp;His attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.The prosecution said Shockley borrowed a relative’s car the afternoon of Graham’s death and the car matched the description witnesses gave of one parked near Graham’s house the afternoon of his murder. Prosecutors also argued the recovered bullets may have been consistent with the caliber of a rifle Shockley owned. No murder weapon was found.The Missouri&nbsp;<a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/missouri/supreme-court/2013/sc90286.html" target="_blank">Supreme Court</a>, responding to the defense’s argument that the death penalty was excessive or disproportionate punishment for a case relying on circumstantial proof, said courts have previously upheld death sentences in cases hinging on strong circumstantial evidence and here, “the circumstantial evidence was strong.”Shockley would be the first person executed in Missouri this year, barring intervention from Gov. Mike Kehoe or the U.S. Supreme Court.&nbsp;Last year, Missouri executed four people. It was one of four states responsible for 76% of executions that year,&nbsp;<a href="https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/DPI-2024-Year-End-Report.pdf?dm=1735847939" target="_blank">according to the Death Penalty Information Center.&nbsp;</a>

Execution date set for man sentenced to die for killing Patrol Sgt.

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/chris-megerian">CHRIS MEGERIAN</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/katie-vogel">KATIE VOGEL</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) —For more than a week, President Donald Trump kept the world wondering whether he would join Israel’s attacks on Iran in an attempt to decapitate the country’s nuclear program. The guessing ended this weekend, when American stealth bombers, fighter jets and a submarine struck with bombs and missiles.

Trump’s decision marks one of the riskiest foreign policy decisions by a U.S. president in recent memory, potentially plunging the nation back into armed conflict in the Middle East with no clear endgame.

Like most of Trump’s presidency, the path to military action was unconventional and played out on social media, as he alternatively pledged diplomacy, demanded the evacuation of Tehran, threatened the ayatollah and ultimately announced the U.S. strike.

Here’s a look at how the 11 days unfolded, a cascade of events that could reshape a combustible corner of the globe. All dates below are in Eastern time.

The first sign that conflict could be on the horizon came when families of U.S. troops began leaving the Middle East. “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said as he arrived at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-performing-arts-487a890419ebf4de42660c5d947dc69c">Kennedy Center</a>&nbsp;for opening night of “Les Misérables,” one of his favorite musicals.

It wasn’t clear whether Israel was preparing to strike, fulfilling years of threats to attack Iran’s nuclear program, or if the movements were a feint to increase pressure for negotiations. The next round of talks between Washington and Tehran was just days away, and Trump was adamant about reaching a diplomatic solution.

Behind the scenes, the Israeli military operation was already taking shape.

Trump said an attack by Israel “could very well happen.” But Iran still seemed to be taken by surprise. Around 8 p.m. in Washington, explosions in Tehran killed top military leaders and scientists. Multiple sites connected to Iran’s nuclear program were also hit.

Israel said 200 warplanes took part in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-explosions-israel-tehran-00234a06e5128a8aceb406b140297299">the first wave of attacks.</a>&nbsp;More damage was done with drones that Israeli spies had smuggled into the country, destroying air defenses and missile launchers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a “targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.” Although Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, Israeli leaders claimed it was an imminent threat.

Iran retaliated against Israel with missiles and drones, many of which were shot down by air defenses. As Trump started his day in Washington, he seemed impressed by Israeli military prowess and his tone became more aggressive toward Iran.

“The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675456780398208" target="_blank">wrote</a>&nbsp;on social media.

But Trump suggested that diplomacy was his first choice, and urged Iran to make a deal.&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675841423085927" target="_blank">“Now they have, perhaps, a second chance”</a>&nbsp;to get it done, he said.

Trump talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the morning, and they discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran. The next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran was canceled.

As Israel and Iran continued to trade strikes, Trump attended&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-parade-troops-tanks-birthday-protests-4cca4da0e89908d39c820240744375a1">a military parade in Washington.</a>&nbsp;It was the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, as well as his 79th birthday.

The muscular display of American military might — tanks, troops, paratroopers and a 21-gun salute — played out in the nation’s capital as the potential for a new conflict loomed.

Trump spent the day talking up his reputation as a peacemaker, encouraging Iran and Israel to “make a deal” similar to how he had brokered an end to fighting between India and Pakistan.

“Many calls and meetings now taking place,” Trump wrote on social media. “I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”

Iran’s health ministry said 224 people had been killed by Israeli strikes at this point in the conflict. Reports also emerged that Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-israel-attack-43e3b1ce47d12477ae4533c941386b75">kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>. U.S. officials viewed the idea as dangerously destabilizing.

Trump flew to Canada for the annual Group of Seven summit, which gathers the world’s most powerful democracies. He would not be there long.

Israel claimed it had achieved “aerial superiority” over Tehran, allowing its warplanes to operate freely in the skies above Iran’s capital. One of the strikes hit Iran’s state-run television, abruptly stopping a live broadcast. Netanyahu said Israeli strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program a “very, very long time.”

However, the extent of the damage was unclear, and U.S. and Israeli officials believed only American planes with specially designed “bunker buster” bombs had the capability to destroy nuclear sites buried deep underground.

After a single day at the G7 summit, the White House abruptly announced that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-g7-carney-canada-trade-iran-75c17fffe96c9031d8ebb22af923d86c">Trump would leave early</a>&nbsp;on a red-eye flight to Washington to meet with his national security team.

Trump demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a post on social media and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted “a real end” to the conflict, not just a ceasefire.

He expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. “They should have done the deal. I told them, ‘Do the deal,’” he said. “So I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”

Trump also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gabbard-trump-intelligence-iran-nuclear-program-51c8d85d536f8628870c110ac05bb518">brushed off assessments from U.S. spy agencies</a>&nbsp;that Iran hadn’t decided to build a nuclear weapon. He insisted they were “very close.”

The sun had not yet risen when Trump arrived at the White House. He took part in a meeting in the Situation Room, but did not appear publicly.

With little clarity on next steps, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that “I’m here to take questions, not necessarily answer them.”

By this point, there was no question that Trump was considering joining Israel’s attacks on Iran. “I may do it, I may not do it,” he said that morning. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

The president spoke to reporters while overseeing the installation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-flagpoles-a0928efcdcb6d1362a0e1827e96d0344">a massive new flagpole</a>&nbsp;on the South Lawn of the White House, toggling back and forth between chatting up construction workers in hard hats and sizing up the Iranian nuclear threat.

Later, in the Oval Office, Trump again suggested that the U.S. might get directly involved to thwart Iran’s atomic ambitions. “I’m not looking to fight,” he said. “But if it’s a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.”

On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the Pentagon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-trump-senate-iran-signal-8a0814d29f204addede54202d40e954d">presenting Trump with military options.</a>

It was a federal holiday — Juneteenth — and much of Washington took the hot, steamy day off, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt scheduled a briefing nonetheless.

She entered the briefing room to deliver a message from the president:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-attacks-nuclear-news-06-19-2025-b508817b78ed8d2f6067c1516215cf94">He would decide within two weeks</a>&nbsp;whether to become directly involved in Israel’s war on Iran.

Trump has long been known to toss out “two week” deadlines for actions that never materialize, so the statement left people guessing on his next move.

Trump convened another meeting of his national security advisers and then flew to his golf club in New Jersey, where he attended a political fundraiser in the evening. He talked to reporters briefly en route, long enough to say his director of national intelligence,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tulsi-gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, was “wrong” when she previously said that the U.S. believed Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon.

Around midnight, the U.S. military operation began in secret: B-2 stealth bombers taking off from a base in Missouri. They headed east, over the Atlantic Ocean, refueling from airborne tankers along the way. It would take them 18 hours to reach Iran. A decoy flight went west, toward the Pacific.

Trump returned to the White House from New Jersey around 6 p.m. Less than an hour later, American ordinance began exploding in Tehran.

More than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were fired from a U.S. submarine. Fighter jets scanned for Iranian interceptors. The stealth bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs, marking the first time that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bunker-buster-bomb-israel-iran-fordo-fordow-b2-nuclear-8a612cbf16aa0f99bd9992334ffc93d7">the 30,000-pound weapon</a>&nbsp;had been used in combat.

Trump announced the strikes on social media, saying it was a “very successful attack and “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” In a brief national address from the White House, the president threatened to attack Iran again if there was any retaliation.

“There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,” he said.

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/chris-megerian">CHRIS MEGERIAN</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/katie-vogel">KATIE VOGEL</a>WASHINGTON (AP) —For more than a week, President Donald Trump kept the world wondering whether he would join Israel’s attacks on Iran in an attempt to decapitate the country’s nuclear program. The guessing ended this weekend, when American stealth bombers, fighter jets and a submarine struck with bombs and missiles.Trump’s decision marks one of the riskiest foreign policy decisions by a U.S. president in recent memory, potentially plunging the nation back into armed conflict in the Middle East with no clear endgame.Like most of Trump’s presidency, the path to military action was unconventional and played out on social media, as he alternatively pledged diplomacy, demanded the evacuation of Tehran, threatened the ayatollah and ultimately announced the U.S. strike.Here’s a look at how the 11 days unfolded, a cascade of events that could reshape a combustible corner of the globe. All dates below are in Eastern time.<h2>Wednesday, June 11</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749688538463.png" alt="The Trumps at the Kennedy Center-image White House" />
 <figcaption>The Trumps at the Kennedy Center-image White House</figcaption>
 </figure>The first sign that conflict could be on the horizon came when families of U.S. troops began leaving the Middle East. “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said as he arrived at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-performing-arts-487a890419ebf4de42660c5d947dc69c">Kennedy Center</a>&nbsp;for opening night of “Les Misérables,” one of his favorite musicals.It wasn’t clear whether Israel was preparing to strike, fulfilling years of threats to attack Iran’s nuclear program, or if the movements were a feint to increase pressure for negotiations. The next round of talks between Washington and Tehran was just days away, and Trump was adamant about reaching a diplomatic solution.Behind the scenes, the Israeli military operation was already taking shape.<h2>Thursday, June 12</h2>Trump said an attack by Israel “could very well happen.” But Iran still seemed to be taken by surprise. Around 8 p.m. in Washington, explosions in Tehran killed top military leaders and scientists. Multiple sites connected to Iran’s nuclear program were also hit.Israel said 200 warplanes took part in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-explosions-israel-tehran-00234a06e5128a8aceb406b140297299">the first wave of attacks.</a>&nbsp;More damage was done with drones that Israeli spies had smuggled into the country, destroying air defenses and missile launchers.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a “targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.” Although Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, Israeli leaders claimed it was an imminent threat.Iran retaliated against Israel with missiles and drones, many of which were shot down by air defenses. As Trump started his day in Washington, he seemed impressed by Israeli military prowess and his tone became more aggressive toward Iran.“The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675456780398208" target="_blank">wrote</a>&nbsp;on social media.But Trump suggested that diplomacy was his first choice, and urged Iran to make a deal.&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675841423085927" target="_blank">“Now they have, perhaps, a second chance”</a>&nbsp;to get it done, he said.<h2>Saturday, June 14</h2>Trump talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the morning, and they discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran. The next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran was canceled.As Israel and Iran continued to trade strikes, Trump attended&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-parade-troops-tanks-birthday-protests-4cca4da0e89908d39c820240744375a1">a military parade in Washington.</a>&nbsp;It was the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, as well as his 79th birthday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749942889066.png" alt="Thie Trumps at the parade celebrating the 250 anniversary of the U.S. Army -image from White House video." />
 <figcaption>Thie Trumps at the parade celebrating the 250 anniversary of the U.S. Army -image from White House video.</figcaption>
 </figure>The muscular display of American military might — tanks, troops, paratroopers and a 21-gun salute — played out in the nation’s capital as the potential for a new conflict loomed.<h2>Sunday, June 15</h2>Trump spent the day talking up his reputation as a peacemaker, encouraging Iran and Israel to “make a deal” similar to how he had brokered an end to fighting between India and Pakistan.“Many calls and meetings now taking place,” Trump wrote on social media. “I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”Iran’s health ministry said 224 people had been killed by Israeli strikes at this point in the conflict. Reports also emerged that Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-israel-attack-43e3b1ce47d12477ae4533c941386b75">kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>. U.S. officials viewed the idea as dangerously destabilizing.Trump flew to Canada for the annual Group of Seven summit, which gathers the world’s most powerful democracies. He would not be there long.<h2>Monday, June 16</h2>Israel claimed it had achieved “aerial superiority” over Tehran, allowing its warplanes to operate freely in the skies above Iran’s capital. One of the strikes hit Iran’s state-run television, abruptly stopping a live broadcast. Netanyahu said Israeli strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program a “very, very long time.”However, the extent of the damage was unclear, and U.S. and Israeli officials believed only American planes with specially designed “bunker buster” bombs had the capability to destroy nuclear sites buried deep underground.After a single day at the G7 summit, the White House abruptly announced that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-g7-carney-canada-trade-iran-75c17fffe96c9031d8ebb22af923d86c">Trump would leave early</a>&nbsp;on a red-eye flight to Washington to meet with his national security team.Trump demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a post on social media and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted “a real end” to the conflict, not just a ceasefire.He expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. “They should have done the deal. I told them, ‘Do the deal,’” he said. “So I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”Trump also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gabbard-trump-intelligence-iran-nuclear-program-51c8d85d536f8628870c110ac05bb518">brushed off assessments from U.S. spy agencies</a>&nbsp;that Iran hadn’t decided to build a nuclear weapon. He insisted they were “very close.”The sun had not yet risen when Trump arrived at the White House. He took part in a meeting in the Situation Room, but did not appear publicly.With little clarity on next steps, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that “I’m here to take questions, not necessarily answer them.”<h2>Wednesday, June 18</h2>By this point, there was no question that Trump was considering joining Israel’s attacks on Iran. “I may do it, I may not do it,” he said that morning. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750269288982.png" alt="President Trump spoke with reporters while overseeing the installation of a massive new flagpole on the South Lawn of the White House -image courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump spoke with reporters while overseeing the installation of a massive new flagpole on the South Lawn of the White House -image courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>The president spoke to reporters while overseeing the installation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-flagpoles-a0928efcdcb6d1362a0e1827e96d0344">a massive new flagpole</a>&nbsp;on the South Lawn of the White House, toggling back and forth between chatting up construction workers in hard hats and sizing up the Iranian nuclear threat.Later, in the Oval Office, Trump again suggested that the U.S. might get directly involved to thwart Iran’s atomic ambitions. “I’m not looking to fight,” he said. “But if it’s a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.”On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the Pentagon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-trump-senate-iran-signal-8a0814d29f204addede54202d40e954d">presenting Trump with military options.</a><h2>Thursday, June 19</h2>It was a federal holiday — Juneteenth — and much of Washington took the hot, steamy day off, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt scheduled a briefing nonetheless.She entered the briefing room to deliver a message from the president:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-attacks-nuclear-news-06-19-2025-b508817b78ed8d2f6067c1516215cf94">He would decide within two weeks</a>&nbsp;whether to become directly involved in Israel’s war on Iran.Trump has long been known to toss out “two week” deadlines for actions that never materialize, so the statement left people guessing on his next move.<h2>Friday, June 20</h2>Trump convened another meeting of his national security advisers and then flew to his golf club in New Jersey, where he attended a political fundraiser in the evening. He talked to reporters briefly en route, long enough to say his director of national intelligence,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tulsi-gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, was “wrong” when she previously said that the U.S. believed Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon.<h2>Saturday, June 21</h2>Around midnight, the U.S. military operation began in secret: B-2 stealth bombers taking off from a base in Missouri. They headed east, over the Atlantic Ocean, refueling from airborne tankers along the way. It would take them 18 hours to reach Iran. A decoy flight went west, toward the Pacific.Trump returned to the White House from New Jersey around 6 p.m. Less than an hour later, American ordinance began exploding in Tehran.More than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were fired from a U.S. submarine. Fighter jets scanned for Iranian interceptors. The stealth bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs, marking the first time that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bunker-buster-bomb-israel-iran-fordo-fordow-b2-nuclear-8a612cbf16aa0f99bd9992334ffc93d7">the 30,000-pound weapon</a>&nbsp;had been used in combat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750596896391.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Trump announced the strikes on social media, saying it was a “very successful attack and “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” In a brief national address from the White House, the president threatened to attack Iran again if there was any retaliation.“There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,” he said.

11 days in June: Trump’s path to ‘yes’ on bombing Iran

NEW YORK (AP) — Chrysler is voluntarily recalling some of its 2022-2025 Pacifica and Voyager vehicles to replace their side curtain airbags, if needed.

The recall potentially affects 250,651 vehicles, and it’s because some side curtain airbags may not hold enough pressure during deployment to limit the risk for passengers during certain types of crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The administration said it’s due to improperly sealed seams, and dealers will inspect and replace the side curtain airbags, as necessary, free of charge.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1751206466783.png" alt="courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Chrysler is voluntarily recalling some of its 2022-2025 Pacifica and Voyager vehicles to replace their side curtain airbags, if needed.The recall potentially affects 250,651 vehicles, and it’s because some side curtain airbags may not hold enough pressure during deployment to limit the risk for passengers during certain types of crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The administration said it’s due to improperly sealed seams, and dealers will inspect and replace the side curtain airbags, as necessary, free of charge.

Chrysler recalls some Pacifica and Voyager vehicles to fix airbag issue

KANSAS CITY —A man injured in a shooting earlier this month in Kansas City has died.

Just after 5a.m. June 19, policewere dispatched to a shooting call at 8th and Central in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.

 On arrival officers located an adult male shooting later identified as 23-year-old David M. Smith, unresponsive on the ground next to a vehicle.

Callers advised they had heard the sound of gunfire outside on the street and looked out to see the victim had been shot. Responding officers called for EMS who transported Smith to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. 

The victim has remained in the hospital since, in critical condition. Detectives were notified Friday he died from his injuries. This case is now being investigated as a homicide.Investigation indicates the victim had an interaction in the parking lot with an unknown suspect or suspects that led to shots being fired striking him.

KANSAS CITY —A man injured in a shooting earlier this month in Kansas City has died.Just after 5a.m. June 19, policewere dispatched to a shooting call at 8th and Central in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. On arrival officers located an adult male shooting later identified as 23-year-old David M. Smith, unresponsive on the ground next to a vehicle.Callers advised they had heard the sound of gunfire outside on the street and looked out to see the victim had been shot. Responding officers called for EMS who transported Smith to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The victim has remained in the hospital since, in critical condition. Detectives were notified Friday he died from his injuries. This case is now being investigated as a homicide.Investigation indicates the victim had an interaction in the parking lot with an unknown suspect or suspects that led to shots being fired striking him.

KCPD: Man dies days after wounded in parking lot dispute

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and JOEY CAPPELLETTI&nbsp;

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline.

The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority.

There's still a long weekend of work to come.

Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks.

"It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Ahead of roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it "strongly supports passage" of the bill. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about the visit on social media.

But by nightfall, Trump was lashing out against holdouts, threatening to campaign against one Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had announced he could not support the bill because of grave Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without health care in his state. Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against. The president was working the phones from the Oval Office late Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pressure was mounting from all sides — billionaire Elon Musk criticized the package as "utterly insane and destructive."

The 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through all-night debate and amendments in the days ahead. If the Senate is able to pass it, the bill would go back to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House.

With the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill would increase by 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans unveiled the bill "in the dead of night" and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. He immediately forced a full reading of the text late Saturday in the Senate, which would take hours.

The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up and has admonished the "grandstanders" among GOP holdouts to fall in line.

The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda.

But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments, which a top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said would be a "death sentence" for America's wind and solar industries, are also causing dissent within GOP ranks.

The Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.

Tillis said he spoke with Trump late Friday explaining his concerns. Paul of Kentucky had been opposed to the bill's provision to raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion.

And GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who initially voted no, switched hours later after private talks to agree to advance the bill.

As the roll call teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted to proceed.

A short time later, Thune drew conservative holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office, with Vance and Johnson also joining. Talks dragged on.

Then swiftly, Vance led them all back in to vote.

Later, Scott said he had met with the president, adding, "We all want to get to yes."

Lee said the group "had an internal discussion about the strategy to achieve more savings and more deficit reduction, and I feel good about the direction where this is going, and more to come."

After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposals

The release of the bill's draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the measure to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict "Byrd Rule," named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill.

Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals, including shifting food stamp costs from the federal government to the states or gutting the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, were deemed out of compliance with the rules.

But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them.

The final text includes a proposal for cuts to the Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary hurdles and objections from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers.

The CBO had said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The budget office has started releasing initial assessments of the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions.

Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said.

The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled.

The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but limits it for five years. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous, but House Republicans are not fully satisfied either.

House Speaker Mike Johnson sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington.

Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747785438346.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and JOEY CAPPELLETTI&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline.<a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/the_one_big_beautiful_bill_act.pdf">Click here to read the bill</a>The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/JpX3ULcQU4">pic.twitter.com/JpX3ULcQU4</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1939179221097578869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>There's still a long weekend of work to come.Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks."It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.Ahead of roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it "strongly supports passage" of the bill. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about the visit on social media.But by nightfall, Trump was lashing out against holdouts, threatening to campaign against one Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had announced he could not support the bill because of grave Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without health care in his state. Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against. The president was working the phones from the Oval Office late Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Pressure was mounting from all sides — billionaire Elon Musk criticized the package as "utterly insane and destructive."The 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through all-night debate and amendments in the days ahead. If the Senate is able to pass it, the bill would go back to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House.With the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill would increase by 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans unveiled the bill "in the dead of night" and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. He immediately forced a full reading of the text late Saturday in the Senate, which would take hours.Make-or-break moment for GOPThe weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up and has admonished the "grandstanders" among GOP holdouts to fall in line.The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda.But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments, which a top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said would be a "death sentence" for America's wind and solar industries, are also causing dissent within GOP ranks.The Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.Tillis said he spoke with Trump late Friday explaining his concerns. Paul of Kentucky had been opposed to the bill's provision to raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion.And GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who initially voted no, switched hours later after private talks to agree to advance the bill.As the roll call teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted to proceed.A short time later, Thune drew conservative holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office, with Vance and Johnson also joining. Talks dragged on.Then swiftly, Vance led them all back in to vote.Later, Scott said he had met with the president, adding, "We all want to get to yes."Lee said the group "had an internal discussion about the strategy to achieve more savings and more deficit reduction, and I feel good about the direction where this is going, and more to come."After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposalsThe release of the bill's draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the measure to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict "Byrd Rule," named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill.Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals, including shifting food stamp costs from the federal government to the states or gutting the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, were deemed out of compliance with the rules.But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them.The final text includes a proposal for cuts to the Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary hurdles and objections from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers.The CBO had said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The budget office has started releasing initial assessments of the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions.Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said.SALT dispute shakes things upThe Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled.The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but limits it for five years. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous, but House Republicans are not fully satisfied either.House Speaker Mike Johnson sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington.___Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

Moran, Marshall help Senate advance Trump's 'Big Bill' in dramatic late-night sesion

WEBSTER COUNTY, Mo. —A child died in a farm accident just before 11a.m. Saturday in Webster County, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 73-year-old Seymour, Missouri, man was back up a 2023 John Deere Tractor at 2188 Walnut Ridge Road three and one half miles south of Seymour.&nbsp; The driver didn't see the 1-year-old boy.

EMS transported the boy to Cox South Hospital. He was pronounced deceased just before 12:30p.m., according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims. Seymour is located three hours south of Kansas City.

WEBSTER COUNTY, Mo. —A child died in a farm accident just before 11a.m. Saturday in Webster County, Missouri.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 73-year-old Seymour, Missouri, man was back up a 2023 John Deere Tractor at 2188 Walnut Ridge Road three and one half miles south of Seymour.&nbsp; The driver didn't see the 1-year-old boy.EMS transported the boy to Cox South Hospital. He was pronounced deceased just before 12:30p.m., according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims. Seymour is located three hours south of Kansas City.

Patrol: 1-year-old boy killed in farm accident

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas woman accused in a crash that killed a Kansas teen was in court for an arraignment hearing Thursday.

A woman has pleaded not guilty in connection to a&nbsp;crash that killed a Kansas teen.

Trisha Greer, 43, Derby, plead not guilty to a&nbsp;charge of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence before Judge Sean Hatfield, according&nbsp;&nbsp;to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.&nbsp;. Her jury trial is scheduled to begin September 29. 

Just after 11p.m. May 14, Greer was driving without headlights at 55th Street South and Hoover, according to Sheriff's Lt Nathan Gibbs. The vehicle struck and killed 18-year-old Bethany Aillen Callista Leggio who was standing with a group of people at the location.

Greet was booked into jail just after 1a.m. the following morning, according to online jail records. She met the requirements of bond and is no longer in custody.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717510102482.png" alt="Greer photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Greer photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas woman accused in a crash that killed a Kansas teen was in court for an arraignment hearing Thursday.A woman has pleaded not guilty in connection to a&nbsp;crash that killed a Kansas teen.Trisha Greer, 43, Derby, plead not guilty to a&nbsp;charge of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence before Judge Sean Hatfield, according&nbsp;&nbsp;to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.&nbsp;. Her jury trial is scheduled to begin September 29. Just after 11p.m. May 14, Greer was driving without headlights at 55th Street South and Hoover, according to Sheriff's Lt Nathan Gibbs. The vehicle struck and killed 18-year-old Bethany Aillen Callista Leggio who was standing with a group of people at the location.Greet was booked into jail just after 1a.m. the following morning, according to online jail records. She met the requirements of bond and is no longer in custody.

Kan. woman enters plea in alleged DUI crash that killed teen

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly discharging a firearm into the air at an intersection during a shooting .

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2659/L-Holman-Misd-Information">Leonard Holman Jr</a>., 24,&nbsp;faces Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm – 1st Offense and Resisting/Interfering with Arrest, Detention Or Stop, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2660/L-Holman-CRIFS-PC_Redacted">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were conducting an area presence near the intersection of East 19th Street and Paseo Boulevard on June 22 when multiple people began to run from the defendant who was holding a firearm.

Officers observed the defendant discharge multiple rounds from his firearm into the air. When officers gave Holman verbal commands to drop the firearm and get down on the ground, Holman ran. He was eventually taken into custody and told police he was shooting in the air to protect himself.&nbsp;

Detectives reviewed city traffic cameras and observed Holman retrieve his firearm from his waist band and discharge it in the air multiple times.

The investigation into the fatal shooting that occurred on East 19th and Vine Street is ongoing.&nbsp; Holman is being held on a $10,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750711438864.png" alt="Holman photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Holman photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly discharging a firearm into the air at an intersection during a shooting .<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2659/L-Holman-Misd-Information">Leonard Holman Jr</a>., 24,&nbsp;faces Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm – 1st Offense and Resisting/Interfering with Arrest, Detention Or Stop, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2660/L-Holman-CRIFS-PC_Redacted">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were conducting an area presence near the intersection of East 19th Street and Paseo Boulevard on June 22 when multiple people began to run from the defendant who was holding a firearm. Officers observed the defendant discharge multiple rounds from his firearm into the air. When officers gave Holman verbal commands to drop the firearm and get down on the ground, Holman ran. He was eventually taken into custody and told police he was shooting in the air to protect himself.&nbsp;Detectives reviewed city traffic cameras and observed Holman retrieve his firearm from his waist band and discharge it in the air multiple times.The investigation into the fatal shooting that occurred on East 19th and Vine Street is ongoing.&nbsp; Holman is being held on a $10,000 bond.