Before he and his staff got into the specifics Kansas Wesleyan women's coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/f097efc3-32e9-48ae-b32b-272640c67bc0?elinkdata=21840">Ryan Showman</a> knew his team will face a daunting opponent in the First Round of the NAIA National Championship.

MidAmerica Nazarene's reputation preceded their research.

"You always see the scores," Showman said in advance the game that begins at 6 p.m. Friday inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus in Olathe. "Being in Kansas the Heart of America (Conference) is in our backyard, they're in our rating arc so we pay attention to who they play. A lot of common opponents in that league with our (Kansas Conference) league."

Tickets for the event are $15 for general admission and can be purchased online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ec9c7057-628c-480a-94b8-96ca528eb67e?elinkdata=21840">www.mnusports.com/tickets</a>. Tickets will also be sold on-site at the Cook Center. For those unable to attend this weekend's games, a live video stream is available at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4b71381f-ebe3-4f74-a727-ca8482cd4155?elinkdata=21840">www.heartconferencenetwork.com/mnu</a>. There is a pay-per-view fee on the video stream of $15. Fans can also listen to the game in the Salina area on 910 AM KINA / 107.5 FM, and online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/af9123f6-ba32-405a-b236-dd1ba645be72?elinkdata=21840">salinapost.com</a>, with Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel on the call of the game. Pregame starts at 5:30 p.m.

MidAmerica enters the game ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll of the season with a 28-3 record. The Pioneers won the HAC title with a 24-0 record but lost to Benedictine 65-51 in the tournament championship. The defeat ended their 26-game winning streak.

"They're young, really young," Showman said. "They only have one or two seniors in their rotation which is a stark contrast from us but they're good. They play really hard. They're not flashy, they don't do a bunch of crazy things but they're just really good at what they do."

Wesleyan qualified for the NAIA tournament by winning the KCAC title with an 18-4 record. The Coyotes lost to Friends 68-66 in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Mabee Arena.

Friday will be their first trip to the national tournament since 2020. They walloped Mayville State (N.D.) 86-64 in Sioux City, Iowa in the First Round but their Second Round game against Concordia (Neb.) was abruptly cancelled along with the rest of the tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Balance is the hallmark of MANU's offense with four starters having double-figure scoring averages. Sophomore center Kameron Green averages a team-high 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds; Keona Schneck, a guard and graduate student, 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds; junior guard Aubrey Rogers 11.8 points and 3.5 assists; and freshman forward Zaylee Werth, a Hillsboro native, 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. Freshman Grace Carlson is the point guard and averages 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Rogers is the top 3-point shooter, 58 of 186. Schneck has 51 3-pointers and Mary Lukert, a sophomore guard, 41 off the bench.

Showman is particularly impressed with Schneck, a transfer from Illinois-Chicago.

"She looks the part," he said. "You can just tell at this level when someone transfers down from Division I. They just look different, they move different, they play different and she's definitely a difference maker, a big reason why they've had success."

Showman also likes Carlson who plays beyond her youth.

"She runs the show for them," he said. "From a facilitator standpoint she knows how to get her people open and what they're looking for offensively."

The Pioneers average 74.8 points and allow just 56.7 points. They're outrebounding the opposition by 7.3 per game.

"When you look at it it's just a really well put together team," Showman said. "We have to be prepared and focused and ready to play hard because we know we're going to get that on the other side."

In contrast Wesleyan has eight seniors/graduate students on its roster but has similar scoring balance. Point guard <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/814b9571-0f77-43ed-8d0e-b8ee97ffbe61?elinkdata=21840">LaMyah Ricks</a> averages 12.0 points, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/f2508267-fff4-4366-bcac-eb631d791fd8?elinkdata=21840">Angel Lee</a> 11.8, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/376ef054-54b7-407d-b848-29609559d13a?elinkdata=21840">Hampton Williams</a> 10.0, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/55a3119f-0382-4771-b4d1-176cf807eb42?elinkdata=21840">Jill Stephens</a> 9.7, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/62b5123d-17a7-49cc-9c01-a84fbb0cfe3d?elinkdata=21840">Odessa Ozuna</a> 8.6, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/07bb7bfc-e5f5-4af1-aee8-149dd34180d4?elinkdata=21840">Paige Chauncey</a> 7.6 and Cat Bowman 6.5. Williams averages a team-best 7.6 rebounds.

The Coyotes average 75.4 points, allow 63.7 and have a 5.4 rebounding edge.

"They're a really tough disciplined team that does everything the right way, so we just have to get them out of their regular routine and get them unorganized," Ricks said of the Pioneers. "We have to move the ball side to side, play our game and not play their game. Just do what we've been doing all along."

"We have to help each other off defense and get the ball side to side on offense, those are our top two things that we always talk about," Lee said.

Before he and his staff got into the specifics Kansas Wesleyan women's coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/f097efc3-32e9-48ae-b32b-272640c67bc0?elinkdata=21840">Ryan Showman</a> knew his team will face a daunting opponent in the First Round of the NAIA National Championship.MidAmerica Nazarene's reputation preceded their research."You always see the scores," Showman said in advance the game that begins at 6 p.m. Friday inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus in Olathe. "Being in Kansas the Heart of America (Conference) is in our backyard, they're in our rating arc so we pay attention to who they play. A lot of common opponents in that league with our (Kansas Conference) league."Tickets for the event are $15 for general admission and can be purchased online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ec9c7057-628c-480a-94b8-96ca528eb67e?elinkdata=21840">www.mnusports.com/tickets</a>. Tickets will also be sold on-site at the Cook Center. For those unable to attend this weekend's games, a live video stream is available at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4b71381f-ebe3-4f74-a727-ca8482cd4155?elinkdata=21840">www.heartconferencenetwork.com/mnu</a>. There is a pay-per-view fee on the video stream of $15. Fans can also listen to the game in the Salina area on 910 AM KINA / 107.5 FM, and online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/af9123f6-ba32-405a-b236-dd1ba645be72?elinkdata=21840">salinapost.com</a>, with Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel on the call of the game. Pregame starts at 5:30 p.m.MidAmerica enters the game ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll of the season with a 28-3 record. The Pioneers won the HAC title with a 24-0 record but lost to Benedictine 65-51 in the tournament championship. The defeat ended their 26-game winning streak."They're young, really young," Showman said. "They only have one or two seniors in their rotation which is a stark contrast from us but they're good. They play really hard. They're not flashy, they don't do a bunch of crazy things but they're just really good at what they do."Wesleyan qualified for the NAIA tournament by winning the KCAC title with an 18-4 record. The Coyotes lost to Friends 68-66 in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Mabee Arena.Friday will be their first trip to the national tournament since 2020. They walloped Mayville State (N.D.) 86-64 in Sioux City, Iowa in the First Round but their Second Round game against Concordia (Neb.) was abruptly cancelled along with the rest of the tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Balance is the hallmark of MANU's offense with four starters having double-figure scoring averages. Sophomore center Kameron Green averages a team-high 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds; Keona Schneck, a guard and graduate student, 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds; junior guard Aubrey Rogers 11.8 points and 3.5 assists; and freshman forward Zaylee Werth, a Hillsboro native, 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. Freshman Grace Carlson is the point guard and averages 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists.Rogers is the top 3-point shooter, 58 of 186. Schneck has 51 3-pointers and Mary Lukert, a sophomore guard, 41 off the bench.Showman is particularly impressed with Schneck, a transfer from Illinois-Chicago."She looks the part," he said. "You can just tell at this level when someone transfers down from Division I. They just look different, they move different, they play different and she's definitely a difference maker, a big reason why they've had success."Showman also likes Carlson who plays beyond her youth."She runs the show for them," he said. "From a facilitator standpoint she knows how to get her people open and what they're looking for offensively."The Pioneers average 74.8 points and allow just 56.7 points. They're outrebounding the opposition by 7.3 per game."When you look at it it's just a really well put together team," Showman said. "We have to be prepared and focused and ready to play hard because we know we're going to get that on the other side."In contrast Wesleyan has eight seniors/graduate students on its roster but has similar scoring balance. Point guard <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/814b9571-0f77-43ed-8d0e-b8ee97ffbe61?elinkdata=21840">LaMyah Ricks</a> averages 12.0 points, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/f2508267-fff4-4366-bcac-eb631d791fd8?elinkdata=21840">Angel Lee</a> 11.8, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/376ef054-54b7-407d-b848-29609559d13a?elinkdata=21840">Hampton Williams</a> 10.0, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/55a3119f-0382-4771-b4d1-176cf807eb42?elinkdata=21840">Jill Stephens</a> 9.7, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/62b5123d-17a7-49cc-9c01-a84fbb0cfe3d?elinkdata=21840">Odessa Ozuna</a> 8.6, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/07bb7bfc-e5f5-4af1-aee8-149dd34180d4?elinkdata=21840">Paige Chauncey</a> 7.6 and Cat Bowman 6.5. Williams averages a team-best 7.6 rebounds.The Coyotes average 75.4 points, allow 63.7 and have a 5.4 rebounding edge."They're a really tough disciplined team that does everything the right way, so we just have to get them out of their regular routine and get them unorganized," Ricks said of the Pioneers. "We have to move the ball side to side, play our game and not play their game. Just do what we've been doing all along.""We have to help each other off defense and get the ball side to side on offense, those are our top two things that we always talk about," Lee said.

Coyotes prepared for tough challenge in NAIA opener

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling.

Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizona’s Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation.

And the number of state and local agencies planning “task force” agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements — which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states — is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego.

“These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants,” Wong said.

President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-reassigning-acting-ice-director-rcna193225" target="_blank">reassigned</a>&nbsp;Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations weren’t as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-angry-deportation-numbers-are-not-higher-rcna191273" target="_blank">need</a>&nbsp;to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year.

Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had “basically disappeared in recent years” because of their reputation for leading to “racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities.” The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration.

“That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration,” Meissner said in an interview. “[The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions we’re seeing in pursuit of mass deportations.”

The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-priority?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=2043f21f-2eea-411a-a070-66d7ac706b02" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program.

Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found.

One result of local involvement, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://usipc.ucsd.edu/publications/usipc-working-paper-1.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses.

The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it.

“My constituents support President Trump,” Kendrick said. “And of course me. I support the president’s mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him.”

Kendrick said he doesn’t expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies.

“We haven’t had any crime, really, out of that,” Kendrick said. “The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl.”

Wong said it’s typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owyhee_County,_Idaho" target="_blank">voted</a>&nbsp;almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said.

“It is naïve for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history,” Wong said.

Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements.

In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to “prioritize” criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record.

“We promised a mass deportation and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Homan told sheriffs at a February conference.

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.governor.nh.gov/news/governor-ayotte-statement-new-hampshire-law-enforcement-cooperating-ice" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed,” she wrote.

Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/287g-divergence.pdf" target="_blank">2010</a>&nbsp;there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona.

To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://azgovernor.gov/office-arizona-governor/news/2025/02/governor-katie-hobbs-signs-executive-order-secure-border" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the state’s four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to “indiscriminately round people up,” according to Hobbs’ statement.

Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governor’s plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association. Yavapai County voted&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai_County,_Arizona" target="_blank">heavily for Trump</a>. And much of the nation’s fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizona’s highways, Rhodes said, so he’s happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration.

But he’s not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status.

“I don’t know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that they’re here illegally or not. So we don’t do that. That’s very risky, very close to racial profiling there,” Rhodes said.

ICE guidelines issued in February say “racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated” under the new task force agreements.

In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force.

In North Carolina, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S153" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics.

In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njoag.gov/trust/" target="_blank">“immigrant trust directive”</a>&nbsp;directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work.

“With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasn’t going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement,” Cygan said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740147958319.png" alt="U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling.Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizona’s Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation.And the number of state and local agencies planning “task force” agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements — which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states — is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego.“These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants,” Wong said.President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-reassigning-acting-ice-director-rcna193225" target="_blank">reassigned</a>&nbsp;Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations weren’t as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-angry-deportation-numbers-are-not-higher-rcna191273" target="_blank">need</a>&nbsp;to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year.Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had “basically disappeared in recent years” because of their reputation for leading to “racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities.” The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration.“That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration,” Meissner said in an interview. “[The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions we’re seeing in pursuit of mass deportations.”The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-priority?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=2043f21f-2eea-411a-a070-66d7ac706b02" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program.<h2>Focus on crime</h2>Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found.One result of local involvement, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://usipc.ucsd.edu/publications/usipc-working-paper-1.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses.The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it.“My constituents support President Trump,” Kendrick said. “And of course me. I support the president’s mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him.”Kendrick said he doesn’t expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies.“We haven’t had any crime, really, out of that,” Kendrick said. “The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl.”Wong said it’s typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owyhee_County,_Idaho" target="_blank">voted</a>&nbsp;almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said.“It is naïve for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history,” Wong said.Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements.In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to “prioritize” criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record.“We promised a mass deportation and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Homan told sheriffs at a February conference.New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.governor.nh.gov/news/governor-ayotte-statement-new-hampshire-law-enforcement-cooperating-ice" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed,” she wrote.<h2>No renewed interest</h2>Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/287g-divergence.pdf" target="_blank">2010</a>&nbsp;there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona.To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://azgovernor.gov/office-arizona-governor/news/2025/02/governor-katie-hobbs-signs-executive-order-secure-border" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the state’s four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to “indiscriminately round people up,” according to Hobbs’ statement.Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governor’s plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association. Yavapai County voted&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai_County,_Arizona" target="_blank">heavily for Trump</a>. And much of the nation’s fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizona’s highways, Rhodes said, so he’s happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration.But he’s not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status.“I don’t know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that they’re here illegally or not. So we don’t do that. That’s very risky, very close to racial profiling there,” Rhodes said.ICE guidelines issued in February say “racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated” under the new task force agreements.In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force.In North Carolina, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S153" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics.In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njoag.gov/trust/" target="_blank">“immigrant trust directive”</a>&nbsp;directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work.“With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasn’t going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement,” Cygan said.

Despite profiling concerns, more law agencies are joining street-level immigration enforcement

SENATE HIGHLIGHTS March 4, 2025

Senate Committees continued to review bills which have been sent over from the House, and we had one day of General Orders this week in the Senate.&nbsp; As we work though committee bills on the floor, we will also begin to have&nbsp;Conference Committee reports to vote on as well.&nbsp; 

A Conference Committee is a small, bipartisan and bicameral committee that works to smooth out the differences between the House’s and Senate’s version of a similar bill.&nbsp; Once the Conference Committee comes to a compromise, the committee’s version of the bill will be sent to both the House and the Senate for a final vote, before advancing the bill to the Governor’s desk.&nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1604/">SCR 1604</a>, a resolution calling for the Convention of States.&nbsp; Under Article V of the United States Constitution, a convention of states may be called to propose amendments to the United States Constitution.&nbsp; It takes 34 states ratifying identical resolutions to call for such a convention, and then 38 states to ratify any amendments emerging from that convention. So far, 19 states have adopted a version of SCR 1604, which calls for a convention “limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress."&nbsp;&nbsp;SCR1604 passed 29-11.&nbsp; I voted yes.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb33/">SB 33</a>&nbsp;would authorize the sales tax exemption provided for in continuing law for sales of the services of slaughtering, butchering, custom cutting, dressing, processing, or packaging of an animal for the customer’s own use or consumption to be claimed without a requirement that exemption certificates or forms be provided by the purchaser or collected or maintained by the seller.&nbsp; This a follow-up bill from 2024 which removed sales tax on the processing of meat but customers were required to fill out extra Department of Revenue paperwork each time and keep on file for future review of the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;SB 33 passed 40-0.&nbsp; I voted yes.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb137/">SB 137</a>&nbsp;would amend the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act to permit firearms forfeited under the Act to be sold or transferred to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer.&nbsp;&nbsp;SB&nbsp;137 passed 39-1.&nbsp; I voted yes.

Full texts of the bills and supplemental notes as well as the Final Action vote on these measures can be found at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>.&nbsp;

WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_0NO-Pb96CFABvxDwXAq8A?view_as=subscriber">Kansas Legislature YouTube</a>&nbsp;– Here you can follow the legislature live as it happens, or access archives of past sessions and committee meetings.

<a target="_blank" href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Kansas Legislature Audio</a>&nbsp;– Here you can listen in on session or committees when they are in session, or access prior committee meetings, as well.

Kansas Legislature website –&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>&nbsp;- has extensive information on legislators, committees, bills, and past sessions.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/kansascoge/">COGE Portal</a>&nbsp;– Committee on Government Efficiency Portal <a target="_blank" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/">WhiteHouse.gov</a>&nbsp;–Executive Actions are included here

UPDATE FROM KANSAS INSURANCE COMMISSIONER VICKI SCHMIDT

If you or someone you know has an issue with their insurance, we are happy to help!&nbsp; We may not always like the answers we get, but we will do our best to get you an answer.&nbsp; Please use the contact information below to reach out to us if we can be of assistance.

Main Line: (785) 296-3071 Consumer Assistance Hotline: 1-800-432-2484 Consumer Complaint:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:kid.webcomplaints@ks.gov">kid.webcomplaints@ks.gov</a> Producer Licensing:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KID.Licensing@ks.gov">kid.licensing@ks.gov</a> Email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KID.Commissioner@ks.gov">KID.Commissioner@ks.gov</a> Website:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001SoDYgtD-dFj2steoGgFmoL8pLuf0NSmUSYwQCgp1HsxoadVCfwcm_95Am0jNUs0wFnhLh6WZZDNC0I3bvXKrYLcDAFEsmw8M0DoCWSkqIfiLrZCsRdIrP9T0QLWMfcrFnRn8KKAZuWRvenC77dA6Tw==&amp;c=_XGtk_g_SmaADwMA6e5Ys1lOAPiD2n0Y0WhdVf1Fcsl9xHGubVgxOA==&amp;ch=r3uWbCcKhRBHU_y3dsLIzaxpLTKaKBOHKjED-RjqskJBJwcemc8Blw==">Insurance.kansas.gov</a>

Thank you for all of your calls, emails, and letters regarding your thoughts and concerns about happenings in Kansas. I always encourage you to stay informed of the issues under consideration by the Kansas Legislature.&nbsp; Committee schedules, bills, and other helpful information can be easily accessed through the legislature’s website at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>.&nbsp; You are also able to ‘listen in live’ at this website.&nbsp; Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions.&nbsp; An email is the best at this point in the session.

Senator Elaine Bowers Kansas State Capitol Building Room 223-E 300SW 10th St. Topeka, KS&nbsp;66612 elaine.bowers@senate.ks.gov 785-296-7389 <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/" target="_blank">www.kslegislature.org</a> <a href="http://www.elainebowers.com/" target="_blank">www.elainebowers.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644853578448.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Elaine Bowers, R-Concordia, 36th Dist. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Elaine Bowers, R-Concordia, 36th Dist. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SENATE HIGHLIGHTS March 4, 2025Senate Committees continued to review bills which have been sent over from the House, and we had one day of General Orders this week in the Senate.&nbsp; As we work though committee bills on the floor, we will also begin to have&nbsp;Conference Committee reports to vote on as well.&nbsp; A Conference Committee is a small, bipartisan and bicameral committee that works to smooth out the differences between the House’s and Senate’s version of a similar bill.&nbsp; Once the Conference Committee comes to a compromise, the committee’s version of the bill will be sent to both the House and the Senate for a final vote, before advancing the bill to the Governor’s desk.&nbsp;SENATE FLOOR ACTION<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1604/">SCR 1604</a>, a resolution calling for the Convention of States.&nbsp; Under Article V of the United States Constitution, a convention of states may be called to propose amendments to the United States Constitution.&nbsp; It takes 34 states ratifying identical resolutions to call for such a convention, and then 38 states to ratify any amendments emerging from that convention. So far, 19 states have adopted a version of SCR 1604, which calls for a convention “limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress."&nbsp;&nbsp;SCR1604 passed 29-11.&nbsp; I voted yes.<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb33/">SB 33</a>&nbsp;would authorize the sales tax exemption provided for in continuing law for sales of the services of slaughtering, butchering, custom cutting, dressing, processing, or packaging of an animal for the customer’s own use or consumption to be claimed without a requirement that exemption certificates or forms be provided by the purchaser or collected or maintained by the seller.&nbsp; This a follow-up bill from 2024 which removed sales tax on the processing of meat but customers were required to fill out extra Department of Revenue paperwork each time and keep on file for future review of the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;SB 33 passed 40-0.&nbsp; I voted yes.<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb137/">SB 137</a>&nbsp;would amend the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act to permit firearms forfeited under the Act to be sold or transferred to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer.&nbsp;&nbsp;SB&nbsp;137 passed 39-1.&nbsp; I voted yes.Full texts of the bills and supplemental notes as well as the Final Action vote on these measures can be found at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>.&nbsp;WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_0NO-Pb96CFABvxDwXAq8A?view_as=subscriber">Kansas Legislature YouTube</a>&nbsp;– Here you can follow the legislature live as it happens, or access archives of past sessions and committee meetings.<a target="_blank" href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Kansas Legislature Audio</a>&nbsp;– Here you can listen in on session or committees when they are in session, or access prior committee meetings, as well.Kansas Legislature website –&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>&nbsp;- has extensive information on legislators, committees, bills, and past sessions.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/kansascoge/">COGE Portal</a>&nbsp;– Committee on Government Efficiency Portal <a target="_blank" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/">WhiteHouse.gov</a>&nbsp;–Executive Actions are included hereUPDATE FROM KANSAS INSURANCE COMMISSIONER VICKI SCHMIDTIf you or someone you know has an issue with their insurance, we are happy to help!&nbsp; We may not always like the answers we get, but we will do our best to get you an answer.&nbsp; Please use the contact information below to reach out to us if we can be of assistance.Main Line: (785) 296-3071 Consumer Assistance Hotline: 1-800-432-2484 Consumer Complaint:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:kid.webcomplaints@ks.gov">kid.webcomplaints@ks.gov</a> Producer Licensing:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KID.Licensing@ks.gov">kid.licensing@ks.gov</a> Email:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KID.Commissioner@ks.gov">KID.Commissioner@ks.gov</a> Website:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001SoDYgtD-dFj2steoGgFmoL8pLuf0NSmUSYwQCgp1HsxoadVCfwcm_95Am0jNUs0wFnhLh6WZZDNC0I3bvXKrYLcDAFEsmw8M0DoCWSkqIfiLrZCsRdIrP9T0QLWMfcrFnRn8KKAZuWRvenC77dA6Tw==&amp;c=_XGtk_g_SmaADwMA6e5Ys1lOAPiD2n0Y0WhdVf1Fcsl9xHGubVgxOA==&amp;ch=r3uWbCcKhRBHU_y3dsLIzaxpLTKaKBOHKjED-RjqskJBJwcemc8Blw==">Insurance.kansas.gov</a>THANK YOU FOR ENGAGINGThank you for all of your calls, emails, and letters regarding your thoughts and concerns about happenings in Kansas. I always encourage you to stay informed of the issues under consideration by the Kansas Legislature.&nbsp; Committee schedules, bills, and other helpful information can be easily accessed through the legislature’s website at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/">www.kslegislature.org</a>.&nbsp; You are also able to ‘listen in live’ at this website.&nbsp; Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions.&nbsp; An email is the best at this point in the session.Thank you for the honor of serving you!Senator Elaine Bowers Kansas State Capitol Building Room 223-E 300SW 10th St. Topeka, KS&nbsp;66612 elaine.bowers@senate.ks.gov 785-296-7389 <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/" target="_blank">www.kslegislature.org</a> <a href="http://www.elainebowers.com/" target="_blank">www.elainebowers.com</a>

BOWERS: 2025 Senate Scene, Week 7

ROME (AP) — A weak and breathless&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pope-francis">Pope Francis</a>&nbsp;thanked people for their prayers for his recovery in a remarkable audio message broadcast Thursday, the first public sign of life from the 88-year-old pope since he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-bronchitis-hospital-757f28cabc6a84836168321fba798bae">hospitalized three weeks ago</a>&nbsp;with double pneumonia.

Francis’ feeble voice, discernible through his labored breaths and in his native Spanish, was recorded Thursday from the hospital and broadcast to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square who had gathered for the nightly recitation of the rosary prayer.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here,” he said, his soft voice piercing the hushed square. “May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”

For anyone used to hearing Francis’ voice, which is often so soft it sounds like a whisper, the audio was an emotional punch to the gut that hammered home just how sick he is.

The cardinal presiding over the prayer, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, had told the crowd at the start of the service that he had “beautiful news, a beautiful gift” to share. The clearly surprised crowd broke into applause and then applauded again after Francis’ final “Gracias.” Fernández Artime, for his part, bowed his head as he listened.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-pope-francis-prayers-health-0775b256a93dc3175efe8c48d2904aa0">88-year-old pope</a>&nbsp;has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.

The Vatican has given twice-daily updates on Francis’ medical condition, but has distributed no photos or video of him since the morning of Feb. 14, when he held a handful of audiences at the Vatican before being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.

The infection progressed into a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-bronchitis-hospital-757f28cabc6a84836168321fba798bae">complex respiratory tract infection</a>&nbsp;and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future of his papacy.

Francis has issued written messages from the Gemelli, including some that sounded very much like him. But even Vatican officials had been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-pneumonia-65b0457c46d7de722305260079c3bb87">clamouring to hear his voice</a>, saying the pope’s calls for peace are particularly needed at a time of such global conflict and war.

More than any pope before him, Francis has mastered the art of informal and direct communication, often recording cell phone videos for visitors to bring home to their communities. For the considerable effort it must have taken, the audio message made clear that he understood the power of his voice, even in its weakened state.

Doctors on Thursday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no new respiratory crises or fever. He continued his respiratory and other physical therapy Thursday, worked, rested and prayed from the 10th floor papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

Given the continued stability of Francis’ condition, doctors said they didn’t expect to provide a new medical update until Saturday. His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.

The pope has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery. He has been transitioning to receiving high-flow oxygen with a nasal tube during the day. His routine now includes physical therapy, along with treatment for double pneumonia and respiratory therapy, Vatican officials said.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-pope-francis-prayers-health-0775b256a93dc3175efe8c48d2904aa0">88-year-old pope</a>&nbsp;has been stable for three full days after suffering a pair of respiratory crises Monday.

The pope was supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in “spiritual communion” with him. The theme, selected before Francis got sick, was “Hope in eternal life.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740262535769.png" alt="Candles and a photo of Pope Francis are seen in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)" />
 <figcaption>Candles and a photo of Pope Francis are seen in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)</figcaption>
 </figure>ROME (AP) — A weak and breathless&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pope-francis">Pope Francis</a>&nbsp;thanked people for their prayers for his recovery in a remarkable audio message broadcast Thursday, the first public sign of life from the 88-year-old pope since he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-bronchitis-hospital-757f28cabc6a84836168321fba798bae">hospitalized three weeks ago</a>&nbsp;with double pneumonia.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PopeFrancis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PopeFrancis</a> sends audio message of thanks to people who are praying for his health. It was played at the beginning of the rosary in St. Peter&#39;s Square. <a href="https://t.co/7CDbme1gni">pic.twitter.com/7CDbme1gni</a>&mdash; Catholic News Service Rome (@CatholicNewsSvc) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatholicNewsSvc/status/1897740444735328766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Francis’ feeble voice, discernible through his labored breaths and in his native Spanish, was recorded Thursday from the hospital and broadcast to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square who had gathered for the nightly recitation of the rosary prayer.“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here,” he said, his soft voice piercing the hushed square. “May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”For anyone used to hearing Francis’ voice, which is often so soft it sounds like a whisper, the audio was an emotional punch to the gut that hammered home just how sick he is.The cardinal presiding over the prayer, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, had told the crowd at the start of the service that he had “beautiful news, a beautiful gift” to share. The clearly surprised crowd broke into applause and then applauded again after Francis’ final “Gracias.” Fernández Artime, for his part, bowed his head as he listened.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-pope-francis-prayers-health-0775b256a93dc3175efe8c48d2904aa0">88-year-old pope</a>&nbsp;has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.The Vatican has given twice-daily updates on Francis’ medical condition, but has distributed no photos or video of him since the morning of Feb. 14, when he held a handful of audiences at the Vatican before being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.The infection progressed into a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-bronchitis-hospital-757f28cabc6a84836168321fba798bae">complex respiratory tract infection</a>&nbsp;and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future of his papacy.Francis has issued written messages from the Gemelli, including some that sounded very much like him. But even Vatican officials had been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-pneumonia-65b0457c46d7de722305260079c3bb87">clamouring to hear his voice</a>, saying the pope’s calls for peace are particularly needed at a time of such global conflict and war.More than any pope before him, Francis has mastered the art of informal and direct communication, often recording cell phone videos for visitors to bring home to their communities. For the considerable effort it must have taken, the audio message made clear that he understood the power of his voice, even in its weakened state.Doctors on Thursday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no new respiratory crises or fever. He continued his respiratory and other physical therapy Thursday, worked, rested and prayed from the 10th floor papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.Given the continued stability of Francis’ condition, doctors said they didn’t expect to provide a new medical update until Saturday. His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.The pope has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery. He has been transitioning to receiving high-flow oxygen with a nasal tube during the day. His routine now includes physical therapy, along with treatment for double pneumonia and respiratory therapy, Vatican officials said.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-pope-francis-prayers-health-0775b256a93dc3175efe8c48d2904aa0">88-year-old pope</a>&nbsp;has been stable for three full days after suffering a pair of respiratory crises Monday.The pope was supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in “spiritual communion” with him. The theme, selected before Francis got sick, was “Hope in eternal life.”

🎧Pope Francis releases recorded message from hospital room

CAIRO (AP) — The Hamas militant group on Thursday brushed off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3">President Donald Trump's latest threat</a>&nbsp;and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">ceasefire in the Gaza Strip</a>.

Hamas accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-hostages-witkoff-plan-46a639d66772915ba1ed0b43cd2728d8">trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement</a>&nbsp;they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on that phase, which were supposed to begin in early February. Only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.

On Wednesday, Trump issued what he said was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3">“last warning” to Hamas</a>&nbsp;after meeting with eight former hostages. The White House meanwhile confirmed it had held unprecedented direct talks with the militant group, which Israel and Western countries view as a terrorist organization.

“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”

Both&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-strip-jerusalem-west-bank-israel-f64031f2462fc7267731962b65c9d2cb">Israel and Hamas have a longstanding practice</a>&nbsp;of holding onto the remains of their adversaries in order to trade them in hostage-prisoner deals.

Hamas is believed to still have 24 living hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander. It is also holding the bodies of 34 others who were either killed in the initial attack or in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in the 2014 war.

Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which ended on Saturday.

Israel supports what it says is a new U.S. plan for the second phase in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages immediately and the rest when a permanent ceasefire is negotiated. Hamas has rejected the proposal and says it is sticking with the agreement signed in January.

Israel has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-aid-cutoff-netanyahu-hunger-war-940ceea2c2b754d197a4f07c0cad86de">cut off the delivery of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies</a>&nbsp;to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians in an attempt to pressure Hamas into accepting the new arrangement. It has threatened “additional consequences” if Hamas does not resume the release of hostages.

It's unclear if the U.S.-Hamas talks made any progress. The Trump administration has pledged full support for Israel's main war goals of returning all the hostages and eradicating Hamas, which may be incompatible.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took a total of 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.

Israel's military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The offensive destroyed vast areas in Gaza and displaced most of its population. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in tents, schools-turned-shelters or war-damaged buildings, and the population relies on international aid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a “last warning” to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-hostages-images-chaos-6371eb106d6cebe7919f70ba208007ca">Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza</a>, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">militant group</a>.

In a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump added that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”

“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump said. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”

The pointed language from Trump came after the White House said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mideast-gaza-israel-hamas-war-latest-03-05-2025-a681a03e2950a89e70eb006f0c27fc3b">directly engaging with the militant group</a>.

Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha came as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-02-27-2025-cfcdd8786afe4bc73ae79b3e0e4ccb3b">Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance</a>. It’s the first known direct engagement between the United States and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide detail on the substance of talks, but said President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has authorized his envoys to “talk to anyone.” Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the U.S. and Israel since the group launched its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president ... believes is a good-faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” she said.

Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, and noted that there are “American lives at stake.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office offered a terse acknowledgement of the U.S.-Hamas talks. “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas,” the prime minister’s office said.

Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.

Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. Boehler, founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trump’s first term that strove to win broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world.

The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official added that no progress was made but “the step itself is promising” and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks.

The direct engagement comes as continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains uncertain. Trump has signaled that he has no intentions of pushing Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas doesn’t agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.

Trump on Wednesday welcomed eight former hostages — Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani — to the White House.

“The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories,” Leavitt said. "The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”

Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hostages-gaza-hamas-ceasefire-af820b4bd1d62de94e2022b521db268c">released last month as part of the ceasefire</a>, said they came to the White House to express their appreciation to Trump and Witkoff, the Mideast envoy.

“We urged them to continue their enormous efforts. They have done so much. We trust them and we know they will get the job done to get all the rest of the 59 remaining hostages held in Gaza back to their families,” he said in a statement.

The talks between U.S. and Hamas officials were first reported earlier Wednesday by the news site Axios.

Leavitt, the White House press secretary, is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741214101993.png" alt="White House photo" />
 <figcaption>White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>CAIRO (AP) — The Hamas militant group on Thursday brushed off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3">President Donald Trump's latest threat</a>&nbsp;and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">ceasefire in the Gaza Strip</a>.Hamas accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-hostages-witkoff-plan-46a639d66772915ba1ed0b43cd2728d8">trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement</a>&nbsp;they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on that phase, which were supposed to begin in early February. Only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.On Wednesday, Trump issued what he said was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-israel-trump-ceasefire-bdc21f862b073dd478e0960ebfbf71e3">“last warning” to Hamas</a>&nbsp;after meeting with eight former hostages. The White House meanwhile confirmed it had held unprecedented direct talks with the militant group, which Israel and Western countries view as a terrorist organization.“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”Both&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-strip-jerusalem-west-bank-israel-f64031f2462fc7267731962b65c9d2cb">Israel and Hamas have a longstanding practice</a>&nbsp;of holding onto the remains of their adversaries in order to trade them in hostage-prisoner deals.Hamas is believed to still have 24 living hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander. It is also holding the bodies of 34 others who were either killed in the initial attack or in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in the 2014 war.Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which ended on Saturday.Israel supports what it says is a new U.S. plan for the second phase in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages immediately and the rest when a permanent ceasefire is negotiated. Hamas has rejected the proposal and says it is sticking with the agreement signed in January.Israel has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-aid-cutoff-netanyahu-hunger-war-940ceea2c2b754d197a4f07c0cad86de">cut off the delivery of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies</a>&nbsp;to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians in an attempt to pressure Hamas into accepting the new arrangement. It has threatened “additional consequences” if Hamas does not resume the release of hostages.It's unclear if the U.S.-Hamas talks made any progress. The Trump administration has pledged full support for Israel's main war goals of returning all the hostages and eradicating Hamas, which may be incompatible.Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took a total of 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.Israel's military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.The offensive destroyed vast areas in Gaza and displaced most of its population. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in tents, schools-turned-shelters or war-damaged buildings, and the population relies on international aid.-------------WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a “last warning” to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-hostages-images-chaos-6371eb106d6cebe7919f70ba208007ca">Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza</a>, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">militant group</a>.In a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump added that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump said. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”The pointed language from Trump came after the White House said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mideast-gaza-israel-hamas-war-latest-03-05-2025-a681a03e2950a89e70eb006f0c27fc3b">directly engaging with the militant group</a>.Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha came as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-02-27-2025-cfcdd8786afe4bc73ae79b3e0e4ccb3b">Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance</a>. It’s the first known direct engagement between the United States and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide detail on the substance of talks, but said President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has authorized his envoys to “talk to anyone.” Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the U.S. and Israel since the group launched its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president ... believes is a good-faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” she said.Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, and noted that there are “American lives at stake.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office offered a terse acknowledgement of the U.S.-Hamas talks. “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas,” the prime minister’s office said.Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. Boehler, founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trump’s first term that strove to win broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world.The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.The official added that no progress was made but “the step itself is promising” and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks.The direct engagement comes as continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains uncertain. Trump has signaled that he has no intentions of pushing Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas doesn’t agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.Trump on Wednesday welcomed eight former hostages — Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani — to the White House.“The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories,” Leavitt said. "The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hostages-gaza-hamas-ceasefire-af820b4bd1d62de94e2022b521db268c">released last month as part of the ceasefire</a>, said they came to the White House to express their appreciation to Trump and Witkoff, the Mideast envoy.“We urged them to continue their enormous efforts. They have done so much. We trust them and we know they will get the job done to get all the rest of the 59 remaining hostages held in Gaza back to their families,” he said in a statement.The talks between U.S. and Hamas officials were first reported earlier Wednesday by the news site Axios.Leavitt, the White House press secretary, is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas: Release all remaining hostages in Gaza

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A suspected participant in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-pentagon-abbey-gate-withdrawal-bombing-fb5725ccf8ba641f79dc7976e7b9db79">the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport</a>&nbsp;that killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during the chaotic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-afghanistan-al-qaida-ayman-zawahri-f00d745cb7cf00e3ada60017401f6784">withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday to face criminal charges in connection with the attack.

Mohammad Sharifullah was taken into custody over the weekend and admitted during an FBI interrogation to being a member of the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan and to his role in the August 2021 suicide bombing and other attacks, according to U.S. officials.

President Donald Trump announced the arrest during his Tuesday night&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-speech-congress-immigration-tariffs-guests-93f6107ede260854f90c65c4bde60de8">address to Congress</a>, telling the audience that he was “pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity. And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”

Senior Pakistani intelligence officers on Wednesday confirmed the arrest and said Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, was captured in the country’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-baluchistan-violence-explainer-ec59317765a0aa49a5434097a5e9cb48">restive southwest Balochistan province</a>&nbsp;near the border with Afghanistan after multiple operations had failed to seize him.

Sharifullah is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. He wore a light-blue jail jumpsuit and listened through headphones as an interpreter translated the proceedings. His public defender declined to comment after his court appearance, which ended with him being held until at least a detention hearing set for Monday.

The Abbey Gate bombing, in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country amid the withdrawal by U.S. forces from the country, occurred in August 2021 when a suicide bomber attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport. Besides 13 U.S. service members, about 170 Afghans were also killed in the attack,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-withdrawal-abbey-gate-28dcaccf6f946bc171a2133ddbb123de">which triggered widespread congressional criticism</a>&nbsp;and undermined public confidence in the Biden administration’s handling of the conclusion of the war.

According to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the case, Sharifullah admitted under questioning to having joined the Afghanistan-based&nbsp;<a href="https://islamic%20state-khorasan/" target="_blank">Islamic State-Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K,</a>&nbsp;in 2016. He told investigators that he was in prison from 2019 until about two weeks before the bombing, at which point he was contacted by another ISIS-K member about helping in the attack, the affidavit said.

He was given a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, as well as instructions for communicating via social media during the attack operation, prosecutors said. He admitted to participating in the Abbey Gate attack by scouting a route to the airport for the bomber and communicating to other members of the militant group that the path was clear.

Sharifullah said he was instructed to leave the area and later learned that the bombing was done by an ISIS-K operative he had met while jailed, the affidavit said.

The bomber was identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State group militant who had been in an Afghan prison but was released by the Taliban as the group took control of the country that summer.

During his FBI interrogation, Sharifullah also said he had shared firearms and weapons instructions before a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-concert-hall-shooting-toll-moscow-crocus-ce45e104781c108ff3b7f8a9d45fcef7">March 2024 attack at a Moscow concert hall</a>&nbsp;that was also carried out by ISIS-K and killed scores of people, authorities said.

Sharifullah was arrested in 2019 by the U.S.-backed Afghan government at the time but escaped from prison on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Taliban took Kabul.

The Pakistani officials said Sharifullah had planned the bombing from behind bars with other senior militant figures. They said he remained on the run in the border areas of Balochistan until his arrest through a joint intelligence-sharing operation between Pakistan and the U.S.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for “acknowledging and appreciating” the country’s role in counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan.

“We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” Sharif said on the social media platform X.

From Kabul, the Taliban chief spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid declined to comment beyond saying that the arrest “on Pakistani soil” of an Afghan national and member of the Islamic State group shows that IS group figures “have taken refuge and established havens” inside Pakistan.

“This issue has nothing to do with Afghanistan,” Mujahid said. The regional Islamic State affiliate is a rival group to the Afghan Taliban.

Trump, a Republican, had repeatedly condemned Biden’s role in the Afghanistan withdrawal on the campaign trail and blamed Biden, a Democrat, for the Abbey Gate attack. A review last year by U.S. Central Command concluded that the attack was not preventable despite assertions by some service members who believed they had a chance to take out the would-be bomber but did not get approval.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity Tuesday night to discuss a case that had yet to be unsealed, said Sharifullah’s arrest came after fresh U.S. intelligence community coordination, increased intelligence sharing and pressure on regional partners to bring those responsible for the attack to account since Trump’s swearing-in in January.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1630691600635.png" alt="File photo U.S. Army soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division escort evacuees to buses at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Army soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division escort evacuees to buses at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A suspected participant in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-pentagon-abbey-gate-withdrawal-bombing-fb5725ccf8ba641f79dc7976e7b9db79">the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport</a>&nbsp;that killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during the chaotic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-afghanistan-al-qaida-ayman-zawahri-f00d745cb7cf00e3ada60017401f6784">withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday to face criminal charges in connection with the attack.Mohammad Sharifullah was taken into custody over the weekend and admitted during an FBI interrogation to being a member of the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan and to his role in the August 2021 suicide bombing and other attacks, according to U.S. officials.President Donald Trump announced the arrest during his Tuesday night&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-speech-congress-immigration-tariffs-guests-93f6107ede260854f90c65c4bde60de8">address to Congress</a>, telling the audience that he was “pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity. And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”Senior Pakistani intelligence officers on Wednesday confirmed the arrest and said Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, was captured in the country’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-baluchistan-violence-explainer-ec59317765a0aa49a5434097a5e9cb48">restive southwest Balochistan province</a>&nbsp;near the border with Afghanistan after multiple operations had failed to seize him.Sharifullah is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. He wore a light-blue jail jumpsuit and listened through headphones as an interpreter translated the proceedings. His public defender declined to comment after his court appearance, which ended with him being held until at least a detention hearing set for Monday.The Abbey Gate bombing, in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country amid the withdrawal by U.S. forces from the country, occurred in August 2021 when a suicide bomber attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport. Besides 13 U.S. service members, about 170 Afghans were also killed in the attack,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-withdrawal-abbey-gate-28dcaccf6f946bc171a2133ddbb123de">which triggered widespread congressional criticism</a>&nbsp;and undermined public confidence in the Biden administration’s handling of the conclusion of the war.According to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the case, Sharifullah admitted under questioning to having joined the Afghanistan-based&nbsp;<a href="https://islamic%20state-khorasan/" target="_blank">Islamic State-Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K,</a>&nbsp;in 2016. He told investigators that he was in prison from 2019 until about two weeks before the bombing, at which point he was contacted by another ISIS-K member about helping in the attack, the affidavit said.He was given a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, as well as instructions for communicating via social media during the attack operation, prosecutors said. He admitted to participating in the Abbey Gate attack by scouting a route to the airport for the bomber and communicating to other members of the militant group that the path was clear.Sharifullah said he was instructed to leave the area and later learned that the bombing was done by an ISIS-K operative he had met while jailed, the affidavit said.The bomber was identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State group militant who had been in an Afghan prison but was released by the Taliban as the group took control of the country that summer.During his FBI interrogation, Sharifullah also said he had shared firearms and weapons instructions before a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-concert-hall-shooting-toll-moscow-crocus-ce45e104781c108ff3b7f8a9d45fcef7">March 2024 attack at a Moscow concert hall</a>&nbsp;that was also carried out by ISIS-K and killed scores of people, authorities said.Sharifullah was arrested in 2019 by the U.S.-backed Afghan government at the time but escaped from prison on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Taliban took Kabul.The Pakistani officials said Sharifullah had planned the bombing from behind bars with other senior militant figures. They said he remained on the run in the border areas of Balochistan until his arrest through a joint intelligence-sharing operation between Pakistan and the U.S.Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for “acknowledging and appreciating” the country’s role in counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan.“We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” Sharif said on the social media platform X.From Kabul, the Taliban chief spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid declined to comment beyond saying that the arrest “on Pakistani soil” of an Afghan national and member of the Islamic State group shows that IS group figures “have taken refuge and established havens” inside Pakistan.“This issue has nothing to do with Afghanistan,” Mujahid said. The regional Islamic State affiliate is a rival group to the Afghan Taliban.Trump, a Republican, had repeatedly condemned Biden’s role in the Afghanistan withdrawal on the campaign trail and blamed Biden, a Democrat, for the Abbey Gate attack. A review last year by U.S. Central Command concluded that the attack was not preventable despite assertions by some service members who believed they had a chance to take out the would-be bomber but did not get approval.A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity Tuesday night to discuss a case that had yet to be unsealed, said Sharifullah’s arrest came after fresh U.S. intelligence community coordination, increased intelligence sharing and pressure on regional partners to bring those responsible for the attack to account since Trump’s swearing-in in January.<h2>____</h2>

Suspect in deadly Kabul airport bombing extradited to U.S., appears in court

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine after a disastrous Oval Office meeting as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;to engage in peace talks with Russia.

A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.

The moment comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine in 2019 as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch investigations into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.

Trump in the leadup to his 2024 election win vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He's expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war, while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce in the conflict is reached.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Trump</a>&nbsp;earlier on Monday slammed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;for suggesting that the end of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia's war</a>&nbsp;against Ukraine likely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-starmer-trump-b025877c40ffe0ddf2a92adad1715231">"is still very, very far away."</a>

The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the U.S. president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.

The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-zelenskyy-oval-office-ukraine-russia-blowup-8aa63e55c859e8fea963911478c376ee">disastrous White House meeting</a>&nbsp;in which Trump and Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>&nbsp;excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.

Trump at an event at the White House later on Monday referred to Zelenskyy's reported comments, and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”

“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long,” Trump added. "That person will not be listened to very long.”

Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week's White House meeting.

Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-britain-zelenskyy-europe-starmer-trump-russia-b980170ead74a1a7914c565f14ee6cc9">new European initiative</a>&nbsp;to end Russia’s war, Zelenskyy said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.”

“An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet," he added.

But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.

“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”

Zelenskyy&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1896619374469099824">took to social media</a>&nbsp;soon after Trump's latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump's comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”

“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”

Trump's national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.

“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News' "America’s Newsroom" earlier Monday. "And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”

Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”

Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead.

“He is not interested in ending the war,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “He thinks Russia is winning. ... And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured.”

Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy's visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals in part to pay back more than $180 billion in aid the U.S. has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House has also billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term.

The signing was scrapped after the leaders' Oval Office talks went off the rails and White House officials asked Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation to leave.

Trump on Monday, however, suggested he hasn't given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak to the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/repbrianfitz/status/1896663350370566156?s=46">spoke</a>&nbsp;with Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track.

Fitzpatrick after the lengthy call predicted the “deal will be signed in short order.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740765106318.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine after a disastrous Oval Office meeting as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;to engage in peace talks with Russia.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">WATCH: Full Meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Oval Office. <a href="https://t.co/Xf6cyErem7">pic.twitter.com/Xf6cyErem7</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1895602226472550410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.The moment comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine in 2019 as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch investigations into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.Trump in the leadup to his 2024 election win vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He's expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war, while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce in the conflict is reached.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741050340181.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Trump</a>&nbsp;earlier on Monday slammed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/volodymyr-zelenskyy">Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;for suggesting that the end of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia's war</a>&nbsp;against Ukraine likely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-starmer-trump-b025877c40ffe0ddf2a92adad1715231">"is still very, very far away."</a>The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the U.S. president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-zelenskyy-oval-office-ukraine-russia-blowup-8aa63e55c859e8fea963911478c376ee">disastrous White House meeting</a>&nbsp;in which Trump and Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>&nbsp;excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.Trump at an event at the White House later on Monday referred to Zelenskyy's reported comments, and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long,” Trump added. "That person will not be listened to very long.”Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week's White House meeting.Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-britain-zelenskyy-europe-starmer-trump-russia-b980170ead74a1a7914c565f14ee6cc9">new European initiative</a>&nbsp;to end Russia’s war, Zelenskyy said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.”“An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet," he added.But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”Zelenskyy&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1896619374469099824">took to social media</a>&nbsp;soon after Trump's latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump's comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”Trump's national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News' "America’s Newsroom" earlier Monday. "And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead.“He is not interested in ending the war,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “He thinks Russia is winning. ... And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured.”Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy's visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals in part to pay back more than $180 billion in aid the U.S. has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House has also billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term.The signing was scrapped after the leaders' Oval Office talks went off the rails and White House officials asked Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation to leave.Trump on Monday, however, suggested he hasn't given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak to the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/repbrianfitz/status/1896663350370566156?s=46">spoke</a>&nbsp;with Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track.Fitzpatrick after the lengthy call predicted the “deal will be signed in short order.”

Trump orders 'pause' on US aid to Ukraine after Oval dustup

Following Thursday's thrilling Kansas Conference tournament quarterfinal victory over Saint Mary in Mabee Arena the top-seeded Coyotes are preparing for the semifinals. The winner advances to the championship March 4 at the site of the higher seeded team.

All tickets must be purchased in advance on the KCAC ticketing portal: <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6988bb3d-7790-4d72-b263-012730b2794f?elinkdata=20600">https://kcacsports.com/sports/2023/1/6/tickets.aspx</a>. KWU will have staff at the entry gates to assist fans with purchasing tickets through the KCAC ticketing portal, but there will be no cash sales and no point-of-sale ticket sales on site. KWU regular season passes will not be accepted at the event.

The games will be streamed live on the Coyote Sports Network, part of the KCAC Digital Network at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/09d25fcf-be16-42e1-b2ba-193a656d40e4?elinkdata=20600">www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan</a>

An audio-only broadcast of the game will be available online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4a83e49a-dea9-42c5-b641-49fdfb74628e?elinkdata=20600">salinapost.com</a>, by listening live to 910 KINA/107.5 FM. The Voice of the Coyotes Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel will have the call of the game with Coyote Pregame Live starting at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard locally on 910 KINA and 107.5 FM.

Live Stats will be available as well, at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/2dac6faa-037a-41ef-8a6b-7f5eba9c66e8?elinkdata=20600">www.kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary</a>

Following Thursday's thrilling Kansas Conference tournament quarterfinal victory over Saint Mary in Mabee Arena the top-seeded Coyotes are preparing for the semifinals. The winner advances to the championship March 4 at the site of the higher seeded team.SATURDAY'S GAMEOpponent: FriendsTime: 7 p.m.Location: Mabee ArenaTICKETSAll tickets must be purchased in advance on the KCAC ticketing portal: <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6988bb3d-7790-4d72-b263-012730b2794f?elinkdata=20600">https://kcacsports.com/sports/2023/1/6/tickets.aspx</a>. KWU will have staff at the entry gates to assist fans with purchasing tickets through the KCAC ticketing portal, but there will be no cash sales and no point-of-sale ticket sales on site. KWU regular season passes will not be accepted at the event.GAME COVERAGEThe games will be streamed live on the Coyote Sports Network, part of the KCAC Digital Network at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/09d25fcf-be16-42e1-b2ba-193a656d40e4?elinkdata=20600">www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan</a>An audio-only broadcast of the game will be available online at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4a83e49a-dea9-42c5-b641-49fdfb74628e?elinkdata=20600">salinapost.com</a>, by listening live to 910 KINA/107.5 FM. The Voice of the Coyotes Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel will have the call of the game with Coyote Pregame Live starting at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard locally on 910 KINA and 107.5 FM.Live Stats will be available as well, at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/2dac6faa-037a-41ef-8a6b-7f5eba9c66e8?elinkdata=20600">www.kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary</a>RECORDS<ul>
 <li>No. 1 seeded Kansas Wesleyan 23-6</li><li>No. 5 seeded Friends 18-11</li>
 </ul>THE SERIES<ul>
 <li>The Coyotes won both regular season games but trail in the series 22-20 since 2006. They won 78-65 on December 7 in Wichita and 73-69 on January 25 in Mabee Arena.</li>
 </ul>KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE<ul>
 <li>A victory over Friends would put the Coyotes in the championship for the first time since 2013. They advanced to the semis with a hard-fought 80-77 victory over Saint Mary. A 10-2 fourth quarter run gave them the lead for good, 74-69, although USM got within 78-77 with 6.5 seconds left. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/478dd7d1-da94-437d-bdc2-0989907214f2?elinkdata=20600">Jill Stephens</a> made 4 of 4 free throws in the final 14.1. Five Coyotes scored in double figures led by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/14825c76-d7b2-4d89-a4cb-8b8437daa999?elinkdata=20600">LaMyah Ricks</a> with 16 and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/dc5f1609-80c0-4362-9851-3933945aeb44?elinkdata=20600">Odessa Ozuna</a> 13. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4690f154-45bc-47ed-88f0-d09fd0d6e719?elinkdata=20600">Hampton Williams</a> had 12 points and 13 rebounds.</li><li>The first game with Friends this season was tied at 52 after three quarters before KWU pulled away in the final 10 minutes. KWU took a 56-55 lead into the fourth quarter. Ricks scored 20, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/3b10fab0-6f01-41d3-a8e3-41a587e6b9b1?elinkdata=20600">Angel Lee</a> 16 and the Coyotes were 11 of 25 from 3-point range. Lee had 22 points, Ozuna 11 and Ricks and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/c67393a7-b061-49d1-b99b-48db7e54ca02?elinkdata=20600">Paige Chauncey</a> 10 each in the second game that was close throughout. Chauncey also had 10 rebounds.</li><li>Balanced scoring is the key as seven Coyotes average between 12.1 and 6.7 points - Ricks 12.1, Lee 11.8, Williams 9.9, Stephens 9.6, Ozuna 8.8, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a33611cf-e915-4a90-ae12-84409b9d1901?elinkdata=20600">Paige Chauncey</a> 7.7 and Cat Bowman 6.7. KWU averages 76 points and allows 63.7. Williams pulls down a team-best 7.4 rebounds.</li>
 </ul>FRIENDS AT A GLANCE<ul>
 <li>The Falcons stayed alive with a 68-66 come-from-behind victory over Bethel on Thursday in North Newton. They trailed 41-31 at halftime and were down 12 early in the third quarter. Abigail Barr scored 12 and Taylor Jackson had 15 and 10 rebounds. Friends is 5-5 in its last 10 games.</li><li>Lauryn McIver scored 18 and Barr 17 but Jackson did not play in the first game against KWU in Wichita. Jackson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, McIver 18 points and Barr 14 in the second game in Mabee Arena.</li><li>McIver averages a team-high 15.4 points followed by Jackson at 14.5, Barr 12.3 and Kori Babcock 10.4. Jackson also averages 12.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Friends averages 70.6 points and allows 64.0.</li>
 </ul>

Coyotes host Friends in KCAC Semifinals on Saturday at Mabee Arena

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Senate Republicans are taking an effort to make the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office, dismantling a decades-old merit-based nomination system for justices that voters put in place after a notorious scandal.

The move is largely a response to a high court decision establishing the right to terminate a pregnancy and three decades of court-imposed compliance with a constitutional mandate to provide suitable funding for public schools.

If adopted with two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and House,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1611/" target="_blank">Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611</a>&nbsp;would place a loaded question before voters on the 2026 general election ballot. The question would ask voters to replace the current nominating commission, “whose membership consists of a majority of lawyers,” with direct election of justices. The seven justice seats would be divided among the 2028, 2030 and 2032 elections, and terms would last six years.

Republicans and special interest groups that align with Republicans favor the change, which they say would shift power from an elitist organization to the people. Opponents raise concerns about reshaping the court through partisan politics and the dark money that dominates political campaigns.

“It’s putting politics where they belong,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican. “They’re going to tell you, ‘Oh, it’s putting politics in the system.’ Politics are in the system. That’s the worst kind of politics. It’s veiled. It’s in the black box, you know, behind the closed door.”

Under the current system, the&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/Judges/Become-a-Judge/Supreme-Court-Nominating-Commission" target="_blank">Supreme Court Nominating Commission</a>&nbsp;reviews applications for a vacancy and sends three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment from those three finalists.

The commission members include one lawyer and one nonlawyer from each of the state’s four congressional districts, plus an additional lawyer who serves as chair. Kansas Bar Association members elect the lawyers who serve on the commission, and the governor appoints the nonlawyers.

The commission considers experience, education, ethics, temperament, community service, impartiality and respect of colleagues when selecting the three nominees to send to the governor.

Each justice faces a retention vote in the next general election after appointment, and again every six years.

The system was put in place following&nbsp;<a href="https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/people/tv-the-triple-play-and-the-man-from-dodge" target="_blank">a 1950s political scandal known as “the triple play.”</a>

Gov. Fred Hall, viewed as liberal Republican for the era, was defeated in the 1956 primary after a single two-year term. Democrat George Docking won in the general election.

Chief Justice Bill Smith, a supporter of Hall who was prepared to retire, decided to step down before Docking took office so that Hall could resign and take his seat. Smith and Hall resigned on the same day, allowing Lt. Gov. John McCuish to be sworn in as governor and appoint Hall to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740601607106.jpeg" alt=" Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert delivers her State of the Judiciary speech on Jan. 15, 2025, in the House Chamber. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, left, and Senate President Ty Masterson listen to her speech. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert delivers her State of the Judiciary speech on Jan. 15, 2025, in the House Chamber. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, left, and Senate President Ty Masterson listen to her speech. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Senate Republicans are taking an effort to make the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office, dismantling a decades-old merit-based nomination system for justices that voters put in place after a notorious scandal.The move is largely a response to a high court decision establishing the right to terminate a pregnancy and three decades of court-imposed compliance with a constitutional mandate to provide suitable funding for public schools.If adopted with two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and House,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1611/" target="_blank">Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611</a>&nbsp;would place a loaded question before voters on the 2026 general election ballot. The question would ask voters to replace the current nominating commission, “whose membership consists of a majority of lawyers,” with direct election of justices. The seven justice seats would be divided among the 2028, 2030 and 2032 elections, and terms would last six years.Republicans and special interest groups that align with Republicans favor the change, which they say would shift power from an elitist organization to the people. Opponents raise concerns about reshaping the court through partisan politics and the dark money that dominates political campaigns.“It’s putting politics where they belong,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican. “They’re going to tell you, ‘Oh, it’s putting politics in the system.’ Politics are in the system. That’s the worst kind of politics. It’s veiled. It’s in the black box, you know, behind the closed door.”Under the current system, the&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/Judges/Become-a-Judge/Supreme-Court-Nominating-Commission" target="_blank">Supreme Court Nominating Commission</a>&nbsp;reviews applications for a vacancy and sends three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment from those three finalists.The commission members include one lawyer and one nonlawyer from each of the state’s four congressional districts, plus an additional lawyer who serves as chair. Kansas Bar Association members elect the lawyers who serve on the commission, and the governor appoints the nonlawyers.The commission considers experience, education, ethics, temperament, community service, impartiality and respect of colleagues when selecting the three nominees to send to the governor.Each justice faces a retention vote in the next general election after appointment, and again every six years.<h2>The triple play</h2>The system was put in place following&nbsp;<a href="https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/people/tv-the-triple-play-and-the-man-from-dodge" target="_blank">a 1950s political scandal known as “the triple play.”</a>Gov. Fred Hall, viewed as liberal Republican for the era, was defeated in the 1956 primary after a single two-year term. Democrat George Docking won in the general election.Chief Justice Bill Smith, a supporter of Hall who was prepared to retire, decided to step down before Docking took office so that Hall could resign and take his seat. Smith and Hall resigned on the same day, allowing Lt. Gov. John McCuish to be sworn in as governor and appoint Hall to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.Hall resigned from the court the following year so he could run again for governor, but again lost in the GOP primary.During the 1957 session, the Legislature passed a constitutional amendment that established the current merit-based system. About 70% of voters approved the constitutional amendment in 1958.In recent years, Republicans scrutinized the system in frustration over Kansas Supreme Court decisions that require the Legislature to adequately and equitably fund public schools. The 2019 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, and voters’ rejection of a constitutional amendment on abortion in 2022, fueled renewed interest in abolishing the merit-based system for nominating Supreme Court justices.But Republicans haven’t been able to agree on whether to support the election of justices or adopt the federal model, where high court appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.In a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, attorney Josh Ney noted that no Supreme Court justice in the past 22 years had retired while a Republican was governor. Democratic governors have selected all but one of the justices during that period, with&nbsp;Republican Gov. Sam Brownback appointing his chief counsel, Caleb Steagall, to the court to fill a vacancy by a justice who was appointed to a federal court seat.“We have traded the triple play for systemic double plays,” Ney said.<h2>The opposition</h2>Fred Logan, who appeared before the committee on behalf of the Kansas Bar Association, said Kansas voters “knew exactly what they were doing in 1958 when they installed the merit selection process.”He pointed to the fact that no justice has lost a retention vote as evidence that the process works.“I trust Kansas voters,” Logan said.Blake Shuart, an attorney with the Wichita-based Hutton Law Firm, said lawyers in the state want to protect a system that has served their clients well, win or lose.In the past year, Shuart said, the Kansas Supreme Court has issued decisions on 31 criminal cases, seven attorney discipline matters, three individuals who were seeking compensation for wrongful conviction, and cases dealing with parentage, tax valuations, a zoning code, a gambling license, a public nuisance issue between two farmers, and other matters.“This is not a day in, day out job by our justices to press the lever on state politics, decide elections, school funding, reproductive rights, or any other things,” Shuart said. “Those cases do come around every so often, but what they do every day, week and month of the year, is roll up their sleeves, read briefs, learn cases, ask good questions, listen to good lawyers, argue, deliberate, decide cases fairly based on even-handed application of the facts to the law, and then they sit down and have to write a long opinion.”Rashane Hamby, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the proposed resolution would inject politics into the courts and erode public trust in the judiciary.The change would threaten the rule of law, weaken separation of powers, and allow special interests to influence the highest court.“The Supreme Court should not be for sale to the highest bidder,” Hamby said. “If this passes, it will be a radical departure from Kansas’ longstanding commitment to judicial independence.”Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican, said justices in the past have run TV ads supporting a retention vote, which means money is already a factor. The ads she referenced were actually paid for and produced by entities that support the justices, not the justices themselves.Logan, who has practiced law for 48 years, told Tyson the limited ads she had seen would be amplified with “huge sums of money” if justices were elected.“Let’s not kid ourselves,” Logan said.