SEDGWICK COUNTY —One of three men accused in the 2019 killing of a man in Bel Aire, Kansas is going to prison for a long time.

This week, Sedgwick County Judge Eric Williams sentenced 34-year-old Efrain Arroyo to life with parole eligibility after 25 years for first-degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

 Arroyo also received 186 months for aggravated kidnapping and nine months for criminal use of a firearm by a felon. The sentences will run consecutively, according to the district attorney's office.

In November, Arroyo was convicted for his role in the 2019 murder of 30-year-old Christian Osvaldo Hernandez of Wichita/.

In November of 2019, a passerby found the body of a man later identified as Hernandez lying next to the road in the 12000 block of east 45th Street North in Wichita, according to Lt. Tim Myers.

Responding deputies noticed a gunshot to the Hernandez body and he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The following week authorities reported the arrest of 40-year-old Dusty Joe Brown, 37-year-old Thomas Ray Armstrong and Arroyo II.

<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=481699">Armstrong </a>pleaded no contest to kidnapping and interference with law enforcement in August 2022 and was sentenced to 88 months in prison. Dustyn Brown will be sentenced March 15.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575317063410.png" alt="Efrain Daniel Arroyo II-photo Sedgwick Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Efrain Daniel Arroyo II-photo Sedgwick Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —One of three men accused in the 2019 killing of a man in Bel Aire, Kansas is going to prison for a long time.This week, Sedgwick County Judge Eric Williams sentenced 34-year-old Efrain Arroyo to life with parole eligibility after 25 years for first-degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. Arroyo also received 186 months for aggravated kidnapping and nine months for criminal use of a firearm by a felon. The sentences will run consecutively, according to the district attorney's office.In November, Arroyo was convicted for his role in the 2019 murder of 30-year-old Christian Osvaldo Hernandez of Wichita/.In November of 2019, a passerby found the body of a man later identified as Hernandez lying next to the road in the 12000 block of east 45th Street North in Wichita, according to Lt. Tim Myers.Responding deputies noticed a gunshot to the Hernandez body and he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575316892512.png" alt="Thomas Armstrong photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Thomas Armstrong photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The following week authorities reported the arrest of 40-year-old Dusty Joe Brown, 37-year-old Thomas Ray Armstrong and Arroyo II.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575546461755.png" alt="Dustyn Brown-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Dustyn Brown-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=481699">Armstrong </a>pleaded no contest to kidnapping and interference with law enforcement in August 2022 and was sentenced to 88 months in prison. Dustyn Brown will be sentenced March 15.

Murder: Man sentenced after body found near rural Kansas road

KANSAS CITY —A patient shot and wounded a security officer Friday morning at a Kansas City hospital after disarming him.

Just after 8:30a.m. Friday, police responded to a “assist the officer." call at the hospital, 2301 Holmes Street, according to Police Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

The initial report indicated there was a hospital security officer was shot while escorting a recently discharged patient and a confrontation occurred. 

 The patient disarmed the security officer of his firearm and one round was discharged from the weapon.  The guard was struck from the discharge of the weapon and suffered a non-life threatening injury.  Other security officers took the individual into custody immediately without further incident.

During the incident there were call notes that indicated this was an active shooter incident.  This was not an active shooter and an isolated incident.  There was and is no active threat to the public, according to DiMartino.

Hospital operations were never interrupted.

In a statement from the the hospital,&nbsp; “University Health is grateful to our security team following an altercation with a patient that resulted in one of our officers being shot. The team’s fast actions created the best possible outcome keeping staff and patients safe."

Police have not released the name of the suspect or additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706902712019.png" alt="Photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A patient shot and wounded a security officer Friday morning at a Kansas City hospital after disarming him.Just after 8:30a.m. Friday, police responded to a “assist the officer." call at the hospital, 2301 Holmes Street, according to Police Sergeant Phil DiMartino.The initial report indicated there was a hospital security officer was shot while escorting a recently discharged patient and a confrontation occurred. The patient disarmed the security officer of his firearm and one round was discharged from the weapon. The guard was struck from the discharge of the weapon and suffered a non-life threatening injury. Other security officers took the individual into custody immediately without further incident.During the incident there were call notes that indicated this was an active shooter incident. This was not an active shooter and an isolated incident. There was and is no active threat to the public, according to DiMartino.Hospital operations were never interrupted.In a statement from the the hospital,&nbsp; “University Health is grateful to our security team following an altercation with a patient that resulted in one of our officers being shot. The team’s fast actions created the best possible outcome keeping staff and patients safe."Police have not released the name of the suspect or additional details.

Discharged patient shot security officer at Kansas City hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched an air assault on&nbsp; massive barrage in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan last weekend. The strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations

The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship with and arming of regional militias. And President Joe Biden made it clear in a statement that there will be more to come.

The U.S. strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-retaliation-iran-militia-drone-attack-1dda7fdb416f843b3a5cc84ea7b5f01c">U.S. tries to prevent the conflict from escalating</a>&nbsp;even further. Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.

It was unclear what the impact will be of the strikes.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-ship-attacks-israel-hamas-war-1020fe149d82a32f0160037ea7eef7f5">Days of U.S. warnings</a>&nbsp;may have sent militia members scattering into hiding. With multiple groups operating at various locations in several countries, a knockout blow is unlikely.

Though one of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops, others have vowed to continue fighting, casting themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause while the war in Gaza shows no sign of ending.

“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden warned, adding, “let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.” He and other top U.S. leaders had been saying for days that any American response wouldn't be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the targets "were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear, irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on U.S. personnel in the region.” He declined to detail what that evidence was.

The strikes took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, said Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff.

U.S. Central Command said the assault involved more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States. Sims said weather was a factor as the U.S. planned the strikes in order to allow the U.S. to confirm it was hitting the right targets and avoiding civilian casualties.

It's not clear, however, whether militia members were killed.

"We know that there are militants that use these locations, IRGC as well as Iranian-aligned militia group personnel,” Sims said. “We made these strikes tonight with an idea that there there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.”

Syrian state media reported that there were casualties but did not give a number. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 militants were killed in the Syria strikes.

Iraqi army spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement that the city of al-Qaim and areas along the country’s border with Syria had been hit by U.S. airstrikes. The strikes, he said, “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, posing a threat that will pull Iraq and the region to undesirable consequences.”

Kirby said that the U.S. alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out the strikes.

The assault came came just hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-dignified-transfer-jordan-israel-hamas-war-c4b923a6a5178ecd3d3957d7aba7ff6f">Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families</a>&nbsp;to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Just Friday morning, Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated earlier promises by Tehran to potentially retaliate for any U.S. strikes targeting its interests. We “will not start a war, but if a country, if a cruel force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong response,” Raisi said.

In a statement this week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iraq-airstrike-military-iran-d93d861feeef90cfeac3ba85f1f2f36d">Kataib Hezbollah</a>&nbsp;announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government." But that assertion clearly had no impact on U.S. strike plans. Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iran-backed groups, vowed Friday to continue military operations against U.S. troops.

The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, but hasn't narrowed it down to a specific group. Kataib Hezbollah is, however, a top suspect.

Some of the militias have been a threat to U.S. bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s war with Hamas</a>&nbsp;following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. The war has led to the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and has inflamed the Middle East.

Iran-backed militia groups throughout the region have used the conflict to justify striking Israeli or U.S. interests, including threatening civilian commercial ships and U.S. warships in the Red Sea region with drones or missiles in almost daily exchanges.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.” He said the U.S. will take all necessary actions to defend its interests and people, and warned, “At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past.”

As of Tuesday, Iran-backed militia groups had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, according to a U.S. military official. The last attack was Jan. 29 at al-Asad airbase in Iraq, and there were no injuries or damage.

The U.S., meanwhile, has bolstered defenses at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">Tower 22</a>, the base in Jordan that was attacked by Iran-backed militants on Sunday, according to a U.S. official. While previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, the deaths of the three service members in Jordan crossed a line, the official said.

That attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely Army National Guard — was the first to result in U.S. combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. Tower 22 houses about 350 U.S. troops and sits near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only 6 miles (10 kilometers) away.

Also Friday, the Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile that approached the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicion it was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.

And a U.S. official said the military had taken additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen Friday against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said British and American forces conducted three strikes in the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah, a Houthi stronghold.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend, according the the U.S. military and officials.

President Joe Biden and other top U.S. leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.

“This afternoon, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces,” Biden said in a statement. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”

The massive barrage of strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC's Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship and arming of regional militias.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes used more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers flown from the United States. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation, said B-1 bombers were used.

Two Iraqi militia officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists said that three houses used as headquarters were targeted in al-Qaim, Iraq, including a weapons storage area. An operations headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, in Akashat, Iraq, and weapons stores were targeted.

It was unclear what the next steps will be, or whether the days of U.S. warnings have sent militia members scattering into hiding, making it more difficult to detect and strike them. But it was evident that the recent statement released by Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the main Iran-backed militias, saying it was suspending attacks on American troops had no impact on the administration’s plans.

The U.S. strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the U.S. tries to prevent the conflict from escalating even further. Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.

In a statement this week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iraq-airstrike-military-iran-d93d861feeef90cfeac3ba85f1f2f36d">Kataib Hezbollah</a>&nbsp;announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government." But Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iran-backed groups, vowed Friday to continue military operations against U.S. troops.

The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the deadly attack in Jordan, but has not yet narrowed it down to a specific group. Kataeb Hezbollah is, however, a top suspect.

Some of the militias have been a threat to U.S. bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. The war has led to the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and has inflamed the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.” He added, “We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people. And we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose.”

“At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past,” Austin said.

As of Tuesday, Iran-backed militia groups had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, according to a U.S. military official. The last attack was Jan. 29 at at al-Asad airbase in Iraq, and there were no injuries or damage.

The U.S., meanwhile, has bolstered defenses at the base in Jordan that was attacked by the ran-backed militants on Sunday, according to a U.S. official.

And the Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile that approached the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicion it was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.

A U.S. official also said the military had taken additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen Friday against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said that British and American forces conducted three strikes in the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah, a Houthi stronghold.

While previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, the attack on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">Tower 22</a>, as the Jordan outpost is known, and the deaths of the three service members has crossed a line, the official said.

That drone attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely Army National Guard — was the first to result in U.S. combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. Tower 22 houses about 350 U.S. troops and sits near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only 6 miles (10 kilometers) away.

Also on Friday, the U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on a network of firms in Iran and Hong Kong that are accused of assisting Iran procure technology to make ballistic weapons and drones. And the U.S. hit six Iranian officials with sanctions for allegedly committing a series of malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other nations.

JERUSALEM—The U.S. military is launching an air assault in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. 

U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. 

The facilities that were struck included command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aired vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.

The strikes came just hours after President Joe Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

It was unclear what the next steps will be, or whether the days of U.S. warnings have sent militia members scattering into hiding, making it more difficult for the U.S. to detect and strike them.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705969554059.png" alt="U.S. Central Command image shows F/A-18E “Super Hornets” with Carrier Air Wing 3 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) launching to conduct Airstrikes against the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Central Command image shows F/A-18E “Super Hornets” with Carrier Air Wing 3 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) launching to conduct Airstrikes against the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched an air assault on&nbsp; massive barrage in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan last weekend. The strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706915300822.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship with and arming of regional militias. And President Joe Biden made it clear in a statement that there will be more to come.The U.S. strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-retaliation-iran-militia-drone-attack-1dda7fdb416f843b3a5cc84ea7b5f01c">U.S. tries to prevent the conflict from escalating</a>&nbsp;even further. Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.It was unclear what the impact will be of the strikes.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-ship-attacks-israel-hamas-war-1020fe149d82a32f0160037ea7eef7f5">Days of U.S. warnings</a>&nbsp;may have sent militia members scattering into hiding. With multiple groups operating at various locations in several countries, a knockout blow is unlikely.Though one of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops, others have vowed to continue fighting, casting themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause while the war in Gaza shows no sign of ending.“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden warned, adding, “let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.” He and other top U.S. leaders had been saying for days that any American response wouldn't be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the targets "were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear, irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on U.S. personnel in the region.” He declined to detail what that evidence was.The strikes took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, said Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff.U.S. Central Command said the assault involved more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States. Sims said weather was a factor as the U.S. planned the strikes in order to allow the U.S. to confirm it was hitting the right targets and avoiding civilian casualties.It's not clear, however, whether militia members were killed."We know that there are militants that use these locations, IRGC as well as Iranian-aligned militia group personnel,” Sims said. “We made these strikes tonight with an idea that there there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.”Syrian state media reported that there were casualties but did not give a number. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 militants were killed in the Syria strikes.Iraqi army spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement that the city of al-Qaim and areas along the country’s border with Syria had been hit by U.S. airstrikes. The strikes, he said, “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, posing a threat that will pull Iraq and the region to undesirable consequences.”Kirby said that the U.S. alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out the strikes.The assault came came just hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-dignified-transfer-jordan-israel-hamas-war-c4b923a6a5178ecd3d3957d7aba7ff6f">Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families</a>&nbsp;to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.Just Friday morning, Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated earlier promises by Tehran to potentially retaliate for any U.S. strikes targeting its interests. We “will not start a war, but if a country, if a cruel force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong response,” Raisi said.In a statement this week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iraq-airstrike-military-iran-d93d861feeef90cfeac3ba85f1f2f36d">Kataib Hezbollah</a>&nbsp;announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government." But that assertion clearly had no impact on U.S. strike plans. Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iran-backed groups, vowed Friday to continue military operations against U.S. troops.The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, but hasn't narrowed it down to a specific group. Kataib Hezbollah is, however, a top suspect.Some of the militias have been a threat to U.S. bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s war with Hamas</a>&nbsp;following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. The war has led to the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and has inflamed the Middle East.Iran-backed militia groups throughout the region have used the conflict to justify striking Israeli or U.S. interests, including threatening civilian commercial ships and U.S. warships in the Red Sea region with drones or missiles in almost daily exchanges.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.” He said the U.S. will take all necessary actions to defend its interests and people, and warned, “At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past.”As of Tuesday, Iran-backed militia groups had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, according to a U.S. military official. The last attack was Jan. 29 at al-Asad airbase in Iraq, and there were no injuries or damage.The U.S., meanwhile, has bolstered defenses at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">Tower 22</a>, the base in Jordan that was attacked by Iran-backed militants on Sunday, according to a U.S. official. While previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, the deaths of the three service members in Jordan crossed a line, the official said.That attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely Army National Guard — was the first to result in U.S. combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. Tower 22 houses about 350 U.S. troops and sits near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only 6 miles (10 kilometers) away.Also Friday, the Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile that approached the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicion it was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.And a U.S. official said the military had taken additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen Friday against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said British and American forces conducted three strikes in the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah, a Houthi stronghold.—-<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705969554059.png" alt="File&nbsp;U.S. Central Command image shows F/A-18E “Super Hornets” with Carrier Air Wing 3 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) launching to conduct Airstrikes against the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen" />
 <figcaption>File&nbsp;U.S. Central Command image shows F/A-18E “Super Hornets” with Carrier Air Wing 3 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) launching to conduct Airstrikes against the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend, according the the U.S. military and officials.President Joe Biden and other top U.S. leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.“This afternoon, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces,” Biden said in a statement. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”The massive barrage of strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC's Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship and arming of regional militias.U.S. Central Command said the strikes used more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers flown from the United States. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation, said B-1 bombers were used.Two Iraqi militia officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists said that three houses used as headquarters were targeted in al-Qaim, Iraq, including a weapons storage area. An operations headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, in Akashat, Iraq, and weapons stores were targeted.The assault came came just hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-dignified-transfer-jordan-israel-hamas-war-c4b923a6a5178ecd3d3957d7aba7ff6f">Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families</a>&nbsp;to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.It was unclear what the next steps will be, or whether the days of U.S. warnings have sent militia members scattering into hiding, making it more difficult to detect and strike them. But it was evident that the recent statement released by Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the main Iran-backed militias, saying it was suspending attacks on American troops had no impact on the administration’s plans.The U.S. strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the U.S. tries to prevent the conflict from escalating even further. Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.Just Friday morning, Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated earlier promises by Tehran to potentially retaliate for any U.S. strikes targeting its interests. We “will not start a war, but if a country, if a cruel force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong response,” Raisi said.In a statement this week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iraq-airstrike-military-iran-d93d861feeef90cfeac3ba85f1f2f36d">Kataib Hezbollah</a>&nbsp;announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government." But Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iran-backed groups, vowed Friday to continue military operations against U.S. troops.The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the deadly attack in Jordan, but has not yet narrowed it down to a specific group. Kataeb Hezbollah is, however, a top suspect.Some of the militias have been a threat to U.S. bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. The war has led to the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and has inflamed the Middle East.Iran-backed militia groups throughout the region have used the conflict to justify striking Israeli or U.S. interests, including threatening civilian commercial ships and U.S. warships in the Red Sea region with drones or missiles in almost daily exchanges.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.” He added, “We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people. And we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose.”“At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past,” Austin said.As of Tuesday, Iran-backed militia groups had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, according to a U.S. military official. The last attack was Jan. 29 at at al-Asad airbase in Iraq, and there were no injuries or damage.The U.S., meanwhile, has bolstered defenses at the base in Jordan that was attacked by the ran-backed militants on Sunday, according to a U.S. official.And the Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile that approached the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicion it was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.A U.S. official also said the military had taken additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen Friday against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said that British and American forces conducted three strikes in the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah, a Houthi stronghold.While previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, the attack on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">Tower 22</a>, as the Jordan outpost is known, and the deaths of the three service members has crossed a line, the official said.That drone attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely Army National Guard — was the first to result in U.S. combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. Tower 22 houses about 350 U.S. troops and sits near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only 6 miles (10 kilometers) away.Also on Friday, the U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on a network of firms in Iran and Hong Kong that are accused of assisting Iran procure technology to make ballistic weapons and drones. And the U.S. hit six Iranian officials with sanctions for allegedly committing a series of malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other nations.------------JERUSALEM—The U.S. military is launching an air assault in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aired vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.The strikes came just hours after President Joe Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.It was unclear what the next steps will be, or whether the days of U.S. warnings have sent militia members scattering into hiding, making it more difficult for the U.S. to detect and strike them.-The AP contributed to this report.

U.S. bombs sites in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for tatal drone attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington formally postponed Donald Trump's March trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jan-6-special-counsel-immunity-appeal-64eec975e6a602949eb4b90315239318">key legal appeal from the former president</a>&nbsp;continues to work its way through the courts.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday vacated the March 4 trial date in the case brought by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;but did not immediately set a new date. The move creates an opening for a separate case in New York,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-new-york-florida-hush-money-election-764309dce49f81a50bf9f610ffd5ceb6">charging Trump in connection with hush money payments to a porn actor</a>, to proceed first.

The postponement comes as a federal appeals court has yet to resolve a pending appeal from Trump arguing that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took in the White House. It is not clear when the three-judge panel might rule, but a ruling in favor of prosecutors that permits the case to move forward is expected to be appealed by the Trump team, likely resulting in additional delays.

For both sides, timing is of the essence. Trump, who faces four indictments and 91 felony counts, is looking to push his criminal cases back as he enjoys front-runner status in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Smith's team, meanwhile, is hoping to be able to prosecute Trump this year before the November election.

The Washington case had been expected to take place first, but it has been delayed for weeks by Trump's appeal on immunity grounds. The appeals court heard arguments on Jan. 9, and though it had said it intended to work quickly, has not yet issued a ruling.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691976202111.png" alt="Trump photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Trump photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington formally postponed Donald Trump's March trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jan-6-special-counsel-immunity-appeal-64eec975e6a602949eb4b90315239318">key legal appeal from the former president</a>&nbsp;continues to work its way through the courts.U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday vacated the March 4 trial date in the case brought by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;but did not immediately set a new date. The move creates an opening for a separate case in New York,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-new-york-florida-hush-money-election-764309dce49f81a50bf9f610ffd5ceb6">charging Trump in connection with hush money payments to a porn actor</a>, to proceed first.The postponement comes as a federal appeals court has yet to resolve a pending appeal from Trump arguing that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took in the White House. It is not clear when the three-judge panel might rule, but a ruling in favor of prosecutors that permits the case to move forward is expected to be appealed by the Trump team, likely resulting in additional delays.For both sides, timing is of the essence. Trump, who faces four indictments and 91 felony counts, is looking to push his criminal cases back as he enjoys front-runner status in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Smith's team, meanwhile, is hoping to be able to prosecute Trump this year before the November election.The Washington case had been expected to take place first, but it has been delayed for weeks by Trump's appeal on immunity grounds. The appeals court heard arguments on Jan. 9, and though it had said it intended to work quickly, has not yet issued a ruling.

Judge postpones Trump’s trial on plotting to overturn 2020 election

NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/movies">movie</a>&nbsp;and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,” has died. He was 76.

Matt Luber, his manager, said Weathers died Thursday. His family issued a statement saying he died “peacefully in his sleep."

Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as “Arrested Development,” Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone.

“It puts you on the map and makes your career, so to speak. But that’s a one-off, so you’ve got to follow it up with something. Fortunately those movies kept coming, and Apollo Creed became more and more in people’s consciousness and welcome in their lives, and it was just the right guy at the right time,” he told The Daily Beast in 2017.

Most recently, Weathers has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f78d5d415c5b40f69a12b2cfb83637f8">starred in the Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian,”</a>&nbsp;appearing in all three seasons.

“We lost an icon,” former “Predator” co-star Jesse Ventura wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Carl Weathers was a phenomenal talent, a true professional and a dear friend.”

Creed, who appeared in the first four “Rocky” movies, memorably died in the ring of 1984’s “Rocky IV,” going toe-to-toe with the hulking, steroided-using Soviet Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. Before he entered the ring, James Brown sang “Living in America” with showgirls and Creed popped up on a balcony in a Star-Spangled Banner shorts and waistcoat combo and an Uncle Sam hat, dancing and taunting Drago.

A bloodied Creed collapses in the ring after taking a vicious beating, twitches and is cradled by Rocky as he dies, inevitably setting up a fight between Drago and Rocky. But while Creed is gone, his character’s son, Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, would lead his own boxing trilogy starting in 2015.

Weathers went on to 1987’s “Predator,” where he flexed his pecs alongside Ventura, Schwarzenegger and a host of others, and 1988’s nouveau blaxploitation flick “Action Jackson,” where he trains his flamethrower on a bad guy and asks, “How do you like your ribs?” before broiling him.

He later added a false wooden hand to play a golf pro for the 1996 comedy classic “Happy Gilmore” opposite Adam Sandler and starred in Dick Wolf’s short-lived spin-off series “Chicago Justice” in 2017 and in Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” earning an Emmy Award nomination in 2021. He also voiced Combat Carl in the “Toy Story” franchise.

Sandler hailed his friend on social media, calling him a "great man" and "a true legend” — "So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell."

Weathers grew up admiring actors such as Woody Strode, whose combination of physique and acting prowess in “Spartacus” made an early impression. Others he idolized included actors Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte and athletes Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali, stars who broke the mold and the color barrier.

“There are so many people that came before me who I admired and whose success I wanted to emulate, and just kind of hit the benchmarks they hit in terms of success, who created a pathway that I’ve been able to walk and find success as a result. And hopefully I can inspire someone else to do good work as well,” he told the Detroit News 2023. “I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”

Growing up in New Orleans, Weathers started performing in plays as early as grade school. In high school, athletics took him down another path but he would reunite with his first love later in life.

Weathers played college football at San Diego State University — he majored in theater — and went on to play for one season in the NFL, for the Oakland Raiders, in 1970.

“When I found football, it was a completely different outlet,” says Weathers told the Detroit News. “It was more about the physicality, although one does feed the other. You needed some smarts because there were playbooks to study and film to study, to learn about the opposition on any given week.”

After the Raiders, he joined the Canadian Football League, playing for two years while finishing up his studies during the offseason at San Francisco State University. He graduated with a B.A. in drama in 1974.

After appearing in several films and TV shows, including “Good Times,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Starsky &amp; Hutch,” as well as fighting Nazis alongside Harrison Ford in “Force 10 From Navarone,” Weathers landed his knockout role — Creed. He told The Hollywood Reporter that his start in the iconic franchise was not auspicious.

He was asked to read with the writer, Stallone, then unknown. Weathers read the scene but felt it didn’t land and so he blurted out: “I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with,” he recalled. “So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to.” He also lied that he had any boxing experience.

Later in life, Weathers developed a passion for directing, helming episodes of “Silk Stalkings” and and the Lorenzo Lamas vehicle “Renegade.” He directed a season three episode of “The Mandalorian.”

Weathers introduced himself to another generation when he portrayed himself as an opportunistic and extremely thrifty actor who becomes involved with the dysfunctional clan at the heart of “Arrested Development.”

The Weathers character likes to save money by making broth from discarded food — "There’s still plenty of meat on that bone” and “Baby, you got a stew going!” — and, for the right price, agrees to become an acting coach for delusional and talent-free thespian Tobias Funke, played by David Cross.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706904085160.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/movies">movie</a>&nbsp;and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,” has died. He was 76.Matt Luber, his manager, said Weathers died Thursday. His family issued a statement saying he died “peacefully in his sleep."<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/AuuJOfrsFr">pic.twitter.com/AuuJOfrsFr</a>&mdash; Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1753539143232335918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as “Arrested Development,” Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone.“It puts you on the map and makes your career, so to speak. But that’s a one-off, so you’ve got to follow it up with something. Fortunately those movies kept coming, and Apollo Creed became more and more in people’s consciousness and welcome in their lives, and it was just the right guy at the right time,” he told The Daily Beast in 2017.Most recently, Weathers has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f78d5d415c5b40f69a12b2cfb83637f8">starred in the Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian,”</a>&nbsp;appearing in all three seasons.“We lost an icon,” former “Predator” co-star Jesse Ventura wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Carl Weathers was a phenomenal talent, a true professional and a dear friend.”Creed, who appeared in the first four “Rocky” movies, memorably died in the ring of 1984’s “Rocky IV,” going toe-to-toe with the hulking, steroided-using Soviet Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. Before he entered the ring, James Brown sang “Living in America” with showgirls and Creed popped up on a balcony in a Star-Spangled Banner shorts and waistcoat combo and an Uncle Sam hat, dancing and taunting Drago.A bloodied Creed collapses in the ring after taking a vicious beating, twitches and is cradled by Rocky as he dies, inevitably setting up a fight between Drago and Rocky. But while Creed is gone, his character’s son, Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, would lead his own boxing trilogy starting in 2015.Weathers went on to 1987’s “Predator,” where he flexed his pecs alongside Ventura, Schwarzenegger and a host of others, and 1988’s nouveau blaxploitation flick “Action Jackson,” where he trains his flamethrower on a bad guy and asks, “How do you like your ribs?” before broiling him.He later added a false wooden hand to play a golf pro for the 1996 comedy classic “Happy Gilmore” opposite Adam Sandler and starred in Dick Wolf’s short-lived spin-off series “Chicago Justice” in 2017 and in Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” earning an Emmy Award nomination in 2021. He also voiced Combat Carl in the “Toy Story” franchise.Sandler hailed his friend on social media, calling him a "great man" and "a true legend” — "So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell."Weathers grew up admiring actors such as Woody Strode, whose combination of physique and acting prowess in “Spartacus” made an early impression. Others he idolized included actors Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte and athletes Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali, stars who broke the mold and the color barrier.“There are so many people that came before me who I admired and whose success I wanted to emulate, and just kind of hit the benchmarks they hit in terms of success, who created a pathway that I’ve been able to walk and find success as a result. And hopefully I can inspire someone else to do good work as well,” he told the Detroit News 2023. “I guess I’m just a lucky guy.”Growing up in New Orleans, Weathers started performing in plays as early as grade school. In high school, athletics took him down another path but he would reunite with his first love later in life.Weathers played college football at San Diego State University — he majored in theater — and went on to play for one season in the NFL, for the Oakland Raiders, in 1970.“When I found football, it was a completely different outlet,” says Weathers told the Detroit News. “It was more about the physicality, although one does feed the other. You needed some smarts because there were playbooks to study and film to study, to learn about the opposition on any given week.”After the Raiders, he joined the Canadian Football League, playing for two years while finishing up his studies during the offseason at San Francisco State University. He graduated with a B.A. in drama in 1974.After appearing in several films and TV shows, including “Good Times,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Starsky &amp; Hutch,” as well as fighting Nazis alongside Harrison Ford in “Force 10 From Navarone,” Weathers landed his knockout role — Creed. He told The Hollywood Reporter that his start in the iconic franchise was not auspicious.He was asked to read with the writer, Stallone, then unknown. Weathers read the scene but felt it didn’t land and so he blurted out: “I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with,” he recalled. “So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to.” He also lied that he had any boxing experience.Later in life, Weathers developed a passion for directing, helming episodes of “Silk Stalkings” and and the Lorenzo Lamas vehicle “Renegade.” He directed a season three episode of “The Mandalorian.”Weathers introduced himself to another generation when he portrayed himself as an opportunistic and extremely thrifty actor who becomes involved with the dysfunctional clan at the heart of “Arrested Development.”The Weathers character likes to save money by making broth from discarded food — "There’s still plenty of meat on that bone” and “Baby, you got a stew going!” — and, for the right price, agrees to become an acting coach for delusional and talent-free thespian Tobias Funke, played by David Cross.

Carl Weathers, actor who starred in 'Rocky' movies and 'The Mandalorian,' dies

GRAY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after receiving a tip about gambling devices at a southwest Kansas gas station- convenience store.

The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission followed up on the tip and determined the activity at the Corner Market, 111 Avenue A in Cimarron&nbsp; was illegal,&nbsp;according to Randy Evans with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

On Wednesday, Gray County sheriff's deputies assisted agents from the Gaming Commission to execute a search warrant at the business, according to Gray County Undersheriff Colby Ellis.

The agents seized $3,000 cash,&nbsp;2 electronic gambling devices, documents and computer equipment, according to Evans.. Deputies made no arrests.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706888819949.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>GRAY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after receiving a tip about gambling devices at a southwest Kansas gas station- convenience store.The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission followed up on the tip and determined the activity at the Corner Market, 111 Avenue A in Cimarron&nbsp; was illegal,&nbsp;according to Randy Evans with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.On Wednesday, Gray County sheriff's deputies assisted agents from the Gaming Commission to execute a search warrant at the business, according to Gray County Undersheriff Colby Ellis.The agents seized $3,000 cash,&nbsp;2 electronic gambling devices, documents and computer equipment, according to Evans.. Deputies made no arrests.

Illegal gambling machines, cash seized at SW Kansas gas station

SALINE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for an alleged attack at a grocery store in Salina.

Just after 9p.m. Wednesday, police responded to the Dillons, 1201 W. Crawford Street,&nbsp; after an employee called police to report a disorderly man who refused to leave the store.

According to Police Captain James Feldman, 27-year-old Kish Cox of Salina entered the store and became disruptive with employees, and after a 59-year-old employee told Kish to leave, he became aggressive.

"The employee got her phone and told Cox she was calling police," Feldman said. "Cox knocked the phone out of her hand and punched her in the shoulder.

Feldman said the employee called out for help, and another 29-year-old Dillons employee went to assist. According to Feldman, Cox then slapped the employee across the face with his belt, and when a woman customer attempted to confront Cox, he struck her in the face with a belt, too.

Officers then arrived at the scene and arrested Cox without further incident.

The three victims had minor injuries. Cox was jailed requested charges&nbsp; of aggravated intimidation of a witness, four counts of battery, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706793056185.jpeg" alt="Cox photo Saline Co." />
 <figcaption>Cox photo Saline Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for an alleged attack at a grocery store in Salina.Just after 9p.m. Wednesday, police responded to the Dillons, 1201 W. Crawford Street,&nbsp; after an employee called police to report a disorderly man who refused to leave the store.According to Police Captain James Feldman, 27-year-old Kish Cox of Salina entered the store and became disruptive with employees, and after a 59-year-old employee told Kish to leave, he became aggressive."The employee got her phone and told Cox she was calling police," Feldman said. "Cox knocked the phone out of her hand and punched her in the shoulder.Feldman said the employee called out for help, and another 29-year-old Dillons employee went to assist. According to Feldman, Cox then slapped the employee across the face with his belt, and when a woman customer attempted to confront Cox, he struck her in the face with a belt, too.Officers then arrived at the scene and arrested Cox without further incident.The three victims had minor injuries. Cox was jailed requested charges&nbsp; of aggravated intimidation of a witness, four counts of battery, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct.

Police: Kan. man allegedly struck Dillons employee with a belt

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

TOPEKA — A bipartisan group of Kansas senators failed to summon enough support this week for a maneuver that could have led to a vote to nullify salary and compensation increases in 2025 for members of the Kansas Legislature that were recommended by a special commission.

A state law approved last year said the commission’s pay plan, in which rank-and-file legislators would have annual compensation increased from about $29,000 to $57,000, would be implemented unless a majority in the House and Senate voted to reject the package by Feb. 7.

If the plan was defeated by the Legislature, the nine-member commission would have authority to craft an alternative for consideration.

The motion to withdraw the package from the Senate Ways and Means Committee and add it to the Kansas Senate’s calendar didn’t receive the minimum required 24 votes, but did draw support from 18 Republicans, two Democrats and one independent. Three GOP senators voted to let the measure stay on idle in the budget committee. Sixteen senators didn’t vote on the motion as four were absent and a dozen decided to pass.

There was no public debate on Senate Concurrent Resolution 1615, which was sponsored by seven Republicans. Even if there were 24 votes in the Senate to draw the measure away from the budget committee, a supermajority of 27 senators would be subsequently needed to force Senate leadership to call a vote on the commission’s plan.

In the House, comparable steps would be necessary to enable representatives to weigh in on fate of compensation adjustments scheduled to start in 2025. The entire House and Senate is up for election in November, meaning anyone receiving a raise next January would have to survive a primary and general election prior to the near doubling of compensation for members of the Legislature.

Under the pay plan adopted by the commission, Republicans and Democrats in leadership positions would receive elevated salaries. The Senate president and the House speaker, for example, would have salaries climb to $85,000 a year from the current $44,000.

The salary increases could substantially raise retirement benefits for legislators enrolled in the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System.

Commissioners defended the compensation adjustments as an attempt to address complaints about the difficulty of recruiting candidates for the Legislature and the goal of bringing more diversity to the Legislature.

The 2023 Legislature approved and Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law a bill linking salaries of statewide elected officials in Kansas to changes in the salary paid to members in Congress. Under that scheme, the governor’s salary was reset to $174,000, the attorney general would be paid $169,650, and the secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner were to be paid $160,950 annually.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706824668810.png" alt=" The Kansas Senate voted against a procedural step necessary to force a vote on an independent commission’s plan to nearly double compensation of the Kansas legislators in 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> The Kansas Senate voted against a procedural step necessary to force a vote on an independent commission’s plan to nearly double compensation of the Kansas legislators in 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A bipartisan group of Kansas senators failed to summon enough support this week for a maneuver that could have led to a vote to nullify salary and compensation increases in 2025 for members of the Kansas Legislature that were recommended by a special commission.A state law approved last year said the commission’s pay plan, in which rank-and-file legislators would have annual compensation increased from about $29,000 to $57,000, would be implemented unless a majority in the House and Senate voted to reject the package by Feb. 7.If the plan was defeated by the Legislature, the nine-member commission would have authority to craft an alternative for consideration.The motion to withdraw the package from the Senate Ways and Means Committee and add it to the Kansas Senate’s calendar didn’t receive the minimum required 24 votes, but did draw support from 18 Republicans, two Democrats and one independent. Three GOP senators voted to let the measure stay on idle in the budget committee. Sixteen senators didn’t vote on the motion as four were absent and a dozen decided to pass.There was no public debate on Senate Concurrent Resolution 1615, which was sponsored by seven Republicans. Even if there were 24 votes in the Senate to draw the measure away from the budget committee, a supermajority of 27 senators would be subsequently needed to force Senate leadership to call a vote on the commission’s plan.In the House, comparable steps would be necessary to enable representatives to weigh in on fate of compensation adjustments scheduled to start in 2025. The entire House and Senate is up for election in November, meaning anyone receiving a raise next January would have to survive a primary and general election prior to the near doubling of compensation for members of the Legislature.Under the pay plan adopted by the commission, Republicans and Democrats in leadership positions would receive elevated salaries. The Senate president and the House speaker, for example, would have salaries climb to $85,000 a year from the current $44,000.The salary increases could substantially raise retirement benefits for legislators enrolled in the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System.Commissioners defended the compensation adjustments as an attempt to address complaints about the difficulty of recruiting candidates for the Legislature and the goal of bringing more diversity to the Legislature.The 2023 Legislature approved and Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law a bill linking salaries of statewide elected officials in Kansas to changes in the salary paid to members in Congress. Under that scheme, the governor’s salary was reset to $174,000, the attorney general would be paid $169,650, and the secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner were to be paid $160,950 annually.

Kan. Senate sidesteps attempt to derail legislator pay raises scheduled for 2025

BAGHDAD (AP)— In a statement released Friday, one of Iraq’s strongest Iran-backed militias, Harakat al-Nujaba, announced its plans to continue military operations against U.S. troops, despite allied factions having called off their attacks in the wake of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">drone strike</a>&nbsp;that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan Sunday.

Kataib Hezbollah, another powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, which has been watched closely by U.S. officials, said Tuesday it would “suspend military and security operations against the occupying forces” to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government.

Akram al-Kaabi, leader of the Harakat al-Nujaba militia said in a statement Friday that “we respect their decision” but announced the continuation of his group’s military operations against U.S. troops. He dismissed U.S. threats of retaliation.

Al-Nujaba, which emerged from the larger Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia in 2013, has fought both opposition forces in Syria and the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias that the U.S. has blamed for the deadly attack in Jordan, has launched more than 160 attacks on bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 7, amid tensions over U.S. support for Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza.

BAGHDAD (AP)— In a statement released Friday, one of Iraq’s strongest Iran-backed militias, Harakat al-Nujaba, announced its plans to continue military operations against U.S. troops, despite allied factions having called off their attacks in the wake of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">drone strike</a>&nbsp;that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan Sunday.Kataib Hezbollah, another powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, which has been watched closely by U.S. officials, said Tuesday it would “suspend military and security operations against the occupying forces” to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government.Akram al-Kaabi, leader of the Harakat al-Nujaba militia said in a statement Friday that “we respect their decision” but announced the continuation of his group’s military operations against U.S. troops. He dismissed U.S. threats of retaliation.Al-Nujaba, which emerged from the larger Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia in 2013, has fought both opposition forces in Syria and the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias that the U.S. has blamed for the deadly attack in Jordan, has launched more than 160 attacks on bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 7, amid tensions over U.S. support for Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza.

Iran-backed terrorists warn they will continue attacks on U.S. troops

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Friday in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, the scene of the country’s largest and best known&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-pennsylvania-phil-winter-b037d58615f7b5f0007a7153a888e263">Groundhog Day</a>&nbsp;celebration in the United States.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/groundhog-day-updates">annual event</a>&nbsp;is a tongue-in-cheek ritual in which Phil’s handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, reveal whether the groundhog has seen his shadow.

Just after sunrise Friday, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced Phil did not see his shadow, which will usher in early springlike weather. The groundhog seeing his shadow presages six more weeks of winter, according to the group.

About 10,000 people have made their way in recent years to Punxsutawney, where festivities begin in the dead of night and culminate in the midwinter forecast. A bundled-up crowd, some wearing groundhog-themed hats, watched musical performances and fireworks as they waited for sunrise and the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took the stage before Phil to urge people around the world watching the festivities to come to Punxsutawney next year. Shapiro also announced the famed groundhog is the new official meteorologist for Pennsylvania.

“Punxsutawney is the center of the universe right now and I love that you’re all here,” Shapiro said.

Phil predicts more winter far more often than he sees an early spring, not a bad bet for February and March in western Pennsylvania. A federal agency took a look at his record last year and put his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-day-forecasts-and-climate-history">accuracy rate</a>&nbsp;at about 40%.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/st-brigid-1500-ireland-catholic-pagan-explain-a6a41566acca80033c3514f180d6443e">tradition of celebrating the midpoint</a>&nbsp;between the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/spring-equinox-first-day-31b3a4556ae68855c7bfd16f15a3127b">spring equinox</a>&nbsp;goes back many centuries in European farm life.

There are more than a dozen active groundhog clubs in Pennsylvania, some dating back to the 1930s, and weather-predicting groundhogs have appeared in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

The 1993 blockbuster film “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray, fueled interest in Punxsutawney Phil and inspired informal observations far and wide.

When he's not making his annual prognostication, Phil lives in a customized space beside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, with a window where library patrons can check out his burrow. Back in 2009, library workers said Phil had somehow managed to escape three times, climbing into the library ceiling and dropping into offices about 50 feet (15 meters) away. He wasn’t injured.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706877393113.png" alt="Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow -image from the live video provided by the Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow -image from the live video provided by the Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Friday in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, the scene of the country’s largest and best known&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-pennsylvania-phil-winter-b037d58615f7b5f0007a7153a888e263">Groundhog Day</a>&nbsp;celebration in the United States.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UAmXoNVQ9Zc?si=S4qtJBkgGUq7icQT&amp;start=6822" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/groundhog-day-updates">annual event</a>&nbsp;is a tongue-in-cheek ritual in which Phil’s handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, reveal whether the groundhog has seen his shadow.Just after sunrise Friday, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced Phil did not see his shadow, which will usher in early springlike weather. The groundhog seeing his shadow presages six more weeks of winter, according to the group.About 10,000 people have made their way in recent years to Punxsutawney, where festivities begin in the dead of night and culminate in the midwinter forecast. A bundled-up crowd, some wearing groundhog-themed hats, watched musical performances and fireworks as they waited for sunrise and the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil.Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took the stage before Phil to urge people around the world watching the festivities to come to Punxsutawney next year. Shapiro also announced the famed groundhog is the new official meteorologist for Pennsylvania.“Punxsutawney is the center of the universe right now and I love that you’re all here,” Shapiro said.Phil predicts more winter far more often than he sees an early spring, not a bad bet for February and March in western Pennsylvania. A federal agency took a look at his record last year and put his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-day-forecasts-and-climate-history">accuracy rate</a>&nbsp;at about 40%.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/st-brigid-1500-ireland-catholic-pagan-explain-a6a41566acca80033c3514f180d6443e">tradition of celebrating the midpoint</a>&nbsp;between the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/spring-equinox-first-day-31b3a4556ae68855c7bfd16f15a3127b">spring equinox</a>&nbsp;goes back many centuries in European farm life.There are more than a dozen active groundhog clubs in Pennsylvania, some dating back to the 1930s, and weather-predicting groundhogs have appeared in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.The 1993 blockbuster film “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray, fueled interest in Punxsutawney Phil and inspired informal observations far and wide.When he's not making his annual prognostication, Phil lives in a customized space beside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, with a window where library patrons can check out his burrow. Back in 2009, library workers said Phil had somehow managed to escape three times, climbing into the library ceiling and dropping into offices about 50 feet (15 meters) away. He wasn’t injured.

🎥 Groundhog Day 2024: Punxsutawney Phil has good news

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a. homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as&nbsp;33-year-old Gabriel Martinez-Meraz of Topeka.

Just after 4a.m. Thursday, police&nbsp;responded to a shooting at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of SE 12th Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.

Officers located Martinez-Meraz of Topeka. suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Police have released no suspect information or additional details&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706795135183.png" alt="Photo of the crime scene courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo of the crime scene courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a. homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as&nbsp;33-year-old Gabriel Martinez-Meraz of Topeka.Just after 4a.m. Thursday, police&nbsp;responded to a shooting at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of SE 12th Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.Officers located Martinez-Meraz of Topeka. suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.Police have released no suspect information or additional details&nbsp;

Homicide: Police ID victim in Kan. apartment complex shooting

JERUSALEM (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday it's time to further disable Iran-backed militias that have struck at U.S. forces and ships in the Middle East and the U.S. is preparing to take significant action in response to the deaths of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">three U.S. service members</a>&nbsp;in Jordan.

For days the U.S. has hinted strikes are imminent. While the threat of retaliation for Sunday's deaths has driven some militant groups to say they were stopping hostilities, as late as Thursday Yemen’s Houthi rebels were still attacking vessels and fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea.

“At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past,” Austin said Thursday in his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/austin-pentagon-cancer-secret-hospital-313255a7126a0482a67ec18b7474a8c1">first press conference</a>&nbsp;since he was hospitalized on Jan. 1 due to complications from prostate cancer treatment.

Previous U.S. strikes have not deterred the attacks. Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Iranian-backed militant groups have struck U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria at least 166 times with rockets, missiles and one-way attack drones, drawing about a half-dozen U.S. counterstrikes on militant facilities in both countries. The U.S. military also has carried out airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The U.S. has attributed the attack on Tower 22 in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.

While Iran has denied involvement, Austin said Thursday that “how much Iran knew or didn’t know, we don’t know. But it really doesn’t matter because Iran sponsors these groups.”

Austin said “without that facilitation, these kinds of things don’t happen.” He said the Pentagon is still looking at the forensics of the drone that struck Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighboring Syria.

“I don’t think the adversaries are of a ‘one and done’ mindset. And so they have a lot of capability. I have a lot more,” Austin said. "We’re going to do what’s necessary to protect our troops."

In the Red Sea, the Houthis have fired on commercial and military ships almost 40 times since November. In the latest attack, they fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship on Thursday, U.S. defense officials said.

The attack happened west of Hodeida, a port city in Yemen long held by the rebels, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military group overseeing Mideast waterways. It said the crew and the vessel were safe and the blast came far off the vessel's starboard side.

The U.S. defense officials identified the targeted container ship as the Koi, a Bermuda-owned vessel. Its management could not be immediately reached for comment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The Houthis did not claim responsibility for the assault.

The Houthis say they are targeting ships over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas</a>. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade between Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

The Houthis hit a commercial vessel with a missile on Jan. 26,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-red-sea-israel-hamas-war-attacks-f36fc8911e069a5b4dbc4d9e67f31e50">sparking a fire that burned for hours</a>.

The Pentagon has the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the region, along with at least a half dozen other major U.S. warships, U.S. Air Force fighter jets and radar aircraft. It has already been regularly using those assets to conduct strikes and defend ships.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705112808392.png" alt="View of aircraft launch for the attack Jan. 11 -image U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>View of aircraft launch for the attack Jan. 11 -image U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday it's time to further disable Iran-backed militias that have struck at U.S. forces and ships in the Middle East and the U.S. is preparing to take significant action in response to the deaths of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jordan-drone-attack-iran-tower-22-israel-hamas-war-0265beed527e3009a966c0531c08838e">three U.S. service members</a>&nbsp;in Jordan.For days the U.S. has hinted strikes are imminent. While the threat of retaliation for Sunday's deaths has driven some militant groups to say they were stopping hostilities, as late as Thursday Yemen’s Houthi rebels were still attacking vessels and fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea.“At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past,” Austin said Thursday in his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/austin-pentagon-cancer-secret-hospital-313255a7126a0482a67ec18b7474a8c1">first press conference</a>&nbsp;since he was hospitalized on Jan. 1 due to complications from prostate cancer treatment.Previous U.S. strikes have not deterred the attacks. Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Iranian-backed militant groups have struck U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria at least 166 times with rockets, missiles and one-way attack drones, drawing about a half-dozen U.S. counterstrikes on militant facilities in both countries. The U.S. military also has carried out airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.The U.S. has attributed the attack on Tower 22 in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.While Iran has denied involvement, Austin said Thursday that “how much Iran knew or didn’t know, we don’t know. But it really doesn’t matter because Iran sponsors these groups.”Austin said “without that facilitation, these kinds of things don’t happen.” He said the Pentagon is still looking at the forensics of the drone that struck Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighboring Syria.“I don’t think the adversaries are of a ‘one and done’ mindset. And so they have a lot of capability. I have a lot more,” Austin said. "We’re going to do what’s necessary to protect our troops."In the Red Sea, the Houthis have fired on commercial and military ships almost 40 times since November. In the latest attack, they fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship on Thursday, U.S. defense officials said.The attack happened west of Hodeida, a port city in Yemen long held by the rebels, said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military group overseeing Mideast waterways. It said the crew and the vessel were safe and the blast came far off the vessel's starboard side.The U.S. defense officials identified the targeted container ship as the Koi, a Bermuda-owned vessel. Its management could not be immediately reached for comment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The Houthis did not claim responsibility for the assault.The Houthis say they are targeting ships over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas</a>. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade between Asia, the Mideast and Europe.The Houthis hit a commercial vessel with a missile on Jan. 26,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-red-sea-israel-hamas-war-attacks-f36fc8911e069a5b4dbc4d9e67f31e50">sparking a fire that burned for hours</a>.The Pentagon has the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the region, along with at least a half dozen other major U.S. warships, U.S. Air Force fighter jets and radar aircraft. It has already been regularly using those assets to conduct strikes and defend ships.

Pentagon: New plans in place for US strikes against Iran-backed militias

TOPEKA&nbsp;– The State of Kansas ends January 2024 with total tax collections at $928.6 million. That is $64.1 million, or 6.5%, below the estimate. Total tax collections are down 11.3% from January 2023, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Collections in December were 3.4%, below the estimate and&nbsp;2.1%, below the estimate for November.

Click to&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYnVkZ2V0LmthbnNhcy5nb3Yvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzA3X0phbnVhcnlfUmV2ZW51ZV9GWTIwMjRfMDItMDEtMjAyNF9GaW5hbC5wZGYiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwMjAxLjg5NTEzODYxIn0.CnFazZrSS1nYbxdcsUsTqsPaWMSFy3ecg81JznQoDtE/s/1303160919/br/236402344204-l" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;view the January 2024 revenue numbers.

"Coming short of the estimates for the third month in a row emphasizes that tax cuts must be done in a fiscally responsible way,"&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. "The bipartisan tax package that I've proposed to the legislature provides substantive and direct tax relief to all Kansans – without putting at risk our overall economy."

Governor Kelly’s bipartisan tax plan was&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi9nb3Zlcm5vci1rZWxseXMtYmlwYXJ0aXNhbi10YXgtcGxhbi1pbnRyb2R1Y2VkLWluLWthbnNhcy1ob3VzZS1hbmQtc2VuYXRlLyIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyNDAyMDEuODk1MTM4NjEifQ.BovyWpOF6wKvQ5Qungx8eJdX2mFrBlZ9bQXQO4syJ24/s/1303160919/br/236402344204-l" target="_blank">introduced</a>&nbsp;in the Kansas House and Senate last month.

Individual income tax collections were $475.9 million. That is $19.1 million, or 3.9%, below the estimate, and down 3.9% from January 2023. Corporate income tax collections were $89.8 million. That is $25.2 million, or 21.9%, below the estimate and down 45.9% from January 2023.

Combined retail sales and compensating use tax receipts were $344.3 million, which is $18.7 million, or 5.1%, below the estimate and down $16.9 million, or 4.7%, from January 2023.&nbsp;

TOPEKA&nbsp;– The State of Kansas ends January 2024 with total tax collections at $928.6 million. That is $64.1 million, or 6.5%, below the estimate. Total tax collections are down 11.3% from January 2023, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Revenue.Collections in December were 3.4%, below the estimate and&nbsp;2.1%, below the estimate for November.Click to&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYnVkZ2V0LmthbnNhcy5nb3Yvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzA3X0phbnVhcnlfUmV2ZW51ZV9GWTIwMjRfMDItMDEtMjAyNF9GaW5hbC5wZGYiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwMjAxLjg5NTEzODYxIn0.CnFazZrSS1nYbxdcsUsTqsPaWMSFy3ecg81JznQoDtE/s/1303160919/br/236402344204-l" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;view the January 2024 revenue numbers."Coming short of the estimates for the third month in a row emphasizes that tax cuts must be done in a fiscally responsible way,"&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. "The bipartisan tax package that I've proposed to the legislature provides substantive and direct tax relief to all Kansans – without putting at risk our overall economy."Governor Kelly’s bipartisan tax plan was&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi9nb3Zlcm5vci1rZWxseXMtYmlwYXJ0aXNhbi10YXgtcGxhbi1pbnRyb2R1Y2VkLWluLWthbnNhcy1ob3VzZS1hbmQtc2VuYXRlLyIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyNDAyMDEuODk1MTM4NjEifQ.BovyWpOF6wKvQ5Qungx8eJdX2mFrBlZ9bQXQO4syJ24/s/1303160919/br/236402344204-l" target="_blank">introduced</a>&nbsp;in the Kansas House and Senate last month.Individual income tax collections were $475.9 million. That is $19.1 million, or 3.9%, below the estimate, and down 3.9% from January 2023. Corporate income tax collections were $89.8 million. That is $25.2 million, or 21.9%, below the estimate and down 45.9% from January 2023.Combined retail sales and compensating use tax receipts were $344.3 million, which is $18.7 million, or 5.1%, below the estimate and down $16.9 million, or 4.7%, from January 2023.&nbsp;

Kan. tax collections below estimate for 3rd month in a row

By CRISTINA JANNEY&nbsp;Hays Post

Amphenol Adronics has announced the mass layoff of employees in Hays as of January.

The notification was part of a WARN Act filing. The&nbsp;Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification is a U.S. labor law that requires notification of employees in instances of significant layoffs or plant closures.

The 33,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Hays also has been listed for sale.

A representative of the local plant would not comment on the layoffs or the planned sale of the building.

Amphonel Adronics manufactures antenna systems, coax cables and wire harnesses for vehicles. The company's sales and engineering offices are in Michigan. The company also has plants in Mexico and China, according to its website.

At one time the plant employed at least 157 people and was the 12th largest employer in Ellis County, according to information from Grow Hays.

Doug Wiliams, Grow Hays executive director, said although no community wants to experience layoffs, other employers in Ellis County might benefit from the Amphenol Adronics layoffs.

"I am confident those employees will be able to find jobs," he said.

He said many employers in the community are looking for workers, and he thought employees would be able to find good-paying jobs in the community.

Williams said the sale of the Amphenol Adronics building, 608 E. 13th, also presents an opportunity for another business or manufacturer to locate or expand in Hays.

Grow Hays is also on the verge of opening a microfactory in March in Hays. The new building is meant to give manufacturers looking to start new businesses or expand in Ellis County space to do so. The building will have space for up to six manufacturers.

Williams said workers also will be needed to staff those manufacturing operations.

Kansas WorkforceONE was able to initiate a rapid response to the layoff and meet with about 100 workers on Jan. 11 in Hays, said Tucker Allen, Kansas WorkforceONE business services director.

At a rapid response meeting, state representatives present all of the workforce center services available to workers. This includes resume writing, mock interviews and job search assistance.

Kansasworks has a service center in Hays, 332 E. Eighth, where displaced workers can receive in-person assistance with job searches or use onsite computers for online job searches.

As displaced workers, the Amphenol Adronics employees would qualify for funds for training. This could include such things as learning a new skill like welding, earning a certification like a CDL or studying to enter the medical field, Allen said.&nbsp;

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 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY&nbsp;Hays PostAmphenol Adronics has announced the mass layoff of employees in Hays as of January.The notification was part of a WARN Act filing. The&nbsp;Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification is a U.S. labor law that requires notification of employees in instances of significant layoffs or plant closures.The 33,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Hays also has been listed for sale.A representative of the local plant would not comment on the layoffs or the planned sale of the building.Amphonel Adronics manufactures antenna systems, coax cables and wire harnesses for vehicles. The company's sales and engineering offices are in Michigan. The company also has plants in Mexico and China, according to its website.At one time the plant employed at least 157 people and was the 12th largest employer in Ellis County, according to information from Grow Hays.Doug Wiliams, Grow Hays executive director, said although no community wants to experience layoffs, other employers in Ellis County might benefit from the Amphenol Adronics layoffs."I am confident those employees will be able to find jobs," he said.He said many employers in the community are looking for workers, and he thought employees would be able to find good-paying jobs in the community.Williams said the sale of the Amphenol Adronics building, 608 E. 13th, also presents an opportunity for another business or manufacturer to locate or expand in Hays.Grow Hays is also on the verge of opening a microfactory in March in Hays. The new building is meant to give manufacturers looking to start new businesses or expand in Ellis County space to do so. The building will have space for up to six manufacturers.Williams said workers also will be needed to staff those manufacturing operations.Kansas WorkforceONE was able to initiate a rapid response to the layoff and meet with about 100 workers on Jan. 11 in Hays, said Tucker Allen, Kansas WorkforceONE business services director.At a rapid response meeting, state representatives present all of the workforce center services available to workers. This includes resume writing, mock interviews and job search assistance.Kansasworks has a service center in Hays, 332 E. Eighth, where displaced workers can receive in-person assistance with job searches or use onsite computers for online job searches.As displaced workers, the Amphenol Adronics employees would qualify for funds for training. This could include such things as learning a new skill like welding, earning a certification like a CDL or studying to enter the medical field, Allen said.&nbsp;Employers can also apply for funds for on-the-job training for these laid-off workers. However, Allen said those applications must be made before a job offer is made.&nbsp;Employers interested in the job training program can contact Allen at 316-303-2906.Local and statewide job listings can be found through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansasworks.com/">https://www.kansasworks.com/</a>.&nbsp;Kansasworks will be sponsoring a virtual statewide job fair on Feb. 21.&nbsp;&nbsp;Job seekers (attendees) and employers (organizations) can register by clicking&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapp.premiervirtual.com%2Fevents%2F50172713-c5b4-499e-939f-d2a47f47b313%2Fkansasworks-virtual-statewide-job-fair-february-21%2C-2024&amp;data=05%7C02%7CAshley.conley%40ks.gov%7C2e79fbad8ce54ced390808dc1daf0c86%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C638417884861600722%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=xpmQCiaJjGtsrVgGNGu3jQH2Rw2wqYaAop9UXZDDCEo%3D&amp;reserved=0">here.</a>"It's a good job market for job seekers," Allen said. "People need people right now. A lot of these Adronics people had some good longevity — 10, 15, 20 years some of them — so they're good employees."