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

TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans and a Palantir-backed think tank want to require students to learn about communist and socialist regimes and pass a civics exam to graduate, all in response to political skepticism by Gen Z.

Sen. Brad Starnes, a Republican from Riley and a former district superintendent,&nbsp; introduced the bill Tuesday before the Senate Education Committee. He brought forward statistics: 19% of Americans under age 45 can pass the citizenship test, 34% of Americans ages 18-29 say they have a “favorable view” of communism, and a rising number of Gen Z and millennials who believe the “Communist Manifesto” guarantees freedom and equality better than the Declaration of Independence.&nbsp;

The statistics were provided by the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based conservative think tank founded by the billionaire co-founder of Palantir —&nbsp;the technology software company that combines&nbsp;<a href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/01/30/nj-pension-fund-ice/" target="_blank">government data</a>&nbsp;into platforms for immigration agents. Cicero also lobbies for bills that&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/03/kansas-lawmakers-entertain-texas-groups-plan-to-penalize-homeless/">criminalize being homeless</a>.&nbsp;

More moderate to left-leaning think tanks have found the statistics to be more convoluted. While Gen Z women are the most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/aug/07/gen-z-voters-political-ideology-gender-gap#:~:text=Percentage%20of%20men%20aged%2018,somewhat%20agree%20with%20the%20following&amp;text=33-,Guardian%20graphic.,conservative%20than%20their%20millennial%20counterparts." target="_blank">progressive group</a>&nbsp;in American history, Gen Z men are becoming increasingly conservative — much more so than millennials when measured at the same age. In large metropolises like New York City, where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/energized-dems-trumpet-wins-state-elections-buckle-midterms" target="_blank">residents just elected</a>&nbsp;the city’s first Democratic Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, support for socialism is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/24/the-wave-of-evolutionary-socialism-in-american-cities/" target="_blank">on the rise</a>.&nbsp;

Starnes’ bill,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb381/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 381</a>, would direct the Kansas State Board of Education to develop curriculum to give K-12 public school students an understanding of “communist and socialist regimes and ideologies.”

The bill also would require all public and private school students to pass a civics exam in order to graduate high school. Students could retake it as many times as needed, and the bill would respect a student’s individualized education plan.&nbsp;

The questions of the civics exam would be modeled after the U.S. citizenship test.

Opponents — all of whom work in the education space — repeated a phrase commonly heard in Statehouse education hearings: “local control.” Timothy Graham, director of government relations and legislative affairs for the Kansas National Education Association, said he is tired of saying it.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“What we’re saying is when you guys decide to get into these decisions that are traditionally left to the locals, because that is the ideal place for them to take place, if you’re going to get into that, then give a compelling reason why you should do that,” Graham said. “I don’t think Senate Bill 381 is a compelling reason. I don’t think it addresses anything that we need to be worried about in schools.”&nbsp;

Leah Fliter, assistant executive director of advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said: “It’s covered. And the teachers have the ability and the competency to cover that as is already described in graduation standards.”

Sen. Doug Shane, a Republican from Louisburg whose kids are home-schooled, questioned Fliter.&nbsp;

“To say that yeah we have courses in American history, yeah that’s true, but the content that’s being taught is un-American,” Shane said. “And this rise of anti-Americanism is fomented and breeding in our K-12 institutions. So to the point about local control, local control went out the door when unfortunately — not every single Kansas public school — but public schools have been used to foment anti-Americanism. And it’s really, really tragic.”&nbsp;

“Is this a question?” Fliter asked.&nbsp;

“It’s more of a statement,” Shane responded.

Fliter looked at the camera used to livestream hearings and raised her hands in apparent exasperation.

Shane, 37, said he was taught in school that Ronald Reagan was America’s worst president and that Nazism rose from a far-right government, when Shane said it actually emerged from socialism.&nbsp;

Adolf Hitler tied much of his far-right fascist ideas to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/were-the-nazis-socialists" target="_blank">socialist rhetoric</a>&nbsp;— like&nbsp;<a href="https://famous-trials.com/hitler/2529-1923-interview-with-adolf-hitler" target="_blank">“our socialism is national</a>” — and both were geared toward appealing to the lower middle class.&nbsp;

“I would imagine that a textbook from 20 years ago is quite different from a textbook being used today,” Fliter said.&nbsp;

Kathy Brown, who identified herself as a Topeka attorney, although she&nbsp;<a href="https://directory-kard.kscourts.gov/" target="_blank">doesn’t appear to be licensed</a>&nbsp;in Kansas, was among seven proponents who testified in support of the bill. There were seven opponents.&nbsp;

“As we see in this Legislature, our public schools are dominated by the left, they describe marxism as ‘Nirvana’, they teach our Judeo-Christian heritage as evil, Satan worshipers and Islam as diverse,” Brown said, without providing evidence to support her claims. “They frame the founders as white supremacists. They’re teaching racism though now, but against a new color — whiteness.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1771019134286.png" alt="Sen. Brad Starnes proposes a bill that would require a civics test before graduating high school. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
                        <figcaption>Sen. Brad Starnes proposes a bill that would require a civics test before graduating high school. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a></p><p>TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans and a Palantir-backed think tank want to require students to learn about communist and socialist regimes and pass a civics exam to graduate, all in response to political skepticism by Gen Z.</p><p>Sen. Brad Starnes, a Republican from Riley and a former district superintendent,&nbsp; introduced the bill Tuesday before the Senate Education Committee. He brought forward statistics: 19% of Americans under age 45 can pass the citizenship test, 34% of Americans ages 18-29 say they have a “favorable view” of communism, and a rising number of Gen Z and millennials who believe the “Communist Manifesto” guarantees freedom and equality better than the Declaration of Independence.&nbsp;</p><p>The statistics were provided by the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based conservative think tank founded by the billionaire co-founder of Palantir —&nbsp;the technology software company that combines&nbsp;<a href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/01/30/nj-pension-fund-ice/" target="_blank">government data</a>&nbsp;into platforms for immigration agents. Cicero also lobbies for bills that&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/03/kansas-lawmakers-entertain-texas-groups-plan-to-penalize-homeless/">criminalize being homeless</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>More moderate to left-leaning think tanks have found the statistics to be more convoluted. While Gen Z women are the most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/aug/07/gen-z-voters-political-ideology-gender-gap#:~:text=Percentage%20of%20men%20aged%2018,somewhat%20agree%20with%20the%20following&amp;text=33-,Guardian%20graphic.,conservative%20than%20their%20millennial%20counterparts." target="_blank">progressive group</a>&nbsp;in American history, Gen Z men are becoming increasingly conservative — much more so than millennials when measured at the same age. In large metropolises like New York City, where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/energized-dems-trumpet-wins-state-elections-buckle-midterms" target="_blank">residents just elected</a>&nbsp;the city’s first Democratic Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, support for socialism is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/24/the-wave-of-evolutionary-socialism-in-american-cities/" target="_blank">on the rise</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Starnes’ bill,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb381/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 381</a>, would direct the Kansas State Board of Education to develop curriculum to give K-12 public school students an understanding of “communist and socialist regimes and ideologies.”</p><p>The bill also would require all public and private school students to pass a civics exam in order to graduate high school. Students could retake it as many times as needed, and the bill would respect a student’s individualized education plan.&nbsp;</p><p>The questions of the civics exam would be modeled after the U.S. citizenship test.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1771019088853.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Opponents — all of whom work in the education space — repeated a phrase commonly heard in Statehouse education hearings: “local control.” Timothy Graham, director of government relations and legislative affairs for the Kansas National Education Association, said he is tired of saying it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“What we’re saying is when you guys decide to get into these decisions that are traditionally left to the locals, because that is the ideal place for them to take place, if you’re going to get into that, then give a compelling reason why you should do that,” Graham said. “I don’t think Senate Bill 381 is a compelling reason. I don’t think it addresses anything that we need to be worried about in schools.”&nbsp;</p><p>Leah Fliter, assistant executive director of advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said: “It’s covered. And the teachers have the ability and the competency to cover that as is already described in graduation standards.”</p><p>Sen. Doug Shane, a Republican from Louisburg whose kids are home-schooled, questioned Fliter.&nbsp;</p><p>“To say that yeah we have courses in American history, yeah that’s true, but the content that’s being taught is un-American,” Shane said. “And this rise of anti-Americanism is fomented and breeding in our K-12 institutions. So to the point about local control, local control went out the door when unfortunately — not every single Kansas public school — but public schools have been used to foment anti-Americanism. And it’s really, really tragic.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Is this a question?” Fliter asked.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s more of a statement,” Shane responded.</p><p>Fliter looked at the camera used to livestream hearings and raised her hands in apparent exasperation.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1771019031388.png" alt="Leah Fliter, assistant executive director of advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards, testifies Feb. 10, 2026, before the Senate Education Committee. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of Kansas Legislature video)" />
                        <figcaption>Leah Fliter, assistant executive director of advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards, testifies Feb. 10, 2026, before the Senate Education Committee. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of Kansas Legislature video)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Shane, 37, said he was taught in school that Ronald Reagan was America’s worst president and that Nazism rose from a far-right government, when Shane said it actually emerged from socialism.&nbsp;</p><p>Adolf Hitler tied much of his far-right fascist ideas to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/were-the-nazis-socialists" target="_blank">socialist rhetoric</a>&nbsp;— like&nbsp;<a href="https://famous-trials.com/hitler/2529-1923-interview-with-adolf-hitler" target="_blank">“our socialism is national</a>” — and both were geared toward appealing to the lower middle class.&nbsp;</p><p>“I would imagine that a textbook from 20 years ago is quite different from a textbook being used today,” Fliter said.&nbsp;</p><p>Kathy Brown, who identified herself as a Topeka attorney, although she&nbsp;<a href="https://directory-kard.kscourts.gov/" target="_blank">doesn’t appear to be licensed</a>&nbsp;in Kansas, was among seven proponents who testified in support of the bill. There were seven opponents.&nbsp;</p><p>“As we see in this Legislature, our public schools are dominated by the left, they describe marxism as ‘Nirvana’, they teach our Judeo-Christian heritage as evil, Satan worshipers and Islam as diverse,” Brown said, without providing evidence to support her claims. “They frame the founders as white supremacists. They’re teaching racism though now, but against a new color — whiteness.”</p>

Kansas bill calls for communism class, civics test amid claims of ‘anti-Americanism’ in schools

DENVER (AP) — Four people are dead after a small plane crashed Friday into mountainous terrain near the Colorado ski resort community of Steamboat Springs, authorities said.

An Epic E1000, a six-seat turboprop plane, crashed around 12:20 a.m. with four people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Four people died at the scene, Routt County coroner Mitch Locke said.

The plane crashed into mountainous terrain in unknown circumstances, according to preliminary information, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board both said they are investigating the crash.

<p>DENVER (AP) — Four people are dead after a small plane crashed Friday into mountainous terrain near the Colorado ski resort community of Steamboat Springs, authorities said.</p><p>An Epic E1000, a six-seat turboprop plane, crashed around 12:20 a.m. with four people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Four people died at the scene, Routt County coroner Mitch Locke said.</p><p>The plane crashed into mountainous terrain in unknown circumstances, according to preliminary information, the National Transportation Safety Board said.</p><p>The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board both said they are investigating the crash.</p>

4 dead in small plane crash near Colorado ski resort

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/heraskevych-helmet-ukraine-olympics-skeleton-9f304e1ff834ddab33af2f4e003f04a8">skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych</a>&nbsp;lost an appeal of his disqualification from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics">Milan Cortina Olympics</a>&nbsp;on Friday, yet already knew there was no pathway for him to compete in the race.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied the appeal, agreeing with the International Olympic Committee and the sliding sport's federation that Heraskevych's plan to wear a helmet showing the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes killed since Russia invaded their country four years ago would be in violation of Olympic rules.

CAS, in a brief statement, said the sole arbitrator who heard the case had no choice but to side with IOC policy about what athletes at an Olympics can say on a field of play — and that the “memory helmet” Heraskevych brought to the Milan Cortina Games would not align with the rules athletes have to follow.

The arbitrator, CAS said, “found these limitations reasonable and proportionate, considering the other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness in mixed zones, in press conferences, on social networks, or in Mr. Heraskevych’s case, wearing the helmet during four training runs.”

CAS added that the arbitrator “wished to state that she is fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and to his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1771002088392.jpeg" alt="Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands outside the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)" />
                        <figcaption>Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands outside the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By TIM REYNOLDS <br>AP Sports Writer</p><p>CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/heraskevych-helmet-ukraine-olympics-skeleton-9f304e1ff834ddab33af2f4e003f04a8">skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych</a>&nbsp;lost an appeal of his disqualification from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics">Milan Cortina Olympics</a>&nbsp;on Friday, yet already knew there was no pathway for him to compete in the race.</p><p>The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied the appeal, agreeing with the International Olympic Committee and the sliding sport's federation that Heraskevych's plan to wear a helmet showing the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes killed since Russia invaded their country four years ago would be in violation of Olympic rules.</p><p>CAS, in a brief statement, said the sole arbitrator who heard the case had no choice but to side with IOC policy about what athletes at an Olympics can say on a field of play — and that the “memory helmet” Heraskevych brought to the Milan Cortina Games would not align with the rules athletes have to follow.</p><p>The arbitrator, CAS said, “found these limitations reasonable and proportionate, considering the other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness in mixed zones, in press conferences, on social networks, or in Mr. Heraskevych’s case, wearing the helmet during four training runs.”</p><p>CAS added that the arbitrator “wished to state that she is fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and to his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.</p>

Ukrainian star disqualified from Olympics over helmet honoring war dead

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday reported two major incidents that occurred in recent days tied to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-warships-troops-venezuela-caribbean-f0cea0fbfcd991066b2489460f685001" target="_blank">massive buildup of forces in the Caribbean Sea</a>&nbsp;— a Marine who died after falling overboard and a collision between two Navy ships that left two sailors with minor injuries.

A report was made Saturday that Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, of Florida, had fallen from the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, the Marine Corps said in a press release. The military used five Navy ships, 10 aircraft and an Air Force Reaper drone in “an extensive, around-the-clock 72-hour search and rescue operation,” the release said, but he was declared dead Tuesday.

It appears to be the first publicly announced death of a service member during the U.S. military operation in the region. The Trump administration built up the largest military presence in the region in generations before carrying out a series of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boat-strikes-military-death-toll-venezuela-20cef307b035c386f390df846b6056b7" target="_blank">deadly strikes on alleged drug boats</a>&nbsp;since September, seizing sanctioned oil tankers and conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2" target="_blank">surprise raid last month that captured Venezuela’s then-president</a>, Nicolás Maduro.

Also Thursday, U.S. Southern Command announced that the destroyer USS Truxtun and the supply ship USNS Supply collided as the warship was getting a new load of supplies. The maneuver typically has the vessels sailing parallel, usually within hundreds of feet, while fuel and supplies are transferred across the gap via hoses and cables.

The collision occurred when the supply ship was refueling the cruiser USS Gettysburg on one side and the Truxtun approached from the other side, according to a U.S. official familiar with the collision, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a mishap that is under investigation.

Southern Command said two personnel reported minor injuries and that both were in stable condition. The two ships now are sailing safely, the military statement said.

The USS Truxtun left its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, on Feb. 3. The destroyer had to return to port for several days to conduct “an emergent equipment repair” and it ultimately set sail for the Caribbean on Feb. 6, according to a Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details.

In the Caribbean, the naval presence alone stands at 12 ships, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/navy-aircraft-carriers-military-strategy-eda233a4dd0055695fa6d92ccc7c0d05" target="_blank">the world’s largest aircraft carrier</a>, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as the Iwo Jima and two other amphibious assault ships, which are carrying thousands of Marines.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the collision, which is rare for warships. The Navy's most recent collision occurred in February 2025 when the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/truman-aircraft-carrier-collision-merchant-vessel-50e039f339c4658d246a08ca496a21d9" target="_blank">collided with a merchant vessel</a>&nbsp;just outside the Suez Canal near Port Said, Egypt. That resulted in minor damage to the Truman but no injuries.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/navy-investigations-mishaps-houthis-takeaways-8fd391e23315f93842e4f2a4756a3dc0" target="_blank">An investigation released in December revealed</a>&nbsp;that as the aircraft carrier was running behind schedule, the officer navigating the ship drove it at an unsafely high speed.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday reported two major incidents that occurred in recent days tied to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-warships-troops-venezuela-caribbean-f0cea0fbfcd991066b2489460f685001" target="_blank">massive buildup of forces in the Caribbean Sea</a>&nbsp;— a Marine who died after falling overboard and a collision between two Navy ships that left two sailors with minor injuries.</p><p>A report was made Saturday that Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, of Florida, had fallen from the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, the Marine Corps said in a press release. The military used five Navy ships, 10 aircraft and an Air Force Reaper drone in “an extensive, around-the-clock 72-hour search and rescue operation,” the release said, but he was declared dead Tuesday.</p><p>It appears to be the first publicly announced death of a service member during the U.S. military operation in the region. The Trump administration built up the largest military presence in the region in generations before carrying out a series of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boat-strikes-military-death-toll-venezuela-20cef307b035c386f390df846b6056b7" target="_blank">deadly strikes on alleged drug boats</a>&nbsp;since September, seizing sanctioned oil tankers and conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2" target="_blank">surprise raid last month that captured Venezuela’s then-president</a>, Nicolás Maduro.</p><p>Also Thursday, U.S. Southern Command announced that the destroyer USS Truxtun and the supply ship USNS Supply collided as the warship was getting a new load of supplies. The maneuver typically has the vessels sailing parallel, usually within hundreds of feet, while fuel and supplies are transferred across the gap via hoses and cables.</p><p>The collision occurred when the supply ship was refueling the cruiser USS Gettysburg on one side and the Truxtun approached from the other side, according to a U.S. official familiar with the collision, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a mishap that is under investigation.</p><p>Southern Command said two personnel reported minor injuries and that both were in stable condition. The two ships now are sailing safely, the military statement said.</p><p>The USS Truxtun left its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, on Feb. 3. The destroyer had to return to port for several days to conduct “an emergent equipment repair” and it ultimately set sail for the Caribbean on Feb. 6, according to a Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details.</p><p>In the Caribbean, the naval presence alone stands at 12 ships, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/navy-aircraft-carriers-military-strategy-eda233a4dd0055695fa6d92ccc7c0d05" target="_blank">the world’s largest aircraft carrier</a>, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as the Iwo Jima and two other amphibious assault ships, which are carrying thousands of Marines.</p><p>The Wall Street Journal first reported the collision, which is rare for warships. The Navy's most recent collision occurred in February 2025 when the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/truman-aircraft-carrier-collision-merchant-vessel-50e039f339c4658d246a08ca496a21d9" target="_blank">collided with a merchant vessel</a>&nbsp;just outside the Suez Canal near Port Said, Egypt. That resulted in minor damage to the Truman but no injuries.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/navy-investigations-mishaps-houthis-takeaways-8fd391e23315f93842e4f2a4756a3dc0" target="_blank">An investigation released in December revealed</a>&nbsp;that as the aircraft carrier was running behind schedule, the officer navigating the ship drove it at an unsafely high speed.</p>

Marine becomes first American to die in drug boat targeting operation

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low last month as apartment rental price growth slowed and gas prices fell, offering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-trump-federal-reserve-ed245660d83628e9ff3df1988bdf6d00">some relief</a>&nbsp;to Americans grappling with the sharp cost increases of the past five years.

Inflation dropped to 2.4% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in December and not too far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Core prices, which exclude the volatile&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aldi-trump-tariff-inflation-amazon-a84ce4d5938a15c3c6d7349c7e89f01b">food</a>&nbsp;and energy categories, rose just 2.5% in January from a year ago, down from 2.6% the previous month and the smallest increase since March 2021.

Friday’s report suggests inflation is cooling, but the cost of food, gas, and apartment rents have soared after the pandemic, with consumer prices still about 25% higher than they were five years ago. The increase in such a broad range of costs has kept&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cost-of-living-affordability-message-republicans-22511695fd763ccdb6461f7d65fc7a06">“affordability,”</a>&nbsp;a topic that helped shape the most recent U.S. presidential election, front and center as a dominant political issue.

And on a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2% in January from December, while core prices rose 0.3%. Core inflation was held down by a sharp drop in the price of used cars, which fell 1.8% just in January from December.

“Inflation continues to decelerate and is not threatening to move back up, and that will enable more rate cuts by the Fed,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust.

There were signs in the report that retailers are passing on more of the costs of President Donald Trump's tariffs to consumers for goods such as furniture, appliances, and clothes. But those increases were offset by falling prices elsewhere. In other areas, Trump has delayed, scrapped, or provided exemptions to his duties.

Furniture prices jumped 0.7% in January from the previous month and are up 4% from a year ago. Appliances rose 1.3% in January though are only slightly more expensive than a year earlier. Clothing price rose 0.3% in January from December and have increased 1.7% in the past year.

Some services prices also rose: Airline fares soared 6.5% just in January, after a 3.8% jump in November, though they rose only 2.2% from a year earlier. Music streaming subscriptions increased 4.5% in January and are 7.8% higher than a year ago.

Yet those increases were largely offset by price declines, or much slower price growth, in other areas, including many that make up a greater share of Americans' spending.

The cost of used cars, for example, plunged 1.8% in January, the biggest decline in two years. Gas prices fell 3.2% last month, the third drop in the past four months, and are down 7.5% from a year earlier. Grocery prices rose just 0.2% in January, after a big 0.6% rise in December, and are up 2.1% from a year ago. Hotel prices ticked down 0.1% in January and have fallen 2% from last year.

Rental prices and the cost of owning a home, which make up a third of the inflation index, both rose just 0.2% in December, while rents increased only 2.8% from a year earlier. That is much lower than during the pandemic: Rents rose by more than 8% in 2022.

The tariffs have increased some costs and many economists forecast companies will pass through more of those increases to consumers in the coming months. A&nbsp;<a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-is-paying-for-the-2025-u-s-tariffs/">study released Thursday</a>&nbsp;by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that U.S. companies and consumers are paying nearly 90% of the tariffs' costs, echoing similar findings in studies by Harvard and other economists.

Yet the increases haven't been as broad-based as many economists feared.

Tilley said that the higher tariffs have pulled some consumer spending away from other services, which has forced companies to keep those prices a bit lower as a result.

“We don’t think consumers are in a place to take on price increases across the board, so you’re not seeing those price increses,” he said. Hiring was particularly weak last year, slowing wage growth, and many Americans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/consumer-confidence-economy-spending-inflation-conference-board-f36b997dc46ac9c3577d05db52166846">remain gloomy</a>&nbsp;about the economy.

Some economists note that the rental figures were distorted by October's six-week government shutdown, which interrupted the Labor Department's gathering of the data. The government plugged in estimated figures for October which economists say have artificially lowered some of the housing costs.

Companies are still grappling with the higher costs from Trump's duties, though some have benefited from tariffs being delayed or scrapped.

Arin Schultz, chief growth officer at Naturepedic, which makes organic mattresses in Cleveland, breathed a sigh of relief when Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-kitchen-cabinets-furniture-tariffs-a89ea5c044af3c2ac8ffcb481e0150ef">postponed import duties</a>&nbsp;on upholstered furniture until 2027. They would have substantially pushed up the cost of the headboards the company imports.

Schultz welcomed the decision to lower tariffs on imports from India to 18%, from 50%. Naturepedic sources a lot of the cotton fabrics and bedding that it sells from India. When that reduction kicks in, he said, the company could even cut some prices.

Still, Naturepedic's costs jumped because of duties on imports from Vietnam and Malaysia, where it sources its organic latex, which can't be grown in the United States. Naturepedic makes its mattresses in the United States at a factory in Cleveland and employs about 200 workers.

“We're paying more now for that,” he said, and the company raised its prices about 7% last year as a result. "Tariffs are awful. We are less profitable now as a company because of tariffs.”

If inflation gets closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, it could allow the central bank to cut its key short-term interest rate further this year, as Trump has repeatedly demanded. High borrowing costs for things like mortgages and auto loans have also contributed to a perception that many big-ticket items remain out of reach for many Americans.

Inflation surged to 9.1% in 2022 as consumer spending soared as supply chains snarled after the pandemic. It began to fall in 2023 but leveled off around 3% in mid-2024 and remained elevated last year.

At the same time, measures of wage growth have declined as hiring has cratered. With companies reluctant to add jobs, workers don't have as much leverage to demand raises.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642689710083.jpeg" alt="Post photo" />
                        <figcaption>Post photo</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — A key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low last month as apartment rental price growth slowed and gas prices fell, offering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-trump-federal-reserve-ed245660d83628e9ff3df1988bdf6d00">some relief</a>&nbsp;to Americans grappling with the sharp cost increases of the past five years.</p><p>Inflation dropped to 2.4% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in December and not too far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Core prices, which exclude the volatile&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aldi-trump-tariff-inflation-amazon-a84ce4d5938a15c3c6d7349c7e89f01b">food</a>&nbsp;and energy categories, rose just 2.5% in January from a year ago, down from 2.6% the previous month and the smallest increase since March 2021.</p><p>Friday’s report suggests inflation is cooling, but the cost of food, gas, and apartment rents have soared after the pandemic, with consumer prices still about 25% higher than they were five years ago. The increase in such a broad range of costs has kept&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cost-of-living-affordability-message-republicans-22511695fd763ccdb6461f7d65fc7a06">“affordability,”</a>&nbsp;a topic that helped shape the most recent U.S. presidential election, front and center as a dominant political issue.</p><p>And on a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2% in January from December, while core prices rose 0.3%. Core inflation was held down by a sharp drop in the price of used cars, which fell 1.8% just in January from December.</p><p>“Inflation continues to decelerate and is not threatening to move back up, and that will enable more rate cuts by the Fed,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust.</p><p>There were signs in the report that retailers are passing on more of the costs of President Donald Trump's tariffs to consumers for goods such as furniture, appliances, and clothes. But those increases were offset by falling prices elsewhere. In other areas, Trump has delayed, scrapped, or provided exemptions to his duties.</p><p>Furniture prices jumped 0.7% in January from the previous month and are up 4% from a year ago. Appliances rose 1.3% in January though are only slightly more expensive than a year earlier. Clothing price rose 0.3% in January from December and have increased 1.7% in the past year.</p><p>Some services prices also rose: Airline fares soared 6.5% just in January, after a 3.8% jump in November, though they rose only 2.2% from a year earlier. Music streaming subscriptions increased 4.5% in January and are 7.8% higher than a year ago.</p><p>Yet those increases were largely offset by price declines, or much slower price growth, in other areas, including many that make up a greater share of Americans' spending.</p><p>The cost of used cars, for example, plunged 1.8% in January, the biggest decline in two years. Gas prices fell 3.2% last month, the third drop in the past four months, and are down 7.5% from a year earlier. Grocery prices rose just 0.2% in January, after a big 0.6% rise in December, and are up 2.1% from a year ago. Hotel prices ticked down 0.1% in January and have fallen 2% from last year.</p><p>Rental prices and the cost of owning a home, which make up a third of the inflation index, both rose just 0.2% in December, while rents increased only 2.8% from a year earlier. That is much lower than during the pandemic: Rents rose by more than 8% in 2022.</p><p>The tariffs have increased some costs and many economists forecast companies will pass through more of those increases to consumers in the coming months. A&nbsp;<a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-is-paying-for-the-2025-u-s-tariffs/">study released Thursday</a>&nbsp;by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that U.S. companies and consumers are paying nearly 90% of the tariffs' costs, echoing similar findings in studies by Harvard and other economists.</p><p>Yet the increases haven't been as broad-based as many economists feared.</p><p>Tilley said that the higher tariffs have pulled some consumer spending away from other services, which has forced companies to keep those prices a bit lower as a result.</p><p>“We don’t think consumers are in a place to take on price increases across the board, so you’re not seeing those price increses,” he said. Hiring was particularly weak last year, slowing wage growth, and many Americans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/consumer-confidence-economy-spending-inflation-conference-board-f36b997dc46ac9c3577d05db52166846">remain gloomy</a>&nbsp;about the economy.</p><p>Some economists note that the rental figures were distorted by October's six-week government shutdown, which interrupted the Labor Department's gathering of the data. The government plugged in estimated figures for October which economists say have artificially lowered some of the housing costs.</p><p>Companies are still grappling with the higher costs from Trump's duties, though some have benefited from tariffs being delayed or scrapped.</p><p>Arin Schultz, chief growth officer at Naturepedic, which makes organic mattresses in Cleveland, breathed a sigh of relief when Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-kitchen-cabinets-furniture-tariffs-a89ea5c044af3c2ac8ffcb481e0150ef">postponed import duties</a>&nbsp;on upholstered furniture until 2027. They would have substantially pushed up the cost of the headboards the company imports.</p><p>Schultz welcomed the decision to lower tariffs on imports from India to 18%, from 50%. Naturepedic sources a lot of the cotton fabrics and bedding that it sells from India. When that reduction kicks in, he said, the company could even cut some prices.</p><p>Still, Naturepedic's costs jumped because of duties on imports from Vietnam and Malaysia, where it sources its organic latex, which can't be grown in the United States. Naturepedic makes its mattresses in the United States at a factory in Cleveland and employs about 200 workers.</p><p>“We're paying more now for that,” he said, and the company raised its prices about 7% last year as a result. "Tariffs are awful. We are less profitable now as a company because of tariffs.”</p><p>If inflation gets closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, it could allow the central bank to cut its key short-term interest rate further this year, as Trump has repeatedly demanded. High borrowing costs for things like mortgages and auto loans have also contributed to a perception that many big-ticket items remain out of reach for many Americans.</p><p>Inflation surged to 9.1% in 2022 as consumer spending soared as supply chains snarled after the pandemic. It began to fall in 2023 but leveled off around 3% in mid-2024 and remained elevated last year.</p><p>At the same time, measures of wage growth have declined as hiring has cratered. With companies reluctant to add jobs, workers don't have as much leverage to demand raises.</p>

Good news for consumers: Inflation measure falls to five-year low 

SEDGWICK COUNTY—An Oklahoma truck driver accused of intentionally backing over and killing a Georgia man in the parking lot of a Wichita truck stop will return to court Friday.

Travis Briscoe, 46, is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing in Judge Sean Hatfield's courtroom, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. He is charged with 2nd degree murder for the death of 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed.

On August 13, police responded to the Love's Travel Stop in the 1500 block of East 21st Street North for an injury crash, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. They found 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed of Georgia, under a truck. Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services pronounced him dead at 5:32 p.m.

Investigators with the Wichita Police Department determined Mohammed had been in a verbal altercation with Briscoe. The two men did not know each other, according to Gupilan. During the altercation, Briscoe began backing into a parking stall with his semitractor-trailer striking&nbsp; Mohammed.

Briscoe remains jailed on a $150,000 bond, according to online jail records.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755126893221.png" alt="First responders at the scene of the fatal incident -photo courtesy KWCH" />
                        <figcaption>First responders at the scene of the fatal incident -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>SEDGWICK COUNTY—An Oklahoma truck driver accused of intentionally backing over and killing a Georgia man in the parking lot of a Wichita truck stop will return to court Friday.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755180791856.png" alt="Briscoe photo Sedgwick Count" />
                        <figcaption>Briscoe photo Sedgwick Count</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Travis Briscoe, 46, is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing in Judge Sean Hatfield's courtroom, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. He is charged with 2nd degree murder for the death of 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed.</p><p>On August 13, police responded to the Love's Travel Stop in the 1500 block of East 21st Street North for an injury crash, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. They found 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed of Georgia, under a truck. Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services pronounced him dead at 5:32 p.m.</p><p>Investigators with the Wichita Police Department determined Mohammed had been in a verbal altercation with Briscoe. The two men did not know each other, according to Gupilan. During the altercation, Briscoe began backing into a parking stall with his semitractor-trailer striking&nbsp; Mohammed.</p><p>Briscoe remains jailed on a $150,000 bond, according to online jail records.</p>

Driver who backed over, killed man at Kan. truck stop is due back in court

DOUGLAS COUNTY—Out of an abundance of caution School Resource Officers initiated a lockout – allowing no one to exit or enter – four Lawrence Public Schools Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from Lawrence Police.

Officers were investigating a potential threat. Police were called to 19th and Massachusetts because someone said a man was acting strangely and might have a gun. Another person heard the same man say there was going to be a mass-shooting at Lawrence High School.

Patrol officers immediately began searching for the man.  The School Resource Officers quickly worked to secure LHS and three nearby schools – Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, Cordley Elementary School, and Schwegler Elementary School.

The lockout began shortly after 1pm.  Patrol officers continued their search for the man and found him in the 900 block of Vermont.  He was extremely combative.  Officers were forced to restrain the man to get him into a van, then transported him to the Douglas County Correctional Facility.

He faces several potential charges including possession of drug paraphernalia. He was not in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest.  

The schools were able to open back up for a regular dismissal.

<p>DOUGLAS COUNTY—Out of an abundance of caution School Resource Officers initiated a lockout – allowing no one to exit or enter – four Lawrence Public Schools Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from Lawrence Police.</p><p>Officers were investigating a potential threat. Police were called to 19th and Massachusetts because someone said a man was acting strangely and might have a gun. Another person heard the same man say there was going to be a mass-shooting at Lawrence High School.</p><p>Patrol officers immediately began searching for the man.  The School Resource Officers quickly worked to secure LHS and three nearby schools – Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, Cordley Elementary School, and Schwegler Elementary School.</p><p>The lockout began shortly after 1pm.  Patrol officers continued their search for the man and found him in the 900 block of Vermont.  He was extremely combative.  Officers were forced to restrain the man to get him into a van, then transported him to the Douglas County Correctional Facility.</p><p>He faces several potential charges including possession of drug paraphernalia. He was not in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest.  </p><p>The schools were able to open back up for a regular dismissal.</p>

4 Kan. schools locked out while police investigate potential threat

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A new crew rocketed toward the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-space-station-spacex-retire-plunge-3076b8f67488a699240b23bc7f27fc8d">International Space Station</a>&nbsp;on Friday to replace the astronauts who returned to Earth early in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-astronauts-space-crew-spacex-medical-california-13d6c5246a1afec200a811e6cfc049bf">NASA's first medical evacuation</a>.

SpaceX launched the replacements as soon as possible at NASA’s request, sending the U.S., French and Russian astronauts on an expected eight- to nine-month mission stretching until fall. The four should arrive at the orbiting lab Saturday, filling the vacancies left by their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-space-astronauts-crew-medical-spacex-d89651fb83a8eb32d8619052424a5cb8">evacuated colleagues</a>&nbsp;last month and bringing the space station back to full staff.

“It turns out Friday the 13th is a very lucky day,” SpaceX Launch Control radioed once the astronauts reached orbit. “That was quite a ride,” replied the crew's commander, Jessica Meir.

NASA had to put spacewalks on hold and deferred other duties while awaiting the arrival of Americans Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. They'll join three other astronauts — one American and two Russians — who kept the space station running the past month.

Satisfied with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-astronauts-medical-evacuation-crew-11-d501e91736371525e81d13794d5e9f01">medical procedures</a>&nbsp;already in place, NASA ordered no extra checkups for the crew ahead of liftoff and no new diagnostic equipment was packed. An ultrasound machine already up there for research went into overdrive Jan. 7 when used on the ailing crew member. NASA has not revealed the ill astronaut’s identity or health issue. All four returning astronauts went straight to the hospital after splashing down in the Pacific near San Diego.

It was the first time in 65 years of human spaceflight that NASA cut short a mission for medical reasons.

With missions becoming longer, NASA is constantly looking at upgrades to the space station’s medical gear, said deputy program manager Dina Contella. “But there are a lot of things that are just not practical and so that’s when you need to bring astronauts home from space,” she said earlier this week.

In preparation for moon and Mars trips where health care will be even more challenging, the new arrivals will test a filter designed to turn drinking water into emergency IV fluid, try out an ultrasound system that relies on artificial intelligence and augmented reality instead of experts on the ground, and perform ultrasound scans on their jugular veins in a blood clot study.

They also will demonstrate their moon-landing skills in a simulated test drawing extra attention because of the impending launch of four astronauts to the moon on Artemis II, humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half a century.

Adenot is only the second French woman to launch to space. She was 14 when Claudie Haignere flew to Russia’s space station Mir in 1996, inspiring her to become an astronaut. Haignere cheered her on from the Florida launch site, wishing her “Bon vol," French for “Have a good flight," and “Ad astra," Latin for “To the stars.”

Hathaway, like Adenot, is new to space, while Meir and Fedyaev are making their second station trip. On her first mission in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk. The other half of that spacewalk, Christina Koch, is among the four Artemis II astronauts waiting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-artemis-astronauts-moon-540260c90a45e0de4cb28f3e481777ff">to fly around the moon</a>&nbsp;as early as March. A ship-to-ship radio linkup is planned between the two crews.

Meir wasn’t sure astronauts would return to the moon during her career. “Now we’re right here on the precipice of the Artemis II mission,” she said ahead of liftoff. “The fact that they will be in space at the same time as us … it’s so cool to be an astronaut now, it’s so exciting.”

SpaceX launched the latest crew from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Elon Musk’s company is preparing its neighboring Kennedy Space Center launch pad for the supersized Starships, which NASA needs to land astronauts on the moon.

NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman said following Friday's liftoff that testing continues at the Artemis pad, where the Space Launch System moon rocket awaits liftoff. A practice fueling last week unleashed hydrogen fuel leaks. Two seals have since been replaced and a mini fueling conducted.

Isaacman stressed that no launch date will be set until additional fueling tests — potentially a series of them — are completed. The earliest that Artemis II could launch is March 3, he noted.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A new crew rocketed toward the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-space-station-spacex-retire-plunge-3076b8f67488a699240b23bc7f27fc8d">International Space Station</a>&nbsp;on Friday to replace the astronauts who returned to Earth early in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-astronauts-space-crew-spacex-medical-california-13d6c5246a1afec200a811e6cfc049bf">NASA's first medical evacuation</a>.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Liftoff of Crew-12! <a href="https://t.co/jQ804lyjkm">pic.twitter.com/jQ804lyjkm</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2022253660168953979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>SpaceX launched the replacements as soon as possible at NASA’s request, sending the U.S., French and Russian astronauts on an expected eight- to nine-month mission stretching until fall. The four should arrive at the orbiting lab Saturday, filling the vacancies left by their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-space-astronauts-crew-medical-spacex-d89651fb83a8eb32d8619052424a5cb8">evacuated colleagues</a>&nbsp;last month and bringing the space station back to full staff.</p><p>“It turns out Friday the 13th is a very lucky day,” SpaceX Launch Control radioed once the astronauts reached orbit. “That was quite a ride,” replied the crew's commander, Jessica Meir.</p><p>NASA had to put spacewalks on hold and deferred other duties while awaiting the arrival of Americans Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. They'll join three other astronauts — one American and two Russians — who kept the space station running the past month.</p><p>Satisfied with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-astronauts-medical-evacuation-crew-11-d501e91736371525e81d13794d5e9f01">medical procedures</a>&nbsp;already in place, NASA ordered no extra checkups for the crew ahead of liftoff and no new diagnostic equipment was packed. An ultrasound machine already up there for research went into overdrive Jan. 7 when used on the ailing crew member. NASA has not revealed the ill astronaut’s identity or health issue. All four returning astronauts went straight to the hospital after splashing down in the Pacific near San Diego.</p><p>It was the first time in 65 years of human spaceflight that NASA cut short a mission for medical reasons.</p><p>With missions becoming longer, NASA is constantly looking at upgrades to the space station’s medical gear, said deputy program manager Dina Contella. “But there are a lot of things that are just not practical and so that’s when you need to bring astronauts home from space,” she said earlier this week.</p><p>In preparation for moon and Mars trips where health care will be even more challenging, the new arrivals will test a filter designed to turn drinking water into emergency IV fluid, try out an ultrasound system that relies on artificial intelligence and augmented reality instead of experts on the ground, and perform ultrasound scans on their jugular veins in a blood clot study.</p><p>They also will demonstrate their moon-landing skills in a simulated test drawing extra attention because of the impending launch of four astronauts to the moon on Artemis II, humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half a century.</p><p>Adenot is only the second French woman to launch to space. She was 14 when Claudie Haignere flew to Russia’s space station Mir in 1996, inspiring her to become an astronaut. Haignere cheered her on from the Florida launch site, wishing her “Bon vol," French for “Have a good flight," and “Ad astra," Latin for “To the stars.”</p><p>Hathaway, like Adenot, is new to space, while Meir and Fedyaev are making their second station trip. On her first mission in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk. The other half of that spacewalk, Christina Koch, is among the four Artemis II astronauts waiting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-artemis-astronauts-moon-540260c90a45e0de4cb28f3e481777ff">to fly around the moon</a>&nbsp;as early as March. A ship-to-ship radio linkup is planned between the two crews.</p><p>Meir wasn’t sure astronauts would return to the moon during her career. “Now we’re right here on the precipice of the Artemis II mission,” she said ahead of liftoff. “The fact that they will be in space at the same time as us … it’s so cool to be an astronaut now, it’s so exciting.”</p><p>SpaceX launched the latest crew from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Elon Musk’s company is preparing its neighboring Kennedy Space Center launch pad for the supersized Starships, which NASA needs to land astronauts on the moon.</p><p>NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman said following Friday's liftoff that testing continues at the Artemis pad, where the Space Launch System moon rocket awaits liftoff. A practice fueling last week unleashed hydrogen fuel leaks. Two seals have since been replaced and a mini fueling conducted.</p><p>Isaacman stressed that no launch date will be set until additional fueling tests — potentially a series of them — are completed. The earliest that Artemis II could launch is March 3, he noted.</p><p>___</p><p>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.</p>

🎥New astronauts launch to Space Station after medical evacuation

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

Just after 5:30p.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to 20th and Monroe on a sound of shots call in the area. 911 received multiple additional calls of sound of shots and eventually one call reporting a shooting victim down in a wooded area of a series of vacant lots in the 2000 block of Monroe.

On arrival officers made their way into the vacant lots and located a male shooting victim unresponsive there. Officers rendered aid and called for EMS. EMS responded and took over aid. They eventually declared the victim deceased here at the scene.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Preliminary indication indicates the shooting occurred on 20th street between Askew and Monroe and the victim then ran to the south where he was located.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim or possible suspect details.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770981912260.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
                        <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City, Missouri.</p><p>Just after 5:30p.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to 20th and Monroe on a sound of shots call in the area. 911 received multiple additional calls of sound of shots and eventually one call reporting a shooting victim down in a wooded area of a series of vacant lots in the 2000 block of Monroe.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770981892242.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>On arrival officers made their way into the vacant lots and located a male shooting victim unresponsive there. Officers rendered aid and called for EMS. EMS responded and took over aid. They eventually declared the victim deceased here at the scene.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Preliminary indication indicates the shooting occurred on 20th street between Askew and Monroe and the victim then ran to the south where he was located.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim or possible suspect details.</p>

KCPD: Victim ran from shooting and died in a vacant lot

By JOSH FUNK<br>&nbsp;AP Transportation Writer

Key senators including Jerry Moran from Kansas and the families of the 67 dead in an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-62adba7fb1f546b4cf1716e42b86482b">airliner collision with an Army helicopter</a>&nbsp;near the nation's capital are convinced that advanced aircraft locator systems recommended by experts for nearly two decades would have prevented last year's tragedy. But it remains unclear if Congress will pass a bill requiring every plane and helicopter to use them around every busy airport.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing Thursday to highlight why the National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending since 2008 that all aircraft be equipped with one system that can broadcast their locations and another one to receive data about the location of other aircraft. Only the system that broadcasts location is currently required. The hearing will review all 50 of the NTSB's recommendations to prevent another midair collision like that of Jan. 29, 2025.

Everyone aboard the helicopter and the American Airlines jet flying from Wichita, Kansas, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc-helicopter-jet-crash-figure-skaters-079cca60567e6929f4b84a8e9d6c330d">28 members of the figure skating community</a>, died when the aircraft collided and plummeted into the icy Potomac River.

The Senate already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-dc-collision-helicopter-cruz-cantwell-22542aec3d8e797cc769c101cd909275">unanimously approved the bill</a>&nbsp;that would require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have both kinds of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems installed. However, leaders of the key House committees seem to want to craft their own comprehensive bill addressing all the NTSB recommendations instead of immediately passing what's known as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/midair-collision-ntsb-washington-dc-army-helicopter-40f94a495e2e60b9adc5b9a49cce6437">the ROTOR act</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/black-hawk-crash-night-faa-helicopter-286319ac01bee91e4992c95e7946063e">ADS-B Out systems</a>&nbsp;continually broadcast an aircraft's location and speed and have been required since 2020. But ADS-B In systems that can receive those signals and create a display showing pilots were all air traffic is located around them are not standard.

Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz said he's concerned that some people are talking about possibly adding loopholes to the bill that would exempt regional airlines and private jets from the mandate. The Texas Republican said that would undermine the effort, and doesn't make sense given that the plane involved in this collision was flown by a regional airline.

“Flying can only be safe when everyone follows the same standards,” Cruz said. He said that he hopes the House will vote on the bill in the next two weeks to send it to the president's desk.

But Rep. Sam Graves, who leads the House Transportation Committee, said Thursday that he doesn't plan to consider the Senate bill.

“I haven’t looked a whole lot at the ROTOR Act. We’re going to do our own bill,” Graves said.

If the American Airlines jet and the helicopter had also been equipped with one of the ADS-B In systems that can receive location data, the NTSB and the victims’ families and key lawmakers say, the pilots may have been able to avoid the collision because they would have received nearly a minute of advanced warning.

The receiving systems would have provided more warning along with an indication of where the other aircraft was. But for that to work the helicopter’s ADS-B Out system that’s supposed to broadcast its location would have to be turned on and working correctly, which wasn’t the case on the night of the crash.

These locator systems are one of the measures that might have been able to overcome all the systemic problems and mistakes the NTSB identified in the disaster. That’s why this requirement was endorsed by NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy — the only witness called to the hearing — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and all of the Senate. This is the 18th time the NTSB has recommended the technology.

“This seems like a no-brainer, right? Especially when this is not a new thing that they’re proposing,” said Amy Hunter, whose cousin Peter Livingston died on the flight with his wife and two young daughters.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the FAA also failed to act on warnings from its own controllers after a strikingly similar near miss in 2013 about the risks that helicopters pose around DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport), and an alarming number of near misses chronicled in the agency’s own data.

“FAA’s failure in the face of blaring alarm bells, screaming out that it was a matter of when — not if — one of the near misses at DCA would become a deadly tragedy is, unfortunately, emblematic of a chronic crisis that’s plagued FAA for years,” Duckworth said.

Afterward, the FAA made&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-dc-plane-crash-faa-helicopters-07ea495a557b8a2767d0eca4277e8be1">several changes</a>&nbsp;including prohibiting helicopters from flying along the route where the crash happened whenever a plane is landing on DCA's secondary runway and requiring all aircraft to use their ADS-B Out systems to broadcast their locations.

The crash anniversary and NTSB hearing on the causes of the crash have made recent weeks challenging for victims’ families. And now&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milan-cortina-olympics-figure-skating-naumov-73e9845c7adf5e99216966b22bfae7c8">the Olympics</a>&nbsp;are reminding Hunter and others that their loved ones — like young Everly and Alydia Livingston — will never have a chance to realize their dreams of competing for a gold medal.

The biggest stumbling block is cost. Upgrading some airline jets might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, placing an expensive burden on some — especially regional airlines with tighter profit margins like the one that flew the jet that collided with the Army helicopter. Some also worry whether general aviation pilots could afford the upgrades. These systems haven't even been designed and certified for some airline jets — particularly the CRJ models that were involved in this crash.

But some airlines have already begun to add the technology to their planes, partly because in addition to the safety benefits, the systems can help increase the number of planes that can fly into an airport by spacing them more precisely. American Airlines leads the industry, having added the technology to its Airbus A321s over the past several years, equipping more than 300 of its roughly 1,000 planes to date. Homendy said American officials told her the retrofits cost less than $50,000 per plane.

Any plane more than a decade old likely doesn’t have either of these systems installed. Most newer planes have at least an ADS-B Out system that broadcasts their location.

But roughly three quarters of the pilots of business jets and smaller single-engine Cessnas and Bonanzas use portable devices that only cost $400 dollars that can tap into this location data and display the information about nearby aircraft on an iPad. So it doesn't appear the legislation would create a significant expense for them. Homendy held up one of the small receivers during her testimony to demonstrate how easy it is for pilots to get ADS-B In warnings.

Tim Lilley, a pilot himself, said having both these locator systems would have saved the life of his son Sam, who was copilot of the airliner, and everyone else who died. He said small plane owners have an affordable option, but even the expensive upgrades to large planes would be worth it.

“If those recommendations had been fully realized, this accident wouldn’t have happened,” Lilley said. “I don’t know what value we put on the human life, but 67 lives would still be here today.”

AP writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report from Washington D.C.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738341256800.png" alt="File photo Search efforts are seen around a wreckage site of a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet&nbsp; from Wichita and an Army helicopter, in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)" />
                        <figcaption>File photo Search efforts are seen around a wreckage site of a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet&nbsp; from Wichita and an Army helicopter, in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By JOSH FUNK<br>&nbsp;AP Transportation Writer</p><p>Key senators including Jerry Moran from Kansas and the families of the 67 dead in an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-62adba7fb1f546b4cf1716e42b86482b">airliner collision with an Army helicopter</a>&nbsp;near the nation's capital are convinced that advanced aircraft locator systems recommended by experts for nearly two decades would have prevented last year's tragedy. But it remains unclear if Congress will pass a bill requiring every plane and helicopter to use them around every busy airport.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">During today’s <a href="https://twitter.com/SenateCommerce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenateCommerce</a> hearing, I asked NTSB Chair <a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferHomendy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jenniferhomendy</a> about the findings of the NTSB’s yearlong investigation into the tragic mid-air collision at DCA, including how the FAA’s failure to use a consistent standard for near misses &amp; other safety concerns may… <a href="https://t.co/zLw41MaT8B">pic.twitter.com/zLw41MaT8B</a></p>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/2022079439082074230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Visual simulation of flight 5342 collision during NTSB hearing: <a href="https://t.co/5PT4Js10gi">pic.twitter.com/5PT4Js10gi</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2021983985673314533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing Thursday to highlight why the National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending since 2008 that all aircraft be equipped with one system that can broadcast their locations and another one to receive data about the location of other aircraft. Only the system that broadcasts location is currently required. The hearing will review all 50 of the NTSB's recommendations to prevent another midair collision like that of Jan. 29, 2025.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NTSB Chair <a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferHomendy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JenniferHomendy</a>: &quot;I want to make one thing abundantly clear, we should not be here today…You should not have to be here, because as I&#39;ve said many times, this was 100% preventable. &quot; <a href="https://t.co/bWRHAd8LuL">pic.twitter.com/bWRHAd8LuL</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2021980384758837764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenDuckworth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenDuckworth</a> on the NTSB: &quot;The bottom line is any system that repeatedly forces pilots to take emergency evasive actions to save lives, is a broken system.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/44rGFtuwLH">pic.twitter.com/44rGFtuwLH</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2021978778981798131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Everyone aboard the helicopter and the American Airlines jet flying from Wichita, Kansas, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc-helicopter-jet-crash-figure-skaters-079cca60567e6929f4b84a8e9d6c330d">28 members of the figure skating community</a>, died when the aircraft collided and plummeted into the icy Potomac River.</p><p>The Senate already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-dc-collision-helicopter-cruz-cantwell-22542aec3d8e797cc769c101cd909275">unanimously approved the bill</a>&nbsp;that would require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have both kinds of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems installed. However, leaders of the key House committees seem to want to craft their own comprehensive bill addressing all the NTSB recommendations instead of immediately passing what's known as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/midair-collision-ntsb-washington-dc-army-helicopter-40f94a495e2e60b9adc5b9a49cce6437">the ROTOR act</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/black-hawk-crash-night-faa-helicopter-286319ac01bee91e4992c95e7946063e">ADS-B Out systems</a>&nbsp;continually broadcast an aircraft's location and speed and have been required since 2020. But ADS-B In systems that can receive those signals and create a display showing pilots were all air traffic is located around them are not standard.</p><h2>Facing headwinds in the House</h2><p>Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz said he's concerned that some people are talking about possibly adding loopholes to the bill that would exempt regional airlines and private jets from the mandate. The Texas Republican said that would undermine the effort, and doesn't make sense given that the plane involved in this collision was flown by a regional airline.</p><p>“Flying can only be safe when everyone follows the same standards,” Cruz said. He said that he hopes the House will vote on the bill in the next two weeks to send it to the president's desk.</p><p>But Rep. Sam Graves, who leads the House Transportation Committee, said Thursday that he doesn't plan to consider the Senate bill.</p><p>“I haven’t looked a whole lot at the ROTOR Act. We’re going to do our own bill,” Graves said.</p><p>If the American Airlines jet and the helicopter had also been equipped with one of the ADS-B In systems that can receive location data, the NTSB and the victims’ families and key lawmakers say, the pilots may have been able to avoid the collision because they would have received nearly a minute of advanced warning.</p><p>The receiving systems would have provided more warning along with an indication of where the other aircraft was. But for that to work the helicopter’s ADS-B Out system that’s supposed to broadcast its location would have to be turned on and working correctly, which wasn’t the case on the night of the crash.</p><h2>Tragedy could have been prevented</h2><p>These locator systems are one of the measures that might have been able to overcome all the systemic problems and mistakes the NTSB identified in the disaster. That’s why this requirement was endorsed by NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy — the only witness called to the hearing — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and all of the Senate. This is the 18th time the NTSB has recommended the technology.</p><p>“This seems like a no-brainer, right? Especially when this is not a new thing that they’re proposing,” said Amy Hunter, whose cousin Peter Livingston died on the flight with his wife and two young daughters.</p><p>Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the FAA also failed to act on warnings from its own controllers after a strikingly similar near miss in 2013 about the risks that helicopters pose around DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport), and an alarming number of near misses chronicled in the agency’s own data.</p><p>“FAA’s failure in the face of blaring alarm bells, screaming out that it was a matter of when — not if — one of the near misses at DCA would become a deadly tragedy is, unfortunately, emblematic of a chronic crisis that’s plagued FAA for years,” Duckworth said.</p><p>Afterward, the FAA made&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-dc-plane-crash-faa-helicopters-07ea495a557b8a2767d0eca4277e8be1">several changes</a>&nbsp;including prohibiting helicopters from flying along the route where the crash happened whenever a plane is landing on DCA's secondary runway and requiring all aircraft to use their ADS-B Out systems to broadcast their locations.</p><p>The crash anniversary and NTSB hearing on the causes of the crash have made recent weeks challenging for victims’ families. And now&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milan-cortina-olympics-figure-skating-naumov-73e9845c7adf5e99216966b22bfae7c8">the Olympics</a>&nbsp;are reminding Hunter and others that their loved ones — like young Everly and Alydia Livingston — will never have a chance to realize their dreams of competing for a gold medal.</p><h2>Cost concerns for plane owners</h2><p>The biggest stumbling block is cost. Upgrading some airline jets might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, placing an expensive burden on some — especially regional airlines with tighter profit margins like the one that flew the jet that collided with the Army helicopter. Some also worry whether general aviation pilots could afford the upgrades. These systems haven't even been designed and certified for some airline jets — particularly the CRJ models that were involved in this crash.</p><p>But some airlines have already begun to add the technology to their planes, partly because in addition to the safety benefits, the systems can help increase the number of planes that can fly into an airport by spacing them more precisely. American Airlines leads the industry, having added the technology to its Airbus A321s over the past several years, equipping more than 300 of its roughly 1,000 planes to date. Homendy said American officials told her the retrofits cost less than $50,000 per plane.</p><p>Any plane more than a decade old likely doesn’t have either of these systems installed. Most newer planes have at least an ADS-B Out system that broadcasts their location.</p><p>But roughly three quarters of the pilots of business jets and smaller single-engine Cessnas and Bonanzas use portable devices that only cost $400 dollars that can tap into this location data and display the information about nearby aircraft on an iPad. So it doesn't appear the legislation would create a significant expense for them. Homendy held up one of the small receivers during her testimony to demonstrate how easy it is for pilots to get ADS-B In warnings.</p><p>Tim Lilley, a pilot himself, said having both these locator systems would have saved the life of his son Sam, who was copilot of the airliner, and everyone else who died. He said small plane owners have an affordable option, but even the expensive upgrades to large planes would be worth it.</p><p>“If those recommendations had been fully realized, this accident wouldn’t have happened,” Lilley said. “I don’t know what value we put on the human life, but 67 lives would still be here today.”</p><p>___</p><p>AP writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report from Washington D.C.</p>

 🎥Moran questions NTSB Chair on findings from DCA crash investigation

SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement investigating a school threat in Topeka have made an arrest.

Just after 6:30a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a call regarding an online social media threat involving Eisenhower Middle School, 3305 SE Minnesota Avenue in Topeka, according to a media release.. No other schools are involved in this incident.

On Wednesday, Topeka Police working jointly with the FBI to determine the credibility of the online threat arrested a 16-year-old boy on requested charges of criminal threat and criminal use of weapons.

<p>SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement investigating a school threat in Topeka have made an arrest.</p><p>Just after 6:30a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a call regarding an online social media threat involving Eisenhower Middle School, 3305 SE Minnesota Avenue in Topeka, according to a media release.. No other schools are involved in this incident.</p><p>On Wednesday, Topeka Police working jointly with the FBI to determine the credibility of the online threat arrested a 16-year-old boy on requested charges of criminal threat and criminal use of weapons.</p>

16-year-old accused of online threat against Kan. middle school

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.

The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations didn’t materialize as one of Tehran’s top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with the U.S. intermediaries.

Already, Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict in a Mideast still reeling from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iranians are beginning to hold 40-day mourning ceremonies for the thousands killed in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month, adding to the internal pressure faced by the sanctions-battered Islamic Republic.

The Ford’s deployment, first reported by The New York Times, will put&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-carrier-iran-protests-us-military-58e6da912f9167df94f913d7dafe5af4">two carriers</a>&nbsp;and their accompanying warships in the region. Already, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers are in the Arabian Sea.

The person who spoke to The Associated Press on the deployment did so on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements.

Ford had been part of Venezuela strike force

It marks a quick&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-carriers-trump-venezuela-middle-east-a458b9c4f1a5690e19d7c532dd6b7fd7">turnaround for the Ford</a>, which Trump sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last October as the administration build up a huge military presence in the lead-up to the surprise raid last month that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2">captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro</a>.

It also appears to be at odds with Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-security-strategy-europe-russia-america-first-068488ca7e6d1c92ccaddd1649958218">national security strategy</a>, which put an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere over other parts of the world.

Trump on Thursday warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with his administration would be “very traumatic.” Iran and the United States held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-talks-oman-nuclear-program-5813e0814efcd99616428086de6ba0be">indirect talks in Oman</a>&nbsp;last week.

“I guess over the next month, something like that,” Trump said in response to a question about his timeline for striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. “It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly.”

Trump told Axios earlier this week that he was considering sending a second carrier strike group to the Middle East.

Trump held lengthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-trump-netanyahu-nuclear-talks-fa5be8069deb4b1b01cdf30d3e3525e7">talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday and said he insisted to Israel's leader that negotiations with Iran needed to continue. Netanyahu is urging the administration to press Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.

The USS Ford set out on deployment in late June 2025, which means the crew will have been deployed for eight months in two weeks time. While it is unclear how long the ship will remain in the Middle East, the move sets the crew up for an usually long deployment.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran at home faces still-simmering anger over its wide-ranging suppression of all dissent in the Islamic Republic. That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin marking the traditional 40-day mourning for the loved ones. Already, online videos have shown mourners gathering in different parts of the country, holding portraits of their dead.

One video purported to show mourners at a graveyard in Iran's Razavi Khorasan province, home to Mashhad, on Thursday. There, with a large portable speaker, people sang the patriotic song “Ey Iran,” which dates to 1940s Iran under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. While initially banned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's theocratic government has played it to drum up support.

“Oh Iran, a land of full of jewels, your soil is full of art,” they sang. “May evil wishes be far from you. May you live eternal. Oh enemy, if you are a piece of granite, I am iron.”

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770980278692.jpeg" alt="FILE - In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford embarked on the first of its sea trials to test various state-of-the-art systems on its own power for the first time, April 8, 2017, from Newport News, Va. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni/U.S. Navy via AP, File)" />
                        <figcaption>FILE - In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford embarked on the first of its sea trials to test various state-of-the-art systems on its own power for the first time, April 8, 2017, from Newport News, Va. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni/U.S. Navy via AP, File)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and JON GAMBRELL</p><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.</p><p>The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations didn’t materialize as one of Tehran’s top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with the U.S. intermediaries.</p><p>Already, Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict in a Mideast still reeling from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iranians are beginning to hold 40-day mourning ceremonies for the thousands killed in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month, adding to the internal pressure faced by the sanctions-battered Islamic Republic.</p><p>The Ford’s deployment, first reported by The New York Times, will put&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-carrier-iran-protests-us-military-58e6da912f9167df94f913d7dafe5af4">two carriers</a>&nbsp;and their accompanying warships in the region. Already, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers are in the Arabian Sea.</p><p>The person who spoke to The Associated Press on the deployment did so on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements.</p><h2>Ford had been part of Venezuela strike force</h2><p>It marks a quick&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-carriers-trump-venezuela-middle-east-a458b9c4f1a5690e19d7c532dd6b7fd7">turnaround for the Ford</a>, which Trump sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last October as the administration build up a huge military presence in the lead-up to the surprise raid last month that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2">captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro</a>.</p><p>It also appears to be at odds with Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-security-strategy-europe-russia-america-first-068488ca7e6d1c92ccaddd1649958218">national security strategy</a>, which put an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere over other parts of the world.</p><p>Trump on Thursday warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with his administration would be “very traumatic.” Iran and the United States held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-talks-oman-nuclear-program-5813e0814efcd99616428086de6ba0be">indirect talks in Oman</a>&nbsp;last week.</p><p>“I guess over the next month, something like that,” Trump said in response to a question about his timeline for striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. “It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly.”</p><p>Trump told Axios earlier this week that he was considering sending a second carrier strike group to the Middle East.</p><p>Trump held lengthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-trump-netanyahu-nuclear-talks-fa5be8069deb4b1b01cdf30d3e3525e7">talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday and said he insisted to Israel's leader that negotiations with Iran needed to continue. Netanyahu is urging the administration to press Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.</p><p>The USS Ford set out on deployment in late June 2025, which means the crew will have been deployed for eight months in two weeks time. While it is unclear how long the ship will remain in the Middle East, the move sets the crew up for an usually long deployment.</p><p>The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><h2>Ford's deployment comes as Iran mourns</h2><p>Iran at home faces still-simmering anger over its wide-ranging suppression of all dissent in the Islamic Republic. That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin marking the traditional 40-day mourning for the loved ones. Already, online videos have shown mourners gathering in different parts of the country, holding portraits of their dead.</p><p>One video purported to show mourners at a graveyard in Iran's Razavi Khorasan province, home to Mashhad, on Thursday. There, with a large portable speaker, people sang the patriotic song “Ey Iran,” which dates to 1940s Iran under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. While initially banned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's theocratic government has played it to drum up support.</p><p>“Oh Iran, a land of full of jewels, your soil is full of art,” they sang. “May evil wishes be far from you. May you live eternal. Oh enemy, if you are a piece of granite, I am iron.”</p><p>___</p><p>Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.</p>

US sending largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East as Iran tensions high

KANSAS CITY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at a townhome in Kansas City.

Just before 1:30p.m. Thursday, Kansas City Fire Department companies&nbsp;were dispatched to a reported fire in the 7600 block of E 79th&nbsp;Street in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.

On arrival, crews reported a 1-story townhome with heavy fire showing. An offensive fire attack was initiated with 2 hose lines advanced into the structure. Searches throughout were performed and reported all clear. 

The fire was brought under controlat 1:41 p.m. Red Cross has been requested to assist with 1 adult. There were no injuries reported.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770929031651.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at a townhome in Kansas City.</p><p>Just before 1:30p.m. Thursday, Kansas City Fire Department companies&nbsp;were dispatched to a reported fire in the 7600 block of E 79th&nbsp;Street in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.</p><p>On arrival, crews reported a 1-story townhome with heavy fire showing. An offensive fire attack was initiated with 2 hose lines advanced into the structure. Searches throughout were performed and reported all clear. </p><p>The fire was brought under controlat 1:41 p.m. Red Cross has been requested to assist with 1 adult. There were no injuries reported.</p>

Red Cross assisting 1 victim after KC townhome fire

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators in Arizona want residents near&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mom-missing-arizona-6f1016e390e2c59d82604731f795a8ba">Nancy Guthrie</a>&nbsp;'s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people they may have noticed in the month before she disappeared.

The alert went across a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius in neighborhoods close to where the mother of “Today” show host&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/savannah-guthrie">Savannah Guthrie</a>&nbsp;went missing 12 days ago, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said Thursday.

It asked for video of “anything neighbors deem out of the ordinary or important to our investigation” since the beginning of January.

Federal and local officers have been going door-to-door in Tucson neighborhoods around 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie's house while also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nancy-guthrie-missing-investigation-5d11ef6f23ce6b1895b0e4ea508364de">looking for clues</a>&nbsp;around her other daughter's nearby home, which she had visited just hours before disappearing.

Investigators have recovered and are analyzing several pieces of evidence, including a pair of gloves, the sheriff's department said.

Authorities on Thursday briefly put up a tent in front of Nancy Guthrie’s entryway where her blood was discovered in the early days of the investigation, and where a doorbell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mom-missing-arizona-b765fed6b9669441383b75860263ac99">camera captured images</a>&nbsp;of a masked person the night she went missing. The FBI released descriptors of that person Thursday, whom it now calls a suspect, in a post on X.

The post describes the suspect as a 5-foot-9-inch or 5-foot-10-inch male with an average build, and included photos from multiple angles of a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack, which the agency said is the brand and model the suspect was wearing.

“We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI said, noting the thousands of tips it has gotten since Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

FBI Phoenix also announced it has hiked its reward to $100,000 for information on Guthrie's disappearance.

Authorities have said Guthrie was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-arizona-tucson-6c7b78d17d7b647c64f71f64ecaecf8b">taken against her will</a>. She’s been missing since Feb. 1, and authorities say she takes several medications and there’s concern she could die without them.

While much of the nation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-nancy-guthrie-mom-missing-534c68bfb666ab8e08123f130f937c2d">remains engrossed</a>&nbsp;by the mysterious disappearance, Savannah Guthrie on Thursday shared on Instagram a vintage home video of her mom with two children sharing pink flowers, writing "we will never give up on her. thank you for your prayers and hope.”

On Wednesday, FBI agents carrying water bottles to beat the desert heat walked among rocks and vegetation at Nancy Guthrie’s home. They also fanned out across a nearby neighborhood, knocking on doors and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/nancy-guthrie-missing-photos-453bebdb02f551b7d6959277217cdf20">searching through cactuses, brush and boulders</a>.

“They were just asking some general questions wondering if there was anything, any information we could shed on the Nancy Guthrie issue. Wanted to look around the property and after that, cameras and such," Ann Adams, a neighbor of Nancy Guthrie's oldest daughter, Annie Guthrie, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“They did ask specifically for the 31st of January and the morning of the first of February and then they wanted to know if we saw anything suspicious on cameras since then," Adams said.

Several hundred detectives and agents are now assigned to the investigation, which is expanding in the area, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.

Two investigators emerged from daughter Annie Guthrie’s home Wednesday with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag. One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of mail from the roadside mailbox.

Adams, the neighbor, said she was out walking her dog earlier this week when, "it started to get really busy and then I heard about them searching, looked down the street, I saw them slowly moving this way.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/today-savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-2c0512333cfaa6cdb01a82d1992160b2">Savannah Guthrie</a>&nbsp;and her two siblings have indicated a willingness to pay a ransom. But it's not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic.

Associated Press writers Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770749564250.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators in Arizona want residents near&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mom-missing-arizona-6f1016e390e2c59d82604731f795a8ba">Nancy Guthrie</a>&nbsp;'s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people they may have noticed in the month before she disappeared.</p><p>The alert went across a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius in neighborhoods close to where the mother of “Today” show host&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/savannah-guthrie">Savannah Guthrie</a>&nbsp;went missing 12 days ago, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said Thursday.</p><p>It asked for video of “anything neighbors deem out of the ordinary or important to our investigation” since the beginning of January.</p><p>Federal and local officers have been going door-to-door in Tucson neighborhoods around 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie's house while also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nancy-guthrie-missing-investigation-5d11ef6f23ce6b1895b0e4ea508364de">looking for clues</a>&nbsp;around her other daughter's nearby home, which she had visited just hours before disappearing.</p><p>Investigators have recovered and are analyzing several pieces of evidence, including a pair of gloves, the sheriff's department said.</p><p>Authorities on Thursday briefly put up a tent in front of Nancy Guthrie’s entryway where her blood was discovered in the early days of the investigation, and where a doorbell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mom-missing-arizona-b765fed6b9669441383b75860263ac99">camera captured images</a>&nbsp;of a masked person the night she went missing. The FBI released descriptors of that person Thursday, whom it now calls a suspect, in a post on X.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770945701735.png" alt="Image from FBI" />
                        <figcaption>Image from FBI</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The post describes the suspect as a 5-foot-9-inch or 5-foot-10-inch male with an average build, and included photos from multiple angles of a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack, which the agency said is the brand and model the suspect was wearing.</p><p>“We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI said, noting the thousands of tips it has gotten since Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.</p><p>FBI Phoenix also announced it has hiked its reward to $100,000 for information on Guthrie's disappearance.</p><p>Authorities have said Guthrie was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-arizona-tucson-6c7b78d17d7b647c64f71f64ecaecf8b">taken against her will</a>. She’s been missing since Feb. 1, and authorities say she takes several medications and there’s concern she could die without them.</p><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqcXWQDRgk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqcXWQDRgk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqcXWQDRgk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p>While much of the nation&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-nancy-guthrie-mom-missing-534c68bfb666ab8e08123f130f937c2d">remains engrossed</a>&nbsp;by the mysterious disappearance, Savannah Guthrie on Thursday shared on Instagram a vintage home video of her mom with two children sharing pink flowers, writing "we will never give up on her. thank you for your prayers and hope.”</p><p>On Wednesday, FBI agents carrying water bottles to beat the desert heat walked among rocks and vegetation at Nancy Guthrie’s home. They also fanned out across a nearby neighborhood, knocking on doors and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/nancy-guthrie-missing-photos-453bebdb02f551b7d6959277217cdf20">searching through cactuses, brush and boulders</a>.</p><p>“They were just asking some general questions wondering if there was anything, any information we could shed on the Nancy Guthrie issue. Wanted to look around the property and after that, cameras and such," Ann Adams, a neighbor of Nancy Guthrie's oldest daughter, Annie Guthrie, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p><p>“They did ask specifically for the 31st of January and the morning of the first of February and then they wanted to know if we saw anything suspicious on cameras since then," Adams said.</p><p>Several hundred detectives and agents are now assigned to the investigation, which is expanding in the area, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.</p><p>Two investigators emerged from daughter Annie Guthrie’s home Wednesday with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag. One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of mail from the roadside mailbox.</p><p>Adams, the neighbor, said she was out walking her dog earlier this week when, "it started to get really busy and then I heard about them searching, looked down the street, I saw them slowly moving this way.”</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/today-savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-2c0512333cfaa6cdb01a82d1992160b2">Savannah Guthrie</a>&nbsp;and her two siblings have indicated a willingness to pay a ransom. But it's not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.</p>

FBI releases description of Guthrie kidnapping suspect; reward increased

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man is in jail after his girlfriend’s young child shot herself with his unsecured firearm this week.. &nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2808/TaylorSyncere-Complaint-Packet-1">Syncere Taylor</a>, 19,&nbsp;&nbsp;faces one count of 1st Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class B felony carrying up to 15 years in prison, according to&nbsp; Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

According to court records, Sugar Creek police responded to a residence on Feb. 9 regarding a shooting. Taylor told officers someone had been shot in the apartment. Officers found a toddler inside the residence suffering from a gunshot wound to her abdomen.&nbsp;

In an interview with detectives, Taylor told officers that he was walking down the hallway when he heard a gunshot. When he entered the master bedroom, he found the toddler lying on the bed with a gunshot wound. He confirmed his firearm had been left on the bed in the master bedroom.

The toddler was listed in stable condition.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770906653576.png" alt="Taylor-photo Jackson County" />
                        <figcaption>Taylor-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man is in jail after his girlfriend’s young child shot herself with his unsecured firearm this week.. &nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2808/TaylorSyncere-Complaint-Packet-1">Syncere Taylor</a>, 19,&nbsp;&nbsp;faces one count of 1st Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class B felony carrying up to 15 years in prison, according to&nbsp; Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.</p><p>According to court records, Sugar Creek police responded to a residence on Feb. 9 regarding a shooting. Taylor told officers someone had been shot in the apartment. Officers found a toddler inside the residence suffering from a gunshot wound to her abdomen.&nbsp;</p><p>In an interview with detectives, Taylor told officers that he was walking down the hallway when he heard a gunshot. When he entered the master bedroom, he found the toddler lying on the bed with a gunshot wound. He confirmed his firearm had been left on the bed in the master bedroom.</p><p>The toddler was listed in stable condition.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details.</p>

Toddler shot herself with gun left on bed at KC home

DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement have arrested four suspects after a drug bust in Dickinson County.

In January of 2026, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit began an investigation into the distribution of Methamphetamine in Enterprise, Kansas. The approximate month-long investigation, resulted in arrests and seizure of illicit narcotics, according to a media release from the Dickinson County Sheriff.

On February 11, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the 200 Block of South Garfield Street in Enterprise, Kansas. A search of the residence revealed Methamphetamine, Drug Paraphernalia, Cocaine, Marijuana, and other controlled substances.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770929373417.png" alt="Houk photo Dickinson Co." />
                        <figcaption>Houk photo Dickinson Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement have arrested four suspects after a drug bust in Dickinson County.</p><p>In January of 2026, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit began an investigation into the distribution of Methamphetamine in Enterprise, Kansas. The approximate month-long investigation, resulted in arrests and seizure of illicit narcotics, according to a media release from the Dickinson County Sheriff.</p><p>On February 11, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the 200 Block of South Garfield Street in Enterprise, Kansas. A search of the residence revealed Methamphetamine, Drug Paraphernalia, Cocaine, Marijuana, and other controlled substances.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770929262467.png" alt="Houk -photo Dickinson Co." />
                        <figcaption>Houk -photo Dickinson Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Alexandria Houk, 37, of Enterprise, Kansas was arrested and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of Possession of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute, Distribution of Drug Paraphernalia and No Drug Tax Stamp</p><p>Leon Houk, 41, of Enterprise, Kansas was arrested and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of Possession of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute, Distribution of Drug Paraphernalia and No Drug Tax Stamp</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770929307383.png" alt="Quist&nbsp;photo Dickinson Co." />
                        <figcaption>Quist&nbsp;photo Dickinson Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Robert Quist, 57, of Enterprise, Kansas was arrested and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1770929435150.png" alt="&nbsp;Bishop-photo Dickinson County" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Bishop-photo Dickinson County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Dorothea Bishop, 68, of Enterprise, Kansas was arrested and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia</p>