The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $88,000 in refunds to consumers who bought Chinese-made measuring cups marketed as “Made in USA” by Instant Brands, the maker of Pyrex-brand kitchen and home products, according to a media release.

The FTC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/01/ftc-order-requires-pyrex-glass-manufacturer-pay-falsely-claiming-chinese-products-were-made-usa">took action against Instant Brands</a>&nbsp;in 2023 charging that the company claimed that all its popular glass measuring cups were made in the United States, despite some measuring cups actually being imported from China. All told, more than 110,000 units of Chinese-made measuring cup sets were sold to U.S. consumers while being marketed as “Made in USA.” Instant Brands agreed to a settlement with the FTC that stopped the company from making deceptive claims about products being “Made in USA” and required them to pay a monetary judgment.

The FTC is sending checks to 10,259 consumers. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, Simpluris, at 833-244-7320, or visit the FTC website to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/recent-ftc-cases-resulting-refunds/refund-programs-frequently-asked-questions">view frequently asked questions</a>&nbsp;about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.

The Commission’s&nbsp;<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data</a>&nbsp;provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023,&nbsp;FTC actions led to $330 million in refunds to consumers across the country.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. &nbsp;The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">consumer.ftc.gov</a>, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Follow the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/stay-connected/social-media">FTC on social media</a>, read&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts">consumer alerts</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog">business blog</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/stay-connected">sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts</a>.

The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $88,000 in refunds to consumers who bought Chinese-made measuring cups marketed as “Made in USA” by Instant Brands, the maker of Pyrex-brand kitchen and home products, according to a media release.The FTC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/01/ftc-order-requires-pyrex-glass-manufacturer-pay-falsely-claiming-chinese-products-were-made-usa">took action against Instant Brands</a>&nbsp;in 2023 charging that the company claimed that all its popular glass measuring cups were made in the United States, despite some measuring cups actually being imported from China. All told, more than 110,000 units of Chinese-made measuring cup sets were sold to U.S. consumers while being marketed as “Made in USA.” Instant Brands agreed to a settlement with the FTC that stopped the company from making deceptive claims about products being “Made in USA” and required them to pay a monetary judgment.The FTC is sending checks to 10,259 consumers. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, Simpluris, at 833-244-7320, or visit the FTC website to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/recent-ftc-cases-resulting-refunds/refund-programs-frequently-asked-questions">view frequently asked questions</a>&nbsp;about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.The Commission’s&nbsp;<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data</a>&nbsp;provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023,&nbsp;FTC actions led to $330 million in refunds to consumers across the country.The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. &nbsp;The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">consumer.ftc.gov</a>, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Follow the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/stay-connected/social-media">FTC on social media</a>, read&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts">consumer alerts</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog">business blog</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/stay-connected">sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts</a>.

Pyrex refund for glass products falsely advertised as ‘Made in USA’

Alumni, Tiger fans, and community members from far and wide made the trip back to Fort Hays State University for Homecoming last weekend. Whether to catch up with classmates and friends or take part in time-honored traditions, the turnout was spectacular.

Thursday morning brought golf enthusiasts to the Smoky Hill Country Club to participate in the annual sold-out Homecoming golf tournament. That evening, the FHSU community gathered for the well-loved bonfire and pep rally, took pictures with Victor E. Tiger, and enjoyed food from local vendors. &nbsp;

Tiger fans returned to campus Friday morning to celebrate a groundbreaking for the new Bickle-Schmidt Athletic Complex. The game-changing facility, spanning 20,000 square feet in the south end zone of Lewis Field Stadium, will accommodate the expansion of FHSU athletic programs. Read more about the complex here:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.EWtdXdo3nx3t8ZlvSfKX0bi5TpmjmL8ajvWybzAINV0W0dzD-2B1PCKSaAe-2BE7AcGpOF2nnJTlgGvMgFacZpwAlj47i3lpPlnpA7rNsA-2FOVXgNM419-2FxrulHBX-2BWVGPSRavnsZEAMOyFlCa3PEX5Vknw-3D-3DpNR4_x9osS7BzWruc2vyP0ryhjp1x1SORXKHR3ODGO-2FMcAZWcDEH5sFjG8hifz-2Fx-2FLlz0ywhQ3aSn225U2ntY8ehBVeNagO9eVdTLJp47lJyzn97NxdAPpZKCVKBkbERPShtsuoG2XnFGpyQwWjVlr-2FiR86pw-2BpRHeQxSR68nCUJpr1y9EN7bbf3iduf3jKCrG-2Bfa4WOoRoAfwgmPYK9JhzSYIHvEg2BjpWhSS5JJFWN4l9HwT6AEPhiJF9atXJPBM8gSGzWImFX-2FXD8VY8nPvHw-2FmYuKN678q-2BILtFM96TTxUOlBZPYIKCV2JgKNBSyQv-2FVox7BQKlyZHs99s4JIgI6iVrzzAEHA1a1Lnk4b1p6xv6wiyU29sehH0Bfa3AKaL6PP">fhsu.edu/news/2024/10/fhsu-celebrates-the-groundbreaking-of-a-new-athletic-complex</a>

Six outstanding FHSU Alumni Award recipients were honored on Friday during a Meet and Greet reception and again at the Alumni Awards Banquet. This year’s awardees included three Alumni Achievement Award recipients, Dr. David Bauer, Dr. Dale Herl, and Jennifer (Mardis) Kitson, a Distinguished Service recipient, Don Reif, and two Young Alumni Award recipients, Ernestor De La Rosa, and Tre’ Giles. Learn more about each recipient here:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.7LNxDHQVpzCjONIZ4OYIqhRfP33LqKZ4Vh42bknudUMPeLVaD4MC2MRIXFxFOY6jR-2FzFmcDJd52x0Vx1J5eEroanzI3yNjn6ESx0WDahxAA-3DNMNo_x9osS7BzWruc2vyP0ryhjp1x1SORXKHR3ODGO-2FMcAZWcDEH5sFjG8hifz-2Fx-2FLlz0ywhQ3aSn225U2ntY8ehBVeNagO9eVdTLJp47lJyzn97NxdAPpZKCVKBkbERPShtsuoG2XnFGpyQwWjVlr-2FiR86pw-2BpRHeQxSR68nCUJpr1y9EN7bbf3iduf3jKCrG-2Bfa4WOoRoAfwgmPYK9JhzSYIHvEg2BjpWhSS5JJFWN4l9HVB9q5sxPkebi4Bp9CZ55JTKnoNDS9w1wpcQD92q92gu9al-2B3idLLamIaefbSKh7MAISg5LKh5kA2QnjAveI9iGZov5tOUOe1G-2BaNCkCgCxr03xxm2lJHbw-2FYX9-2BQzg2anxyxLvmgxyOUfCeYiJqam">fhsu.edu/news/2024/07/fhsu-unveils-2024-alumni-award-recipients</a>

The classes of 1964 and 1974 celebrated 50 and 60 years since their graduation from Fort Hays State on Friday. Classmates enjoyed catching up with friends during an annual luncheon, campus tours, and once more at the Half Century Club breakfast Saturday morning before watching the Homecoming parade.

Game day drew droves of Tiger fans to Lewis Field Stadium to tailgate before watching the Fort Hays State Tigers face off against the Central Missouri Mules. An enthusiastic crowd cheered the Tigers to a 31 to 21 victory before an incredible fireworks display.

Mark your calendars for September 25&nbsp;-&nbsp;27, 2025, and make plans to attend Homecoming again next year!

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728399700689.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By: FHSU Alumni OfficeAlumni, Tiger fans, and community members from far and wide made the trip back to Fort Hays State University for Homecoming last weekend. Whether to catch up with classmates and friends or take part in time-honored traditions, the turnout was spectacular.Thursday morning brought golf enthusiasts to the Smoky Hill Country Club to participate in the annual sold-out Homecoming golf tournament. That evening, the FHSU community gathered for the well-loved bonfire and pep rally, took pictures with Victor E. Tiger, and enjoyed food from local vendors. &nbsp;Tiger fans returned to campus Friday morning to celebrate a groundbreaking for the new Bickle-Schmidt Athletic Complex. The game-changing facility, spanning 20,000 square feet in the south end zone of Lewis Field Stadium, will accommodate the expansion of FHSU athletic programs. Read more about the complex here:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.EWtdXdo3nx3t8ZlvSfKX0bi5TpmjmL8ajvWybzAINV0W0dzD-2B1PCKSaAe-2BE7AcGpOF2nnJTlgGvMgFacZpwAlj47i3lpPlnpA7rNsA-2FOVXgNM419-2FxrulHBX-2BWVGPSRavnsZEAMOyFlCa3PEX5Vknw-3D-3DpNR4_x9osS7BzWruc2vyP0ryhjp1x1SORXKHR3ODGO-2FMcAZWcDEH5sFjG8hifz-2Fx-2FLlz0ywhQ3aSn225U2ntY8ehBVeNagO9eVdTLJp47lJyzn97NxdAPpZKCVKBkbERPShtsuoG2XnFGpyQwWjVlr-2FiR86pw-2BpRHeQxSR68nCUJpr1y9EN7bbf3iduf3jKCrG-2Bfa4WOoRoAfwgmPYK9JhzSYIHvEg2BjpWhSS5JJFWN4l9HwT6AEPhiJF9atXJPBM8gSGzWImFX-2FXD8VY8nPvHw-2FmYuKN678q-2BILtFM96TTxUOlBZPYIKCV2JgKNBSyQv-2FVox7BQKlyZHs99s4JIgI6iVrzzAEHA1a1Lnk4b1p6xv6wiyU29sehH0Bfa3AKaL6PP">fhsu.edu/news/2024/10/fhsu-celebrates-the-groundbreaking-of-a-new-athletic-complex</a>Six outstanding FHSU Alumni Award recipients were honored on Friday during a Meet and Greet reception and again at the Alumni Awards Banquet. This year’s awardees included three Alumni Achievement Award recipients, Dr. David Bauer, Dr. Dale Herl, and Jennifer (Mardis) Kitson, a Distinguished Service recipient, Don Reif, and two Young Alumni Award recipients, Ernestor De La Rosa, and Tre’ Giles. Learn more about each recipient here:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.7LNxDHQVpzCjONIZ4OYIqhRfP33LqKZ4Vh42bknudUMPeLVaD4MC2MRIXFxFOY6jR-2FzFmcDJd52x0Vx1J5eEroanzI3yNjn6ESx0WDahxAA-3DNMNo_x9osS7BzWruc2vyP0ryhjp1x1SORXKHR3ODGO-2FMcAZWcDEH5sFjG8hifz-2Fx-2FLlz0ywhQ3aSn225U2ntY8ehBVeNagO9eVdTLJp47lJyzn97NxdAPpZKCVKBkbERPShtsuoG2XnFGpyQwWjVlr-2FiR86pw-2BpRHeQxSR68nCUJpr1y9EN7bbf3iduf3jKCrG-2Bfa4WOoRoAfwgmPYK9JhzSYIHvEg2BjpWhSS5JJFWN4l9HVB9q5sxPkebi4Bp9CZ55JTKnoNDS9w1wpcQD92q92gu9al-2B3idLLamIaefbSKh7MAISg5LKh5kA2QnjAveI9iGZov5tOUOe1G-2BaNCkCgCxr03xxm2lJHbw-2FYX9-2BQzg2anxyxLvmgxyOUfCeYiJqam">fhsu.edu/news/2024/07/fhsu-unveils-2024-alumni-award-recipients</a>The classes of 1964 and 1974 celebrated 50 and 60 years since their graduation from Fort Hays State on Friday. Classmates enjoyed catching up with friends during an annual luncheon, campus tours, and once more at the Half Century Club breakfast Saturday morning before watching the Homecoming parade.Game day drew droves of Tiger fans to Lewis Field Stadium to tailgate before watching the Fort Hays State Tigers face off against the Central Missouri Mules. An enthusiastic crowd cheered the Tigers to a 31 to 21 victory before an incredible fireworks display.Mark your calendars for September 25&nbsp;-&nbsp;27, 2025, and make plans to attend Homecoming again next year!

FHSU Homecoming a resounding success

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">the war in Gaza</a>&nbsp;began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East,&nbsp;<a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/USspendingIsrael">according to a report for Brown University's Costs of War project</a>, released Monday on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-war-anniversary-survivors-fb65aa677e344a873566dc948d6bf52a">anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel</a>.

An additional $4.86 billion has gone into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-us-military-ships-aircraft-3ef96cbdf87238de559e84e28573f611">stepped-up U.S. military operations</a>&nbsp;in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, researchers said in findings first provided to The Associated Press. That includes the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/houthis-yemen-us-strikes-weapons-752dd1e5dd6c284a7909878f89c73149">a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes</a>&nbsp;on commercial shipping by Yemen's Houthis, who are carrying them out in solidarity with the fellow Iranian-backed group Hamas.

The report — completed before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mideast-wars-lebanon-hezbollah-hamas-5-october-2024-a8b70daeccc57a86fc6d939c604f2caf">Israel opened a second front</a>, this one against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, in late September — is one of the first tallies of estimated U.S. costs as the Biden administration backs Israel in its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76">conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon</a>&nbsp;and seeks to contain hostilities by Iran-allied armed groups in the region.

The financial toll is on top of&nbsp;<a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/IndirectDeathsGaza">the cost in human lives</a>: Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel a year ago and took others hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

At least 1,400 people in Lebanon, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed since Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-lebanon-hezbollah-e3ca9c83642056f962fdf76319e3b8de">greatly expanded its strikes in that country in late September</a>.

The financial costs were calculated by Linda J. Bilmes, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, who has assessed the full costs of U.S. wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and fellow researchers William D. Hartung and Stephen Semler.

Here's a look at where some of the U.S. taxpayer money went:

Israel — a protege of the United States since its 1948 founding — is the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-20-billion-weapons-us-aid-b6a99129c88a5dcc4a4753e20b5e19ec">biggest recipient of U.S. military aid in history</a>, getting $251.2 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1959, the report says.

Even so, the $17.9 billion spent since Oct. 7, 2023, in inflation-adjusted dollars, is by far the most military aid sent to Israel in one year. The U.S. committed to providing billions in military assistance to Israel and Egypt each year when they signed their 1979 U.S.-brokered peace treaty, and an agreement since the Obama administration set the annual amount for Israel at $3.8 billion through 2028.

The U.S. aid since the Gaza war started includes military financing, arms sales, at least $4.4 billion in drawdowns from U.S. stockpiles and hand-me-downs of used equipment.

Much of the U.S. weapons delivered in the year were munitions, from artillery shells to 2,000-pound bunker-busters and precision-guided bombs.

Expenditures range from $4 billion to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-defense-iron-dome-iran-hezbollah-hamas-326cd1e9484dd38c430d62739b7f2ef3">replenish Israel's Iron Dome</a>&nbsp;and David’s Sling missile defense systems to cash for rifles and jet fuel, the study says.

Unlike the United States' publicly documented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-weapons-missiles-a4a109e2eb4581e59d5d1455deb92b09">military aid to Ukraine</a>, it was impossible to get the full details of what the U.S. has shipped Israel since last Oct. 7, so the $17.9 billion for the year is a partial figure, the researchers said.

They cited Biden administration “efforts to hide the full amounts of aid and types of systems through bureaucratic maneuvering.”

Funding for the key U.S. ally during a war that has exacted a heavy toll on civilians has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-activist-college-protest-362d2adc0c771f2b3ad250fe7e6f4623">divided Americans during the presidential campaign</a>. But support for Israel has long carried weight in U.S. politics, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-election-mideast-israel-d9f53ba8c7b3b4db953be020f676274c">Biden said Friday</a>&nbsp;that “no administration has helped Israel more than I have."

U.S. military operations in the Middle East

The Biden administration has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-us-military-ships-aircraft-3ef96cbdf87238de559e84e28573f611">bolstered its military strength in the region</a>&nbsp;since the war in Gaza started, aiming to deter and respond to any attacks on Israeli and American forces.

Those additional operations cost at least $4.86 billion, the report said, not including beefed-up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egypt-us-military-aid-human-rights-blinken-416c7e79e287c8ff937ba7b7a0be515d">U.S. military aid to Egypt</a>&nbsp;and other partners in the region.

The U.S. had 34,000 forces in the Middle East the day that Hamas broke through Israeli barricades around Gaza to attack. That number rose to about 50,000 in August when two aircraft carriers were in the region, aiming to discourage retaliation after a strike attributed to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hama-haniyeh-funeral-9d293642dc44c75232db09739b71a6c6">killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh</a>&nbsp;in Iran. The total is now around 43,000.

The number of U.S. vessels and aircraft deployed — aircraft carrier strike groups, an amphibious ready group, fighter squadrons, and air defense batteries — in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has varied during the year.

The Pentagon has said another aircraft carrier strike group is headed to Europe very soon and that could increase the troop total again if two carriers are again in the region at the same time.

The U.S. military has deployed since the start of the war to try to counter escalated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-gaza-israel-defe499e9df870381f078ad3e3b667b5">strikes by the Houthis</a>, an armed faction that controls Yemen's capital and northern areas, and has been firing on merchant ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza. The researchers called the $4.86 billion cost to the U.S. an “unexpectedly complicated and asymmetrically expensive challenge.”

Houthis have kept launching attacks on ships traversing the critical trade route, drawing U.S. strikes on launch sites and other targets. The campaign has become the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-navy-yemen-houthis-israel-war-7a9997f9d84ac669fae69ecf819913fb">most intense running sea battle</a>&nbsp;the Navy has faced since World War II.

“The U.S. has deployed multiple aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and expensive multimillion-dollar missiles against cheap Iranian-made Houthi drones that cost $2,000,” the authors said.

Just Friday, the U.S. military struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment, officials said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713493747235.png" alt="IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari couresy photo" />
 <figcaption>IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari couresy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">the war in Gaza</a>&nbsp;began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East,&nbsp;<a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/USspendingIsrael">according to a report for Brown University's Costs of War project</a>, released Monday on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-war-anniversary-survivors-fb65aa677e344a873566dc948d6bf52a">anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel</a>.An additional $4.86 billion has gone into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-us-military-ships-aircraft-3ef96cbdf87238de559e84e28573f611">stepped-up U.S. military operations</a>&nbsp;in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, researchers said in findings first provided to The Associated Press. That includes the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/houthis-yemen-us-strikes-weapons-752dd1e5dd6c284a7909878f89c73149">a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes</a>&nbsp;on commercial shipping by Yemen's Houthis, who are carrying them out in solidarity with the fellow Iranian-backed group Hamas.The report — completed before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mideast-wars-lebanon-hezbollah-hamas-5-october-2024-a8b70daeccc57a86fc6d939c604f2caf">Israel opened a second front</a>, this one against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, in late September — is one of the first tallies of estimated U.S. costs as the Biden administration backs Israel in its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76">conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon</a>&nbsp;and seeks to contain hostilities by Iran-allied armed groups in the region.The financial toll is on top of&nbsp;<a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/IndirectDeathsGaza">the cost in human lives</a>: Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel a year ago and took others hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.At least 1,400 people in Lebanon, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed since Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-lebanon-hezbollah-e3ca9c83642056f962fdf76319e3b8de">greatly expanded its strikes in that country in late September</a>.The financial costs were calculated by Linda J. Bilmes, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, who has assessed the full costs of U.S. wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and fellow researchers William D. Hartung and Stephen Semler.Here's a look at where some of the U.S. taxpayer money went:<h2>Record military aid to Israel</h2>Israel — a protege of the United States since its 1948 founding — is the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-20-billion-weapons-us-aid-b6a99129c88a5dcc4a4753e20b5e19ec">biggest recipient of U.S. military aid in history</a>, getting $251.2 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1959, the report says.Even so, the $17.9 billion spent since Oct. 7, 2023, in inflation-adjusted dollars, is by far the most military aid sent to Israel in one year. The U.S. committed to providing billions in military assistance to Israel and Egypt each year when they signed their 1979 U.S.-brokered peace treaty, and an agreement since the Obama administration set the annual amount for Israel at $3.8 billion through 2028.The U.S. aid since the Gaza war started includes military financing, arms sales, at least $4.4 billion in drawdowns from U.S. stockpiles and hand-me-downs of used equipment.Much of the U.S. weapons delivered in the year were munitions, from artillery shells to 2,000-pound bunker-busters and precision-guided bombs.Expenditures range from $4 billion to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-defense-iron-dome-iran-hezbollah-hamas-326cd1e9484dd38c430d62739b7f2ef3">replenish Israel's Iron Dome</a>&nbsp;and David’s Sling missile defense systems to cash for rifles and jet fuel, the study says.Unlike the United States' publicly documented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-weapons-missiles-a4a109e2eb4581e59d5d1455deb92b09">military aid to Ukraine</a>, it was impossible to get the full details of what the U.S. has shipped Israel since last Oct. 7, so the $17.9 billion for the year is a partial figure, the researchers said.They cited Biden administration “efforts to hide the full amounts of aid and types of systems through bureaucratic maneuvering.”Funding for the key U.S. ally during a war that has exacted a heavy toll on civilians has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-activist-college-protest-362d2adc0c771f2b3ad250fe7e6f4623">divided Americans during the presidential campaign</a>. But support for Israel has long carried weight in U.S. politics, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-election-mideast-israel-d9f53ba8c7b3b4db953be020f676274c">Biden said Friday</a>&nbsp;that “no administration has helped Israel more than I have."<h2>U.S. military operations in the Middle East</h2>The Biden administration has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-us-military-ships-aircraft-3ef96cbdf87238de559e84e28573f611">bolstered its military strength in the region</a>&nbsp;since the war in Gaza started, aiming to deter and respond to any attacks on Israeli and American forces.Those additional operations cost at least $4.86 billion, the report said, not including beefed-up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egypt-us-military-aid-human-rights-blinken-416c7e79e287c8ff937ba7b7a0be515d">U.S. military aid to Egypt</a>&nbsp;and other partners in the region.The U.S. had 34,000 forces in the Middle East the day that Hamas broke through Israeli barricades around Gaza to attack. That number rose to about 50,000 in August when two aircraft carriers were in the region, aiming to discourage retaliation after a strike attributed to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hama-haniyeh-funeral-9d293642dc44c75232db09739b71a6c6">killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh</a>&nbsp;in Iran. The total is now around 43,000.The number of U.S. vessels and aircraft deployed — aircraft carrier strike groups, an amphibious ready group, fighter squadrons, and air defense batteries — in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has varied during the year.The Pentagon has said another aircraft carrier strike group is headed to Europe very soon and that could increase the troop total again if two carriers are again in the region at the same time.<h2>The fight against the Houthis</h2>The U.S. military has deployed since the start of the war to try to counter escalated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-gaza-israel-defe499e9df870381f078ad3e3b667b5">strikes by the Houthis</a>, an armed faction that controls Yemen's capital and northern areas, and has been firing on merchant ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza. The researchers called the $4.86 billion cost to the U.S. an “unexpectedly complicated and asymmetrically expensive challenge.”Houthis have kept launching attacks on ships traversing the critical trade route, drawing U.S. strikes on launch sites and other targets. The campaign has become the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-navy-yemen-houthis-israel-war-7a9997f9d84ac669fae69ecf819913fb">most intense running sea battle</a>&nbsp;the Navy has faced since World War II.“The U.S. has deployed multiple aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and expensive multimillion-dollar missiles against cheap Iranian-made Houthi drones that cost $2,000,” the authors said.Just Friday, the U.S. military struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment, officials said.

US spent a record $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel in past year

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Authorities investigating a fatal house fire on Sunday in Topeka have determined the cause of this fire was intentionally set,&nbsp;according to Topeka Fire Department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp; The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

 Just after 6p.m. Sunday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department&nbsp; responded to a reported house fire at 1640 SW Buchanan Street.

Firs responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story residence. Firefighters performed a search and found an individual on the second floor of the residence who was later pronounced deceased. 

Crews extinguished the fire. Investigators have not released name of the victim.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728296520340.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Authorities investigating a fatal house fire on Sunday in Topeka have determined the cause of this fire was intentionally set,&nbsp;according to Topeka Fire Department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp; The incident is being investigated as a homicide. Just after 6p.m. Sunday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department&nbsp; responded to a reported house fire at 1640 SW Buchanan Street.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728296248154.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>Firs responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story residence. Firefighters performed a search and found an individual on the second floor of the residence who was later pronounced deceased. Crews extinguished the fire. Investigators have not released name of the victim.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Homicide: Deadly Kan. house fire was intentionally set

One year after former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned, he returns to town for his own criminal case

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

MARION — Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody returned Monday to the town where he&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/11/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-marion-county-newspaper-seizing-computers-records-and-cellphones/">raided a newspaper</a>&nbsp;to face a dozen journalists along with a felony charge for his actions after the raid.

Cody&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/12/police-defend-raid-on-kansas-newspaper-amid-backlash-over-brazen-violation-of-press-freedom/">led police</a>&nbsp;in the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record, the editor’s home and a councilwoman’s home under the false pretense that a newspaper reporter had committed identity theft by looking up restaurateur Kari Newell’s driving record. Special prosecutors charged Cody with one count of interference with the judicial process, a low-level felony, for asking Newell after the raid to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/20/marion-woman-told-investigators-she-deleted-texts-with-police-chief-to-avoid-rumor-of-affair/">delete text messages</a>&nbsp;between the two. Cody told her he was concerned their relationship would be misinterpreted, according to court documents.

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/05/one-year-after-chilling-police-raid-on-kansas-newspaper-aftershocks-linger-in-marion/">One year later</a>, Cody is party to five federal civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal case.

Monday’s hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, was Cody’s first public appearance in the town since he resigned as police chief amid intense scrutiny in October 2023. In a courtroom with an audience mostly of reporters, Cody was straight-faced and silent.

District Judge Ryan Rosauer rejected Cody’s motion to dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause.

Rosauer, prosecutors and Cody’s defense agreed that Cody won’t be required to appear in court for minor hearings and case proceedings, including the case’s next scheduled hearing on Dec. 16. Court filings show Cody is believed to be living in Hawaii.

Cody and Sal Intagliata, a Wichita attorney who is defending Cody, declined to answer reporters’ questions as they left the courthouse. Intagliata said the “full story” would come out as the case is litigated in court. Cody didn’t speak.

Intagliata, as he ushered Cody into a car, told reporters: “If I have any comment at all on behalf of Mr. Cody, it would be this: that the people of Marion County, really the most important people involved in this situation, take a minute to reserve judgment, take a moment to, like, avoid jumping to conclusions, and allow the system to work.”

Cody won’t be required to pay a cash bond. Instead, Rosauer ordered a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, which Cody only will have to pay if he fails to show up to court when required.

If convicted, Cody would face presumed probation.

Following the hearing, Marion County Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer answered questions from a dozen reporters who gathered outside the newspaper office across the street from the courthouse. They asked him to respond to Intagliata.

“We can take a delay of the justice system, as long as the delay actually results in proper assessment of things,” Meyer said. “We’re not in a hurry. He should have plenty of time to think about what he did.”

Meyer said Cody shouldn’t be the only one who is charged with a crime. Others, Meyer said, should have intervened — including other police officers, the sheriff, the county attorney, and the magistrate who signed the search warrants.

“Somewhere the system failed,” Meyer said. “These are the people who are supposed to protect our rights. They didn’t do it. That’s why I hate to see Gideon Cody be the fall guy for all this. Yes, he deserves a great deal of credit or blame for what went on in here, but there are others who were well aware of it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728384281817.png" alt=" Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody on Oct. 7, 2024, enters the Marion County Courthouse for his first appearance in a low-level felony case. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody on Oct. 7, 2024, enters the Marion County Courthouse for his first appearance in a low-level felony case. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>One year after former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned, he returns to town for his own criminal case</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>MARION — Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody returned Monday to the town where he&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/11/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-marion-county-newspaper-seizing-computers-records-and-cellphones/">raided a newspaper</a>&nbsp;to face a dozen journalists along with a felony charge for his actions after the raid.Cody&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/12/police-defend-raid-on-kansas-newspaper-amid-backlash-over-brazen-violation-of-press-freedom/">led police</a>&nbsp;in the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record, the editor’s home and a councilwoman’s home under the false pretense that a newspaper reporter had committed identity theft by looking up restaurateur Kari Newell’s driving record. Special prosecutors charged Cody with one count of interference with the judicial process, a low-level felony, for asking Newell after the raid to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/20/marion-woman-told-investigators-she-deleted-texts-with-police-chief-to-avoid-rumor-of-affair/">delete text messages</a>&nbsp;between the two. Cody told her he was concerned their relationship would be misinterpreted, according to court documents.<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/08/05/one-year-after-chilling-police-raid-on-kansas-newspaper-aftershocks-linger-in-marion/">One year later</a>, Cody is party to five federal civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal case.Monday’s hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, was Cody’s first public appearance in the town since he resigned as police chief amid intense scrutiny in October 2023. In a courtroom with an audience mostly of reporters, Cody was straight-faced and silent.District Judge Ryan Rosauer rejected Cody’s motion to dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause.Rosauer, prosecutors and Cody’s defense agreed that Cody won’t be required to appear in court for minor hearings and case proceedings, including the case’s next scheduled hearing on Dec. 16. Court filings show Cody is believed to be living in Hawaii.Cody and Sal Intagliata, a Wichita attorney who is defending Cody, declined to answer reporters’ questions as they left the courthouse. Intagliata said the “full story” would come out as the case is litigated in court. Cody didn’t speak.Intagliata, as he ushered Cody into a car, told reporters: “If I have any comment at all on behalf of Mr. Cody, it would be this: that the people of Marion County, really the most important people involved in this situation, take a minute to reserve judgment, take a moment to, like, avoid jumping to conclusions, and allow the system to work.”Cody won’t be required to pay a cash bond. Instead, Rosauer ordered a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, which Cody only will have to pay if he fails to show up to court when required.If convicted, Cody would face presumed probation.Following the hearing, Marion County Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer answered questions from a dozen reporters who gathered outside the newspaper office across the street from the courthouse. They asked him to respond to Intagliata.“We can take a delay of the justice system, as long as the delay actually results in proper assessment of things,” Meyer said. “We’re not in a hurry. He should have plenty of time to think about what he did.”Meyer said Cody shouldn’t be the only one who is charged with a crime. Others, Meyer said, should have intervened — including other police officers, the sheriff, the county attorney, and the magistrate who signed the search warrants.“Somewhere the system failed,” Meyer said. “These are the people who are supposed to protect our rights. They didn’t do it. That’s why I hate to see Gideon Cody be the fall guy for all this. Yes, he deserves a great deal of credit or blame for what went on in here, but there are others who were well aware of it.”

Former police chief, who raided Kansas newspaper, returns to face criminal charge

Washington, D.C.&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Roger&nbsp;Marshall, joined Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in a letter to President Joe Biden calling out the Administration’s reliance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the border crisis which has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response, according to a media release from Marshall's office.

“Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated: ‘We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season.’…Your Administration has spent over $650 million on FEMA’s border-related programs in FY2024. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has spent around $1.5 billion on FEMA’s border-related programs. We are concerned that your Administration’s reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis, under Vice President Harris as ‘border czar,’ has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response,”&nbsp;the Senators wrote in the letter.&nbsp;

“FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission. Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission. FEMA’s mission is ‘helping people before, during, and after disasters,’ not helping DHS clean up the impact of your Administration’s reckless border policies. We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts,”&nbsp;the Senators continued.&nbsp;

We write today to raise our concerns on the impact of the ongoing border crisis on Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) readiness. Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated: “We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season.” Similarly, you indicated this week that you are considering requesting that Congress convene a special session to consider supplemental funding for FEMA. Congress has appropriated over $30 billion to FEMA for FY2024. Your Administration has spent over $650 million on FEMA’s border-related programs in FY2024. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has spent around $1.5 billion on FEMA’s border-related programs. We are concerned that your Administration’s reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis, under Vice President Harris as “border czar,” has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response.

On the first day of the Biden-Harris Administration, you took decisive action to open the border and invite the chaos we have seen over the past 3.5 years. You ended Remain in Mexico, stopped deporting illegal immigrants, and terminated border wall construction. Over 8.4 million migrants have been encountered since you took those actions to open the border. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) set multiple records for the most encounters in a single day and in a single month during your Administration. We have repeatedly asked you, your Cabinet, and officials across the Federal government what the plan is for addressing this historic border crisis. By March 2021, FEMA was already mobilized to address the surge of unaccompanied minors after your Administration exempted them from the Title 42 order. As your Administration began planning for the end of the Title 42 order, we learned that you had placed a senior FEMA official as the senior coordinating official for your response to impending surge.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Since the end of the Title 42 order, FEMA has continued to play a role in addressing the ongoing border crisis through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). These programs have supported the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness,” which calls for FEMA to “bolster[…] the capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to receive noncitizens after they have been processed by CBP and are awaiting the results of their immigration removal proceedings. And ... coordination with and support for state, local, and community leaders to help mitigate increased impacts to their communities.” Oversight from the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that some illegal aliens who were ineligible for EFSP and SSP funding ended up receiving benefits funded by these programs. All told, FEMA has received $1.7 billion for its southern border response efforts. Emblematic of this Administration’s approach, one FEMA official informed my Subcommittee staff during a site visit that the Biden-Harris border crisis is like a hurricane: “FEMA can buy its way out of the border crisis if Congress allocates it enough money.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Each year under your Administration, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and DHS have regularly requested that Congress cut detention beds and funding for border enforcement measures. Those same budget requests asked Congress to continue funding FEMA’s border-related work. FEMA’s efforts responding to the border crisis could have been much more limited if your Administration would have instead used your authorities to secure the border.&nbsp;

FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission. Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission. FEMA’s mission is “helping people before, during, and after disasters,” not helping DHS clean up the impact of your Administration’s reckless border policies. We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts. To better understand the impact of FEMA’s border efforts on its hurricane response mission, we ask the following questions:&nbsp;

1. &nbsp; &nbsp; Since January 20, 2021, how many FEMA full-time employees (FTEs) have been detailed or transferred to border-related mission duties? How many FEMA FTEs have joined a border-related volunteer force or related opportunity from DHS?&nbsp;

2. &nbsp; &nbsp; Since January 20, 2021, how much money has FEMA reprogrammed to support its border-related mission duties? Please share a copy of each border-related reprogramming request.&nbsp;

3. &nbsp; &nbsp; Has the Administration conducted any strategic planning or assessment on the impact of FEMA’s engagement at the southern border? If so, please share a copy of such strategic plan or assessment. If not, why not?&nbsp;

4. &nbsp; &nbsp; The DHS OIG found that FEMA funds related to southern border programs have gone to ineligible illegal aliens. What is FEMA’s plan for recovering those funds?

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to receiving your response by not later than October 18, 2024.

Washington, D.C.&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Roger&nbsp;Marshall, joined Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in a letter to President Joe Biden calling out the Administration’s reliance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the border crisis which has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response, according to a media release from Marshall's office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728335149953.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated: ‘We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season.’…Your Administration has spent over $650 million on FEMA’s border-related programs in FY2024. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has spent around $1.5 billion on FEMA’s border-related programs. We are concerned that your Administration’s reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis, under Vice President Harris as ‘border czar,’ has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response,”&nbsp;the Senators wrote in the letter.&nbsp;“FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission. Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission. FEMA’s mission is ‘helping people before, during, and after disasters,’ not helping DHS clean up the impact of your Administration’s reckless border policies. We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts,”&nbsp;the Senators continued.&nbsp;Read the entire letter belowDear President Biden:We write today to raise our concerns on the impact of the ongoing border crisis on Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) readiness. Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated: “We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season.” Similarly, you indicated this week that you are considering requesting that Congress convene a special session to consider supplemental funding for FEMA. Congress has appropriated over $30 billion to FEMA for FY2024. Your Administration has spent over $650 million on FEMA’s border-related programs in FY2024. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has spent around $1.5 billion on FEMA’s border-related programs. We are concerned that your Administration’s reliance on FEMA to address the ongoing border crisis, under Vice President Harris as “border czar,” has diminished FEMA’s readiness for disaster relief, including hurricane response.On the first day of the Biden-Harris Administration, you took decisive action to open the border and invite the chaos we have seen over the past 3.5 years. You ended Remain in Mexico, stopped deporting illegal immigrants, and terminated border wall construction. Over 8.4 million migrants have been encountered since you took those actions to open the border. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) set multiple records for the most encounters in a single day and in a single month during your Administration. We have repeatedly asked you, your Cabinet, and officials across the Federal government what the plan is for addressing this historic border crisis. By March 2021, FEMA was already mobilized to address the surge of unaccompanied minors after your Administration exempted them from the Title 42 order. As your Administration began planning for the end of the Title 42 order, we learned that you had placed a senior FEMA official as the senior coordinating official for your response to impending surge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since the end of the Title 42 order, FEMA has continued to play a role in addressing the ongoing border crisis through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). These programs have supported the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness,” which calls for FEMA to “bolster[…] the capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to receive noncitizens after they have been processed by CBP and are awaiting the results of their immigration removal proceedings. And ... coordination with and support for state, local, and community leaders to help mitigate increased impacts to their communities.” Oversight from the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that some illegal aliens who were ineligible for EFSP and SSP funding ended up receiving benefits funded by these programs. All told, FEMA has received $1.7 billion for its southern border response efforts. Emblematic of this Administration’s approach, one FEMA official informed my Subcommittee staff during a site visit that the Biden-Harris border crisis is like a hurricane: “FEMA can buy its way out of the border crisis if Congress allocates it enough money.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Each year under your Administration, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and DHS have regularly requested that Congress cut detention beds and funding for border enforcement measures. Those same budget requests asked Congress to continue funding FEMA’s border-related work. FEMA’s efforts responding to the border crisis could have been much more limited if your Administration would have instead used your authorities to secure the border.&nbsp;FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission. Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission. FEMA’s mission is “helping people before, during, and after disasters,” not helping DHS clean up the impact of your Administration’s reckless border policies. We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts. To better understand the impact of FEMA’s border efforts on its hurricane response mission, we ask the following questions:&nbsp;1. &nbsp; &nbsp; Since January 20, 2021, how many FEMA full-time employees (FTEs) have been detailed or transferred to border-related mission duties? How many FEMA FTEs have joined a border-related volunteer force or related opportunity from DHS?&nbsp;2. &nbsp; &nbsp; Since January 20, 2021, how much money has FEMA reprogrammed to support its border-related mission duties? Please share a copy of each border-related reprogramming request.&nbsp;3. &nbsp; &nbsp; Has the Administration conducted any strategic planning or assessment on the impact of FEMA’s engagement at the southern border? If so, please share a copy of such strategic plan or assessment. If not, why not?&nbsp;4. &nbsp; &nbsp; The DHS OIG found that FEMA funds related to southern border programs have gone to ineligible illegal aliens. What is FEMA’s plan for recovering those funds?Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to receiving your response by not later than October 18, 2024.

Kan. U.S. Senator slams Biden for using disaster relief funds for migrant shelters

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal weekend shooting have identified the victim as 35-year-old Terry D. Moore of Kansas City, Kansas.

Just after 1a.m. Saturday police responded to report of a shooting in the 500 Block of Barnett Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release.

First responders found Moore on the road with apparent gunshot wounds.&nbsp; He was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal weekend shooting have identified the victim as 35-year-old Terry D. Moore of Kansas City, Kansas.Just after 1a.m. Saturday police responded to report of a shooting in the 500 Block of Barnett Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release.First responders found Moore on the road with apparent gunshot wounds.&nbsp; He was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

Police ID man who died in Kansas shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs play the New Orleans Saints after the pop superstar had missed the team's previous two games on the road.

Swift is in the final days of a break from her record-setting Eras Tour, which resumes with the first of three shows Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The tour's North American leg continues in New Orleans and Indianapolis before heading to Toronto and Vancouver in November and December. The final show is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Swift also missed Kelce's annual Kelce Car Jam over the weekend, a charity car show that raises money for his 87 and Running foundation, which helps underserved youth in the areas around Kansas City and Cleveland. There was still plenty of star power with Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, joining Kelce's parents his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce.

Swift began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-chiefs-broncos-b08b0e53fdd232dc0a468b5fa43b5b04">her high-profile romance with Kelce</a>&nbsp;last season, when he invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to watch him in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-kelce-chiefs-891e7df84295f5b35cfa97a5ec427721">a September matchup with the Bears</a>. Since then, the two have spent plenty of time together, often with cameras following every move.

Swift has stayed out of the spotlight the past couple of weeks, though. That after a particularly headline-grabbing week in which she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-endorse-kamala-harris-president-3a36b6f9695c20153891bba35c47f21d">endorsed Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;for president, took home&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mtv-vmas-video-music-awards-2024-c8611104c22b980398b440ef9dd8ceed">seven trophies from the MTV Video Music Awards</a>, and show up to see the Chiefs beat the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.

Swift has become close friends with the Mahomes family over the past year. That created some controversy when the 14-time Grammy winner said she supported Harris over Donald Trump in the November election; Trump has referenced the quarterback's wife after she had liked — and then unliked — an Instagram post by the Republican presidential nominee.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/patrick-mahomes-wife-donald-trump-chiefs-nfl-b2ba221de1c83138c2fac126223e46bb">Patrick Mahomes has declined to endorse anyone in the election</a>, instead urging people to register to vote.

“I don’t want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate,” Mahomes said. “My place is to inform people to get registered to vote. It’s to inform people to do their own research and then make the best decision for them and their family.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728352544471.png" alt="Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)" />
 <figcaption>Taylor Swift arrives before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs play the New Orleans Saints after the pop superstar had missed the team's previous two games on the road.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨| Taylor Swift stuns at today&#39;s Chiefs game! <a href="https://t.co/LIwcxAio6j">pic.twitter.com/LIwcxAio6j</a>&mdash; The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) <a href="https://twitter.com/tswifterastour/status/1843435493880672648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Swift is in the final days of a break from her record-setting Eras Tour, which resumes with the first of three shows Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The tour's North American leg continues in New Orleans and Indianapolis before heading to Toronto and Vancouver in November and December. The final show is scheduled for Dec. 8.Swift also missed Kelce's annual Kelce Car Jam over the weekend, a charity car show that raises money for his 87 and Running foundation, which helps underserved youth in the areas around Kansas City and Cleveland. There was still plenty of star power with Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, joining Kelce's parents his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce.Swift began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-chiefs-broncos-b08b0e53fdd232dc0a468b5fa43b5b04">her high-profile romance with Kelce</a>&nbsp;last season, when he invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to watch him in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-kelce-chiefs-891e7df84295f5b35cfa97a5ec427721">a September matchup with the Bears</a>. Since then, the two have spent plenty of time together, often with cameras following every move.Swift has stayed out of the spotlight the past couple of weeks, though. That after a particularly headline-grabbing week in which she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-endorse-kamala-harris-president-3a36b6f9695c20153891bba35c47f21d">endorsed Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;for president, took home&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mtv-vmas-video-music-awards-2024-c8611104c22b980398b440ef9dd8ceed">seven trophies from the MTV Video Music Awards</a>, and show up to see the Chiefs beat the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.Swift has become close friends with the Mahomes family over the past year. That created some controversy when the 14-time Grammy winner said she supported Harris over Donald Trump in the November election; Trump has referenced the quarterback's wife after she had liked — and then unliked — an Instagram post by the Republican presidential nominee.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/patrick-mahomes-wife-donald-trump-chiefs-nfl-b2ba221de1c83138c2fac126223e46bb">Patrick Mahomes has declined to endorse anyone in the election</a>, instead urging people to register to vote.“I don’t want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate,” Mahomes said. “My place is to inform people to get registered to vote. It’s to inform people to do their own research and then make the best decision for them and their family.”___

Taylor Swift back to watch Kelce and the Chiefs with Eras Tour soon to resume

SALINE COUNTY —The Salina Police Department has completed its investigation of an incident that occurred at South Middle School on September 6.

Police eported a 13-year-old was bench pressing in the school weight room. When the student finished the exercise the 39-year-old male teacher sat on him. 

Shortly thereafter, the student passed out and rolled off the bench striking his head on a portion of the bench resulting in a cut to his head.

Upon completing interviews of all those present during the incident, the case was forwarded to Salina Municipal Court who requested the case be reviewed by the Saline County Attorney’s Office.

The Saline County Attorney declined prosecution based on all witness statements indicating they did not feel it met the threshold for filing criminal charges.

The County Attorney determined based on the prevailing witness opinions, that most felt the incident was playful. Therefore they could not establish criminal intent.

SALINE COUNTY —USD 305 Salina is actively investigating a report of a student injury that occurred during class in a weight room within Salina Public Schools, according to a statement from the school district.

&nbsp;"The safety and well-being of our students remain our top priority. In accordance with district procedures, the teacher involved has been placed on administrative leave. We are committed to conducting a thorough review," the district wrote in a statement on the incident.

&nbsp;The student received medical care under the supervision of parents/guardians

Due to the investigation, USD 305 said it was unable to provide further details including the name of the teacher or the injury to the student.l.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694639848087.jpeg" alt="USD 305 Salina Public Schools District Offic&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>USD 305 Salina Public Schools District Offic&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —The Salina Police Department has completed its investigation of an incident that occurred at South Middle School on September 6.Police eported a 13-year-old was bench pressing in the school weight room. When the student finished the exercise the 39-year-old male teacher sat on him. Shortly thereafter, the student passed out and rolled off the bench striking his head on a portion of the bench resulting in a cut to his head.Upon completing interviews of all those present during the incident, the case was forwarded to Salina Municipal Court who requested the case be reviewed by the Saline County Attorney’s Office.The Saline County Attorney declined prosecution based on all witness statements indicating they did not feel it met the threshold for filing criminal charges.The County Attorney determined based on the prevailing witness opinions, that most felt the incident was playful. Therefore they could not establish criminal intent.------------------SALINE COUNTY —USD 305 Salina is actively investigating a report of a student injury that occurred during class in a weight room within Salina Public Schools, according to a statement from the school district.&nbsp;"The safety and well-being of our students remain our top priority. In accordance with district procedures, the teacher involved has been placed on administrative leave. We are committed to conducting a thorough review," the district wrote in a statement on the incident.&nbsp;The student received medical care under the supervision of parents/guardiansDue to the investigation, USD 305 said it was unable to provide further details including the name of the teacher or the injury to the student.l.&nbsp;&nbsp;Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

No charges against Kan. teacher after student injured in weight room

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a violent crime in Texas have issued an alert for a suspect.

Last week, the Police Chief of Memphis Texas was shot by Seth Michael Altman, according to a Wichita-Sedgwick County Crime Stoppers alert.

Altmas is wanted for Attempted Capitol Murder in the State of Texas.

Governor Greg Abbott announced a $10,000 reward through Texas Crime Stoppers, for information leading to the arrest and capture of Altman. There were indications he&nbsp;may be in the Wichita Metro Area.&nbsp; He is described as 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 and weighs aproximately 220 pounds.

He wears glasses that is possibly missing one of the lenses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728324156130.png" alt="Altman-photo Crime Stoppers" />
 <figcaption>Altman-photo Crime Stoppers</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a violent crime in Texas have issued an alert for a suspect.Last week, the Police Chief of Memphis Texas was shot by Seth Michael Altman, according to a Wichita-Sedgwick County Crime Stoppers alert.Altmas is wanted for Attempted Capitol Murder in the State of Texas.Governor Greg Abbott announced a $10,000 reward through Texas Crime Stoppers, for information leading to the arrest and capture of Altman. There were indications he&nbsp;may be in the Wichita Metro Area.&nbsp; He is described as 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 and weighs aproximately 220 pounds.He wears glasses that is possibly missing one of the lenses.

Suspect wanted for shooting police chief could be in Kansas

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Wichita Police Department investigating a deadly shooting incident on Sunday have identified the victim as 21-year-old&nbsp;Hannah Tanui, according to Police Department spokesman Andrew Ford.

Just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, officers from the Patrol East Bureau were flagged down by an individual reporting that a man they knew, later identified as 26-year-old&nbsp;Jan Tanui&nbsp; had broken into their residence in the 800 block of South Edgemoor, armed with a handgun, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

He was reportedly inside the home with his ex-domestic partner and had made suicidal statements.

Officers arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact but received no response. The Wichita Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were immediately activated. Despite efforts to establish communication, no contact was made.

SWAT entered the residence later in the morning and discovered both the Jan Tanui and his ex-domestic partner,&nbsp;Hannah Tanui, deceased from non-survivable gunshot wounds. Police released no additional details Monday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728251189682.png" alt="-Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>-Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Wichita Police Department investigating a deadly shooting incident on Sunday have identified the victim as 21-year-old&nbsp;Hannah Tanui, according to Police Department spokesman Andrew Ford.Just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, officers from the Patrol East Bureau were flagged down by an individual reporting that a man they knew, later identified as 26-year-old&nbsp;Jan Tanui&nbsp; had broken into their residence in the 800 block of South Edgemoor, armed with a handgun, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.He was reportedly inside the home with his ex-domestic partner and had made suicidal statements.Officers arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact but received no response. The Wichita Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were immediately activated. Despite efforts to establish communication, no contact was made.SWAT entered the residence later in the morning and discovered both the Jan Tanui and his ex-domestic partner,&nbsp;Hannah Tanui, deceased from non-survivable gunshot wounds. Police released no additional details Monday afternoon.

Police ID Kan. woman killed by ex-domestic partner after home break-in

NEW YORK (AP) —A judge granted preliminary approval Monday to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-settlement-b6ff58d62f93359789dde1626f827bf1">$2.78 billion legal settlement</a>&nbsp;that would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-legal-battles-d2115349e2d81e481818159a4863cce4">transform college sports</a>&nbsp;by allowing schools to pay players.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken released an order setting a timeline for a deal that would put millions of dollars into the pockets of college athletes, who can begin applying for payment on Oct. 18.

A final hearing is set for April 7, 2025, the day that one of college sports' biggest moneymakers, March Madness, comes to a close with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball">college basketball's</a>&nbsp;national title game. If finalized, the deal would allow the biggest schools to establish a pool of about $21.5 million in the first year to distribute money to athletes through a revenue-sharing plan. Athletes would still be able to cut name, image and likeness deals with outside groups.

Former college athletes from as far back as 2016 would be able to apply for their share of $2.576 billion set aside to help them recoup money they could've made from NIL deals, which weren't allowed until 2021.

“We are pleased that we are one step closer to a revolutionary change in college athletics that will allow billions in revenue sharing,” said plaintiff attorney Steve Berman.

The judge’s approval comes 11 days after attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-nil-lawsuit-settlement-booster-4812f2f48dfae4b9f6dfd536e652dc5a">tweaked wording in the original settlement</a>&nbsp;agreement to address Wilken’s concerns. The main change involved getting rid of the word “boosters” and replacing it with a better-defined description of whose potential NIL deals would be subject to oversight by a neutral arbitrator once the deal goes through.

That did not, however, strike to the heart of the settlement, which sets up a revenue-sharing arrangement between schools and athletes who, for decades, played for scholarships, a few expenses and little else, while coaches and athletic departments brought in millions. The $21.5 million figure comes from the 22% of average revenue that power conference schools generate through media rights, tickets and other sources. It will be recalculated periodically through the 10-year window the agreement covers.

Not every school will chip in the full amount. Those that will are hurrying to find ways to replace what they'll pay out to athletes. They worry it could impact their overall sports programs, especially the “non-revenue” sports that play an outsized role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-ncaa-revenue-sharing-e8d8afbdc4b3e74c2ad2695e72c838a2">populating U.S. Olympic rosters</a>.

“We are thrilled by Judge Wilken’s decision to give preliminary approval to the landmark settlement that will help bring stability and sustainability to college athletics while delivering increased benefits to student-athletes for years to come,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker. “Today’s progress is a significant step in writing the next chapter for the future of college sports.”

In addition to creating a payment system, the settlement sets up a framework to regulate future NIL deals and replaces scholarship caps with “roster limits,” which will grow to 105 for football, the biggest sport at most major universities, and also the sport that brings in the most money while incurring the most expense.

How those new roster caps and everything else will impact Title IX has yet to be seen. Plaintiffs lawyers have estimated around 90% of the money will go to football and men's basketball players whose sports bring in the lion's share of the revenue. Critics of the settlement have suggested that could be in violation of Title IX.

This settlement resolves three major antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA, including one spearheaded by Grant House, a former swimmer at Arizona State. Berman’s law firm says the value of new payments and benefits to college athletes is expected to exceed $20 billion over 10 years.

The $21 million that the biggest schools will dole out represents not even 10% of an NFL salary cap, but is considered big progress for college sports, which are undergoing a revolution with an expanded football playoff (with its $7.8 billion TV contract) and a related move to mega-conferences; the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences now have 34 teams between them.

“For far too long, these athletes have been deprived of their economic rights in an unjust system that will now, finally, be fundamentally reformed,” plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler said in a news release that was part of the court filings.

Still unknown is how long the terms of this deal will last. Litigation regarding the rights of players to unionize and potentially be considered employees remains unsettled. Meanwhile, the NCAA is pushing for federal legislation to knit together a streamlined policy for NIL, which is currently regulated by a patchwork of state laws, legal settlements and NCAA rules.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716518230646.jpeg" alt="NCAA Headquarters photo AP" />
 <figcaption>NCAA Headquarters photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —A judge granted preliminary approval Monday to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-settlement-b6ff58d62f93359789dde1626f827bf1">$2.78 billion legal settlement</a>&nbsp;that would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-legal-battles-d2115349e2d81e481818159a4863cce4">transform college sports</a>&nbsp;by allowing schools to pay players.U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken released an order setting a timeline for a deal that would put millions of dollars into the pockets of college athletes, who can begin applying for payment on Oct. 18.A final hearing is set for April 7, 2025, the day that one of college sports' biggest moneymakers, March Madness, comes to a close with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball">college basketball's</a>&nbsp;national title game. If finalized, the deal would allow the biggest schools to establish a pool of about $21.5 million in the first year to distribute money to athletes through a revenue-sharing plan. Athletes would still be able to cut name, image and likeness deals with outside groups.Former college athletes from as far back as 2016 would be able to apply for their share of $2.576 billion set aside to help them recoup money they could've made from NIL deals, which weren't allowed until 2021.“We are pleased that we are one step closer to a revolutionary change in college athletics that will allow billions in revenue sharing,” said plaintiff attorney Steve Berman.The judge’s approval comes 11 days after attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-nil-lawsuit-settlement-booster-4812f2f48dfae4b9f6dfd536e652dc5a">tweaked wording in the original settlement</a>&nbsp;agreement to address Wilken’s concerns. The main change involved getting rid of the word “boosters” and replacing it with a better-defined description of whose potential NIL deals would be subject to oversight by a neutral arbitrator once the deal goes through.That did not, however, strike to the heart of the settlement, which sets up a revenue-sharing arrangement between schools and athletes who, for decades, played for scholarships, a few expenses and little else, while coaches and athletic departments brought in millions. The $21.5 million figure comes from the 22% of average revenue that power conference schools generate through media rights, tickets and other sources. It will be recalculated periodically through the 10-year window the agreement covers.Not every school will chip in the full amount. Those that will are hurrying to find ways to replace what they'll pay out to athletes. They worry it could impact their overall sports programs, especially the “non-revenue” sports that play an outsized role in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-ncaa-revenue-sharing-e8d8afbdc4b3e74c2ad2695e72c838a2">populating U.S. Olympic rosters</a>.“We are thrilled by Judge Wilken’s decision to give preliminary approval to the landmark settlement that will help bring stability and sustainability to college athletics while delivering increased benefits to student-athletes for years to come,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker. “Today’s progress is a significant step in writing the next chapter for the future of college sports.”In addition to creating a payment system, the settlement sets up a framework to regulate future NIL deals and replaces scholarship caps with “roster limits,” which will grow to 105 for football, the biggest sport at most major universities, and also the sport that brings in the most money while incurring the most expense.How those new roster caps and everything else will impact Title IX has yet to be seen. Plaintiffs lawyers have estimated around 90% of the money will go to football and men's basketball players whose sports bring in the lion's share of the revenue. Critics of the settlement have suggested that could be in violation of Title IX.This settlement resolves three major antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA, including one spearheaded by Grant House, a former swimmer at Arizona State. Berman’s law firm says the value of new payments and benefits to college athletes is expected to exceed $20 billion over 10 years.The $21 million that the biggest schools will dole out represents not even 10% of an NFL salary cap, but is considered big progress for college sports, which are undergoing a revolution with an expanded football playoff (with its $7.8 billion TV contract) and a related move to mega-conferences; the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences now have 34 teams between them.“For far too long, these athletes have been deprived of their economic rights in an unjust system that will now, finally, be fundamentally reformed,” plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler said in a news release that was part of the court filings.Still unknown is how long the terms of this deal will last. Litigation regarding the rights of players to unionize and potentially be considered employees remains unsettled. Meanwhile, the NCAA is pushing for federal legislation to knit together a streamlined policy for NIL, which is currently regulated by a patchwork of state laws, legal settlements and NCAA rules.___

NCAA's $2 billion settlement with colleges to allow athlete payments gets preliminary Ok

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Monday that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management received another Emergency Management Assistance Compact request from Florida for a swift water search and rescue task force in preparation for Hurricane Milton’s arrival, according to a media release from Kelly's office.

Working with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Task Force 2 was deployed Sunday night to Florida.

“Kansas is once again sending assistance to Florida due to another large and powerful hurricane landing this week in the Gulf Coast,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“We’re committed to mobilizing resources and personnel to provide immediate support to those affected by Hurricane Milton.”

“The personnel responding to Florida to assist with Hurricane Milton have trained for this kind of disaster response,”&nbsp;Mark Engholm, Kansas Fire Marshal, said. “They are committed to providing professional search and rescue support to those in need. Kansas can be proud of our men and women who have chosen to deploy.”

Kansas Task Force 2 consists of personnel from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Chanute Fire Department, Cherryvale Fire-Rescue, Johnson County Med-Act, Manhattan Fire Department, Neodesha Fire Department, Salina Fire Department, Shawnee Kansas Fire Department, and Wichita Fire Department.

Their objectives will be to search for and rescue individuals, provide basic life support medical care, transport humans and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, provide shore-based and boat-based water rescue, provide animal rescues, and support helicopter and urban search and rescue in water environments.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728334485679.png" alt="Image National Weather Service" />
 <figcaption>Image National Weather Service</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Monday that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management received another Emergency Management Assistance Compact request from Florida for a swift water search and rescue task force in preparation for Hurricane Milton’s arrival, according to a media release from Kelly's office.Working with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Task Force 2 was deployed Sunday night to Florida.“Kansas is once again sending assistance to Florida due to another large and powerful hurricane landing this week in the Gulf Coast,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“We’re committed to mobilizing resources and personnel to provide immediate support to those affected by Hurricane Milton.”“The personnel responding to Florida to assist with Hurricane Milton have trained for this kind of disaster response,”&nbsp;Mark Engholm, Kansas Fire Marshal, said. “They are committed to providing professional search and rescue support to those in need. Kansas can be proud of our men and women who have chosen to deploy.”Kansas Task Force 2 consists of personnel from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Chanute Fire Department, Cherryvale Fire-Rescue, Johnson County Med-Act, Manhattan Fire Department, Neodesha Fire Department, Salina Fire Department, Shawnee Kansas Fire Department, and Wichita Fire Department.Their objectives will be to search for and rescue individuals, provide basic life support medical care, transport humans and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, provide shore-based and boat-based water rescue, provide animal rescues, and support helicopter and urban search and rescue in water environments.

Kansas sending 2nd swift water search, rescue task force to Florida 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The cost of buying a Mega Millions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-mega-millions-jackpot-2ca3af2378b56cb272877f2c0a674cd5">jackpot dream</a>&nbsp;will soon more than double, but lottery officials said they're confident players won't mind paying more after changes that will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maryland-iowa-coronavirus-pandemic-18bb35b80dc9acb1f0509d0d7b2bb289">lead to larger prizes</a>&nbsp;and more frequent winners.

Lottery officials announced Monday that it will cost $5 to play Mega Millions, beginning in April, up from the current $2 per ticket. The price increase will be one of many changes to Mega Millions that officials said will result in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-jackpot-lottery-powerball-winner-1b2ab74a356187cafccda905a5936cad">improved jackpot odds</a>, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts.

“Spending 5 bucks to become a millionaire or billionaire, that's pretty good,” said Joshua Johnston, director of the Washington Lottery and lead director of the group that oversees Mega Millions.

Mega Millions and its lottery compatriot Powerball are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">sold in 45 states</a>, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico.

Powerball officials said they have no plans to change that game's odds or the $2 price for most tickets.

Mega Millions will introduce changes at a time when fewer people are buying tickets and jackpots need to reach ever-higher figures before sporadic players notice and opt to buy a ticket or two. Whereas a $500 million jackpot once prompted lines out convenience store doors, top prizes of $1 billion now often draw more of a ho-hum response.

Those much-hyped jackpot numbers also could take a hit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-lottery-jackpot-66aa7beb592c6bb408da87d5b677dcab">as interest rates fall</a>. That's because on billboards or other advertisements, state lotteries emphasize the annuity payout for jackpots, distributed over decades from an investment fund. As interest rates have been high, the annuity jackpots have more than doubled the cash prizes that winners nearly always choose.

With an expectation that interest rates will drop, those annuity jackpot figures will decline, so the advertised jackpot won't seem quite so massive.

Johnston said expected declines in interest rates were not a factor in the upcoming changes.

The biggest motivation was to differentiate Mega Millions from Powerball and attract customers who might now pass on both games, Johnston said.

More than doubling the ticket price is a big move, but Johnston said research shows people feel comfortable spending at least $5 when they buy scratch tickets or chances at the draw games, like Mega Millions. It is the second price increase since the game was created in 2002.

“You pay 5 bucks for your Starbucks,” Johnston noted.

Lottery officials will announce more specifics about the changes in the coming months, he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690365684963.png" alt="Photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The cost of buying a Mega Millions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-mega-millions-jackpot-2ca3af2378b56cb272877f2c0a674cd5">jackpot dream</a>&nbsp;will soon more than double, but lottery officials said they're confident players won't mind paying more after changes that will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maryland-iowa-coronavirus-pandemic-18bb35b80dc9acb1f0509d0d7b2bb289">lead to larger prizes</a>&nbsp;and more frequent winners.Lottery officials announced Monday that it will cost $5 to play Mega Millions, beginning in April, up from the current $2 per ticket. The price increase will be one of many changes to Mega Millions that officials said will result in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-jackpot-lottery-powerball-winner-1b2ab74a356187cafccda905a5936cad">improved jackpot odds</a>, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts.“Spending 5 bucks to become a millionaire or billionaire, that's pretty good,” said Joshua Johnston, director of the Washington Lottery and lead director of the group that oversees Mega Millions.Mega Millions and its lottery compatriot Powerball are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">sold in 45 states</a>, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico.Powerball officials said they have no plans to change that game's odds or the $2 price for most tickets.Mega Millions will introduce changes at a time when fewer people are buying tickets and jackpots need to reach ever-higher figures before sporadic players notice and opt to buy a ticket or two. Whereas a $500 million jackpot once prompted lines out convenience store doors, top prizes of $1 billion now often draw more of a ho-hum response.Those much-hyped jackpot numbers also could take a hit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-lottery-jackpot-66aa7beb592c6bb408da87d5b677dcab">as interest rates fall</a>. That's because on billboards or other advertisements, state lotteries emphasize the annuity payout for jackpots, distributed over decades from an investment fund. As interest rates have been high, the annuity jackpots have more than doubled the cash prizes that winners nearly always choose.With an expectation that interest rates will drop, those annuity jackpot figures will decline, so the advertised jackpot won't seem quite so massive.Johnston said expected declines in interest rates were not a factor in the upcoming changes.The biggest motivation was to differentiate Mega Millions from Powerball and attract customers who might now pass on both games, Johnston said.More than doubling the ticket price is a big move, but Johnston said research shows people feel comfortable spending at least $5 when they buy scratch tickets or chances at the draw games, like Mega Millions. It is the second price increase since the game was created in 2002.“You pay 5 bucks for your Starbucks,” Johnston noted.Lottery officials will announce more specifics about the changes in the coming months, he said.

Price to purchase a Mega Millions ticket is going up 

Richard Muma copied more than 50 passages from sources without full attribution

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

WICHITA — Wichita State University president Richard Muma failed to give proper credit to more than 20 authors after copying their writing in his doctoral dissertation.

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/07/read-the-evidence-examples-of-copied-material-in-wichita-state-university-presidents-dissertation/">Click here to view </a>some of the evidence

Muma, president of the university since 2020, runs afoul of academic standards and university policies by including extensive amounts of inadequately attributed material into his 2004 dissertation, according to academic professionals who reviewed Muma’s work.

A Kansas Reflector comparison of Muma’s 88-page dissertation with earlier scholarly work uncovered improperly ascribed phrases, sentences and paragraphs. In some cases, text copied from books and journals comprised the majority of entire pages in Muma’s dissertation.

Ten faculty at public and private colleges and universities said in interviews Muma’s dissertation amounted to plagiarism. None embraced Muma’s view that his dissertation adhered to academic publication standards.

Steven Mintz, a history professor at University of Texas-Austin who has authored or edited 15 books and found plagiarism of his own writing in international publications, said Muma’s dissertation would give the university a “black eye.”

“It is a form of theft. In my department, if I let a dissertation get to that stage, well, a student would be expelled, but I would be ostracized,” Mintz said.

Muma denied he plagiarized his dissertation through Wichita State spokeswoman Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, who said allegations of academic misconduct, especially assertions of plagiarism, were a serious matter.

Despite repeated requests via phone and email over five weeks, WSU declined to make Muma available for an interview.

“What I can share with you is that Dr. Muma vehemently denies any accusation of plagiarism and maintains that the research, analysis and conclusions in his dissertation were entirely original, and all referenced material were properly cited in accordance with academic standards,” Mazzullo-Hart said.

Muma’s dissertation, “<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Muma_Dissertation.pdf">Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators</a>,” relied on parentheses — in the form of (Bennett, 1983) — to cite sources. He also included reference materials in a bibliography.

But Muma’s research paper lacked routine techniques for attributing other authors’ work. Typically, attribution is made through single or double quotation marks, italics or indentation of margins on the page.

Muma was a tenured professor and department chair at the time he submitted the dissertation on physician assistant education programs to a faculty review panel at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The project earned him a doctorate in higher education. With that credential, Muma advanced through the hierarchy at WSU from department chairman to vice president, provost and president.

Misappropriated text started with the first sentence in his dissertation: It was a mirror image to the opening of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University, served as a college provost and authored more than 100 articles and six books.

“Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson,” Bennett wrote.

Muma copied the sequence word for word, but didn’t place quotation marks around the text to show readers the prose was created by someone else. Muma replicated that pattern dozens of times in his dissertation.

Of 255 words on the first page of Muma’s dissertation, more than 150 were copied from published work by Bennett and two other scholars, Kathleen Stassen Berger and Allan Tucker.

In a lengthy passage on Page 22, Muma deleted quote marks from borrowed text, keeping the reader in the dark that there was an original author. On Page 24 of the dissertation, three-fourths of 284 words were copied from other scholarly writing and pasted into the dissertation. All but a handful of 230 words on Page 29 were drawn verbatim from previously published academic work.

In 2002, for example, Berger wrote an academic article on “Inevitable Conflicts of a Department Chair.” Her distinctive opening lines: “Too much to do, too little time. Deadlines ignored; demands not met; requests trashed. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails and knocks on my door.”

Muma’s casting two years later echoed Berger: “It seems that academic department chairs have too much to do and no time to do it. Frequently they ignore deadlines, have demands that are not met, and requests are not answered.” That was followed by verbatim text: “Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks at the door.”

Higher education institutions most often describe this type of academic misconduct as seizing work of others without full credit. Plagiarism could result from insufficiently paraphrasing research and writing performed by others or by inadequately citing thoughts of others. Lesser infractions might occur because of carelessness in conducting research or lack of familiarity with U.S. standards for academic writing.

The American Association of University Professors’ statement on plagiarism, adopted nearly 35 years ago, says those who claimed words, ideas or methods of others with the intent of being credited for that work committed “theft of a special kind.” AAUP said plagiarism was the antithesis of “honest labor that characterizes true scholarship.”

Concern about plagiarism among college students escalated in recent years along with access to generative artificial intelligence capable of completing academic assignments. Sophisticated software has been deployed at universities to test students’ work for plagiarism. AI cross-check resources weren’t a prominent feature of higher education when Muma was in graduate school and completed his dissertation.

Anxiety about academic dishonesty has infiltrated U.S. faculty ranks, including Harvard University where the university’s president resigned, in part, over allegations of plagiarism.

Other recent faculty cases of alleged plagiarism have emerged at Columbia University, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Washington.

In five chapters of Muma’s dissertation, which included findings of an opinion survey of health educators and professionals, Kansas Reflector identified approximately 55 passages of inadequately attributed material.

“That’s a problem in my eyes,” said Jonathan Bailey, founder of Plagiarism Today and a copyright and plagiarism consultant in New Orleans. “When you copy and paste wholesale like that, you’re not proving you have the knowledge and understanding. This person did a shortcut.”

U.S. colleges and universities discipline students, including dismissal, for violating policies requiring they avoid plagiarism by distinguishing their original expression from information drawn from other sources. Plagiarism is considered an especially grave error when perpetrated by graduate students or faculty members expected to be well-versed in scholarly writing.

Individuals engaged in higher education research, teaching or administration told Kansas Reflector the insufficient attribution in Muma’s dissertation reached the level of plagiarism.

Tim Hill, professor of political science at Doane University in Nebraska and recipient of a 2003 doctorate from Ohio State University, said his review led to an undeniable conclusion.

“The standard of the profession says this counts as plagiarism,” Hill said. “I keep thinking (of) being a faculty member at that institution when this breaks. How do you walk into the classroom and say academic honesty is important? From the perspective of the audience, he’s lying to them. It harms everyone involved.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://academicintegrity.org/events-conferences/idoa-international-day-of-action-for-academic-integrity" target="_blank">International Day of Action for Academic Integrity</a>&nbsp;will be Oct. 16. Wichita State scheduled events during the month to emphasize academic integrity as the responsibility of all faculty, staff and students.

Kansas Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat who earned a doctorate in higher education at the University of Kansas and a master’s degree at WSU, said he was trained to include quotation marks and other attribution when making use of scholarship from other people.

Haskins, who serves as chairman of graduate-level programs at Baker University in Baldwin City, said taking material without sufficient attribution could suggest an individual didn’t understand dissertation writing practices. Or, he said, it could demonstrate what a person thought he or she could get away with while producing a capstone educational achievement.

“(Muma) has done a commendable job in his time as president,” Haskins said. “However, I find these issues should be taken seriously because it pulls threads of higher ed’s academic integrity.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303448862.png" alt=" Wichita State University President Richard Muma earned a doctorate in 2004 from University of Missouri-St. Louis with a dissertation that includes dozens of passages from more than 20 scholars without quotation marks to properly cite original authors. Academics interviewed by Kansas Reflector say Muma’s dissertation includes plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Wichita State University President Richard Muma earned a doctorate in 2004 from University of Missouri-St. Louis with a dissertation that includes dozens of passages from more than 20 scholars without quotation marks to properly cite original authors. Academics interviewed by Kansas Reflector say Muma’s dissertation includes plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Richard Muma copied more than 50 passages from sources without full attribution</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WICHITA — Wichita State University president Richard Muma failed to give proper credit to more than 20 authors after copying their writing in his doctoral dissertation.<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/07/read-the-evidence-examples-of-copied-material-in-wichita-state-university-presidents-dissertation/">Click here to view </a>some of the evidenceMuma, president of the university since 2020, runs afoul of academic standards and university policies by including extensive amounts of inadequately attributed material into his 2004 dissertation, according to academic professionals who reviewed Muma’s work.A Kansas Reflector comparison of Muma’s 88-page dissertation with earlier scholarly work uncovered improperly ascribed phrases, sentences and paragraphs. In some cases, text copied from books and journals comprised the majority of entire pages in Muma’s dissertation.Ten faculty at public and private colleges and universities said in interviews Muma’s dissertation amounted to plagiarism. None embraced Muma’s view that his dissertation adhered to academic publication standards.Steven Mintz, a history professor at University of Texas-Austin who has authored or edited 15 books and found plagiarism of his own writing in international publications, said Muma’s dissertation would give the university a “black eye.”“It is a form of theft. In my department, if I let a dissertation get to that stage, well, a student would be expelled, but I would be ostracized,” Mintz said.<h2>WSU stands by Muma</h2>Muma denied he plagiarized his dissertation through Wichita State spokeswoman Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, who said allegations of academic misconduct, especially assertions of plagiarism, were a serious matter.Despite repeated requests via phone and email over five weeks, WSU declined to make Muma available for an interview.“What I can share with you is that Dr. Muma vehemently denies any accusation of plagiarism and maintains that the research, analysis and conclusions in his dissertation were entirely original, and all referenced material were properly cited in accordance with academic standards,” Mazzullo-Hart said.Muma’s dissertation, “<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Muma_Dissertation.pdf">Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators</a>,” relied on parentheses — in the form of (Bennett, 1983) — to cite sources. He also included reference materials in a bibliography.But Muma’s research paper lacked routine techniques for attributing other authors’ work. Typically, attribution is made through single or double quotation marks, italics or indentation of margins on the page.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303407224.png" alt=" The first sentence of Wichita State University President Richard Muma’s 2004 doctoral dissertation is copied — without quotation marks — from the first sentence of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> The first sentence of Wichita State University President Richard Muma’s 2004 doctoral dissertation is copied — without quotation marks — from the first sentence of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A dissertation review</h2>Muma was a tenured professor and department chair at the time he submitted the dissertation on physician assistant education programs to a faculty review panel at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The project earned him a doctorate in higher education. With that credential, Muma advanced through the hierarchy at WSU from department chairman to vice president, provost and president.Misappropriated text started with the first sentence in his dissertation: It was a mirror image to the opening of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University, served as a college provost and authored more than 100 articles and six books.“Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson,” Bennett wrote.Muma copied the sequence word for word, but didn’t place quotation marks around the text to show readers the prose was created by someone else. Muma replicated that pattern dozens of times in his dissertation.Of 255 words on the first page of Muma’s dissertation, more than 150 were copied from published work by Bennett and two other scholars, Kathleen Stassen Berger and Allan Tucker.In a lengthy passage on Page 22, Muma deleted quote marks from borrowed text, keeping the reader in the dark that there was an original author. On Page 24 of the dissertation, three-fourths of 284 words were copied from other scholarly writing and pasted into the dissertation. All but a handful of 230 words on Page 29 were drawn verbatim from previously published academic work.In 2002, for example, Berger wrote an academic article on “Inevitable Conflicts of a Department Chair.” Her distinctive opening lines: “Too much to do, too little time. Deadlines ignored; demands not met; requests trashed. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails and knocks on my door.”Muma’s casting two years later echoed Berger: “It seems that academic department chairs have too much to do and no time to do it. Frequently they ignore deadlines, have demands that are not met, and requests are not answered.” That was followed by verbatim text: “Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks at the door.”<h2>Defining plagiarism</h2>Higher education institutions most often describe this type of academic misconduct as seizing work of others without full credit. Plagiarism could result from insufficiently paraphrasing research and writing performed by others or by inadequately citing thoughts of others. Lesser infractions might occur because of carelessness in conducting research or lack of familiarity with U.S. standards for academic writing.The American Association of University Professors’ statement on plagiarism, adopted nearly 35 years ago, says those who claimed words, ideas or methods of others with the intent of being credited for that work committed “theft of a special kind.” AAUP said plagiarism was the antithesis of “honest labor that characterizes true scholarship.”Concern about plagiarism among college students escalated in recent years along with access to generative artificial intelligence capable of completing academic assignments. Sophisticated software has been deployed at universities to test students’ work for plagiarism. AI cross-check resources weren’t a prominent feature of higher education when Muma was in graduate school and completed his dissertation.Anxiety about academic dishonesty has infiltrated U.S. faculty ranks, including Harvard University where the university’s president resigned, in part, over allegations of plagiarism.Other recent faculty cases of alleged plagiarism have emerged at Columbia University, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Washington.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303341893.png" alt=" Wichita State University president Richard Muma inserted phrases, sentences and paragraphs into his doctoral dissertation without proper credit to original authors. Muma declined requests for an interview, but WSU says the 2004 dissertation is “original.” In this image, highlighted phrases denote inadequately attributed material. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Wichita State University president Richard Muma inserted phrases, sentences and paragraphs into his doctoral dissertation without proper credit to original authors. Muma declined requests for an interview, but WSU says the 2004 dissertation is “original.” In this image, highlighted phrases denote inadequately attributed material. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A shortcut’</h2>In five chapters of Muma’s dissertation, which included findings of an opinion survey of health educators and professionals, Kansas Reflector identified approximately 55 passages of inadequately attributed material.“That’s a problem in my eyes,” said Jonathan Bailey, founder of Plagiarism Today and a copyright and plagiarism consultant in New Orleans. “When you copy and paste wholesale like that, you’re not proving you have the knowledge and understanding. This person did a shortcut.”U.S. colleges and universities discipline students, including dismissal, for violating policies requiring they avoid plagiarism by distinguishing their original expression from information drawn from other sources. Plagiarism is considered an especially grave error when perpetrated by graduate students or faculty members expected to be well-versed in scholarly writing.Individuals engaged in higher education research, teaching or administration told Kansas Reflector the insufficient attribution in Muma’s dissertation reached the level of plagiarism.Tim Hill, professor of political science at Doane University in Nebraska and recipient of a 2003 doctorate from Ohio State University, said his review led to an undeniable conclusion.“The standard of the profession says this counts as plagiarism,” Hill said. “I keep thinking (of) being a faculty member at that institution when this breaks. How do you walk into the classroom and say academic honesty is important? From the perspective of the audience, he’s lying to them. It harms everyone involved.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://academicintegrity.org/events-conferences/idoa-international-day-of-action-for-academic-integrity" target="_blank">International Day of Action for Academic Integrity</a>&nbsp;will be Oct. 16. Wichita State scheduled events during the month to emphasize academic integrity as the responsibility of all faculty, staff and students.Kansas Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat who earned a doctorate in higher education at the University of Kansas and a master’s degree at WSU, said he was trained to include quotation marks and other attribution when making use of scholarship from other people.Haskins, who serves as chairman of graduate-level programs at Baker University in Baldwin City, said taking material without sufficient attribution could suggest an individual didn’t understand dissertation writing practices. Or, he said, it could demonstrate what a person thought he or she could get away with while producing a capstone educational achievement.“(Muma) has done a commendable job in his time as president,” Haskins said. “However, I find these issues should be taken seriously because it pulls threads of higher ed’s academic integrity.”Kansas Reflector also interviewed college and university educators without identifying Muma, his job title or employer. These interview subjects were informed of the breadth of attribution issues and that the author was awarded a doctorate, remained a faculty member and was employed as an administrator.Kansas Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican who taught at Johnson County Community College and is now an associate vice president at Pittsburg State University, serves as chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.“Every step of the way, it’s a matter of ‘show us your work,’ ” said Baumgardner, who holds a master’s degree. “This notion of appropriation of someone else’s work is critical. A reputation is what can make or break an institution. Anytime someone dishonestly advances, it leaves another in the dust.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303262352.png" alt="Wichita State University policy on professional ethics says faculty derive obligations from membership in a community of scholars, which includes a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts” to other scholars. In addition, WSU’s definition of research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification and plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Wichita State University policy on professional ethics says faculty derive obligations from membership in a community of scholars, which includes a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts” to other scholars. In addition, WSU’s definition of research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification and plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>WSU policies</h2>At Wichita State, students found to have violated plagiarism policy could fail a class or receive a warning, probation, suspension or expulsion.WSU requires faculty to “practice intellectual honesty.” The statement says faculty have a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts.”“As members of their institution,” the policy manual says, “faculty members seek above all to be effective teachers and scholars.”Policies regarding research misconduct at WSU, adopted in 1997 and last revised in 2017, cover “fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community.”The Kansas Board of Regents policy manual is silent on faculty plagiarism, said Matt Keith, spokesman for the board. The Board of Regents has responsibility for hiring presidents and chancellors at the state’s six public universities.Muma was named acting president in September 2020 by the Board of Regents simultaneous to the departure of WSU president Jay Golden. The state board formally appointed him the 15th president of WSU in May 2021.WSU made Muma its first gay president and Muma was the first physician assistant in the country to rise through the ranks to become a university president.Muma, in his fourth year as WSU president, received a 4% raise in July to increase his annual salary to $520,000.