WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has promised sweeping action in a second administration.

The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda that blends traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift in America's international role.

Trump's agenda also would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.

“Build the wall!” from his 2016 campaign has become creating “the largest mass deportation program in history.” Trump has called for using the National Guard and empowering domestic police forces in the effort. Still, Trump has been scant on details of what the program would look like and how he would ensure that it targeted only people in the U.S. illegally. He’s pitched “ideological screening” for would-be entrants, ending birth-right citizenship (which almost certainly would require a constitutional change), and said he’d reinstitute first-term policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” limiting migrants on public health grounds and severely limiting or banning entrants from certain majority-Muslim nations. Altogether, the approach would not just crack down on illegal migration, but curtail immigration overall.

Trump played down abortion as a second-term priority, even as he took credit for the Supreme Court ending a woman’s federal right to terminate a pregnancy and returning abortion regulation to state governments. At Trump’s insistence, the GOP platform, for the first time in decades, did not call for a national ban on abortion. Trump maintains that overturning Roe v. Wade is enough on the federal level. Trump said last month on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a federal abortion ban if legislation reached his desk.

But in an example of how the conservative movement might proceed with or without Trump, anti-abortion activists note that the GOP platform still asserts that a fetus should have due process protections under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. That constitutional argument is a roadmap for conservatives to seek a national abortion ban through federal courts.

Trump’s tax policies broadly tilt toward corporations and wealthier Americans. That’s mostly due to his promise to extend his 2017 tax overhaul, with a few notable changes that include lowering the corporate income tax rate to 15% from the current 21%. That also involves rolling back Democratic President Joe Biden’s income tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans and scrapping Inflation Reduction Act levies that finance energy measures intended to combat climate change.

Those policies notwithstanding, Trump has put more emphasis on new proposals aimed at working- and middle class Americans: exempting earned tips, Social Security wages and overtime wages from income taxes. It’s noteworthy, however, that his proposal on tips, depending on how Congress might write it, could give a back-door tax break to top wage earners by allowing them to reclassify some of their pay as tip income — a prospect that at its most extreme could see hedge-fund managers or top-flight attorneys taking advantage of a policy that Trump frames as being designed for restaurant servers, bartenders and other service workers.

Trump’s posture on international trade is to distrust world markets as harmful to American interests. He proposes tariffs of 10% to 20% on foreign goods — and in some speeches has mentioned even higher percentages. He promises to reinstitute an August 2020 executive order requiring that the Food and Drug Administration buy “essential” medications only from U.S. companies. He pledges to block purchases of “any vital infrastructure” in the U.S. by Chinese buyers.

Trump has called for rolling back societal emphasis on diversity and for legal protections for LGBTQ citizens. Trump has called for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government institutions, using federal funding as leverage.

On transgender rights, Trump promises generally to end “boys in girls’ sports,” a practice he insists, without evidence, is widespread. But his policies go well beyond standard applause lines from his rally speeches. Among other ideas, Trump would roll back the Biden administration’s policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students, and he would ask Congress to require that only two genders can be recognized at birth.

Regulation, federal bureaucracy and presidential power

The president-elect seeks to reduce the role of federal bureaucrats and regulations across economic sectors. Trump frames all regulatory cuts as an economic magic wand. He pledges precipitous drops in U.S. households’ utility bills by removing obstacles to fossil fuel production, including opening all federal lands for exploration — even though U.S. energy production is already at record highs. Trump promises to unleash housing construction by cutting regulations — though most construction rules come from state and local government. He also says he would end “frivolous litigation from the environmental extremists.”

The approach would in many ways strengthen executive branch influence. That power would come more directly from the White House.

He would make it easier to fire federal workers by classifying thousands of them as being outside civil service protections. That could weaken the government’s power to enforce statutes and rules by reducing the number of employees engaging in the work and, potentially, impose a chilling effect on those who remain.

Trump also claims that presidents have exclusive power to control federal spending even after Congress has appropriated money. Trump argues that lawmakers’ budget actions “set a ceiling” on spending but not a floor — meaning the president’s constitutional duty to “faithfully execute the laws” includes discretion on whether to spend the money. This interpretation could set up a court battle with Congress.

As a candidate, he also suggested that the Federal Reserve, an independent entity that sets interest rates, should be subject to more presidential power. Though he has not offered details, any such move would represent a momentous change to how the U.S. economic and monetary systems work.

The federal Department of Education would be targeted for elimination in a second Trump administration. That does not mean that Trump wants Washington out of classrooms. He still proposes, among other maneuvers, using federal funding as leverage to pressure K-12 school systems to abolish tenure and adopt merit pay for teachers and to scrap diversity programs at all levels of education. He calls for pulling federal funding “for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”

In higher education, Trump proposes taking over accreditation processes for colleges, a move he describes as his “secret weapon” against the “Marxist Maniacs and lunatics” he says control higher education. Trump takes aim at higher education endowments, saying he will collect “billions and billions of dollars” from schools via “taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments” at schools that do not comply with his edicts. That almost certainly would end up in protracted legal fights.

As in other policy areas, Trump isn’t actually proposing limiting federal power in higher education but strengthening it. He calls for redirecting the confiscated endowment money into an online “American Academy” offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charges. “It will be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed—none of that’s going to be allowed,” Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023.

Trump insists he would protect Social Security and Medicare, popular programs geared toward older Americans and among the biggest pieces of the federal spending pie each year. There are questions about how his proposal not to tax tip and overtime wages might affect Social Security and Medicare. If such plans eventually involved only income taxes, the entitlement programs would not be affected. But exempting those wages from payroll taxes would reduce the funding stream for Social Security and Medicare outlays. Trump has talked little about Medicaid but his first administration, in general, defaulted to approving state requests for waivers of various federal rules and it broadly endorsed state-level work requirements for recipients.

As he has since 2015, Trump calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act and its subsidized health insurance marketplaces. But he still has not proposed a replacement: In a September debate, he insisted he had the “concepts of a plan.” In the latter stages of the campaign, Trump played up his alliance with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines and of pesticides used in U.S. agriculture. Trump repeatedly told rally crowds that he would put Kennedy in charge of “making America healthy again."

Trump, who claims falsely that climate change is a “hoax,” blasts Biden-era spending on cleaner energy designed to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels. He proposes an energy policy – and transportation infrastructure spending – anchored to fossil fuels: roads, bridges and combustion-engine vehicles. “Drill, baby, drill!” was a regular chant at Trump rallies. Trump says he does not oppose electric vehicles but promises to end all Biden incentives to encourage EV market development. Trump also pledges to roll back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance framed their ticket as favoring America’s workers. But Trump could make it harder for workers to unionize. In discussing auto workers, Trump focused almost exclusively on Biden’s push toward electric vehicles. When he mentioned unions, it was often to lump “the union bosses and CEOs” together as complicit in “this disastrous electric car scheme.” In an Oct. 23, 2023, statement, Trump said of United Auto Workers, “I’m telling you, you shouldn’t pay those dues.”

National defense and America’s role in the world

Trump’s rhetoric and policy approach in world affairs is more isolationist diplomatically, non-interventionist militarily and protectionist economically than the U.S. has been since World War II. But the details are more complicated. He pledges expansion of the military, promises to protect Pentagon spending from austerity efforts and proposes a new missile defense shield — an old idea from the Reagan era during the Cold War. Trump insists he can end Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, without explaining how. Trump summarizes his approach through another Reagan phrase: “peace through strength.” But he remains critical of NATO and top U.S. military brass. “I don’t consider them leaders,” Trump said of Pentagon officials that Americans “see on television.” He repeatedly praised authoritarians like Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has promised sweeping action in a second administration.The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda that blends traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift in America's international role.Trump's agenda also would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.A look at what Trump has proposed:<h2>Immigration</h2>“Build the wall!” from his 2016 campaign has become creating “the largest mass deportation program in history.” Trump has called for using the National Guard and empowering domestic police forces in the effort. Still, Trump has been scant on details of what the program would look like and how he would ensure that it targeted only people in the U.S. illegally. He’s pitched “ideological screening” for would-be entrants, ending birth-right citizenship (which almost certainly would require a constitutional change), and said he’d reinstitute first-term policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” limiting migrants on public health grounds and severely limiting or banning entrants from certain majority-Muslim nations. Altogether, the approach would not just crack down on illegal migration, but curtail immigration overall.<h2>Abortion</h2>Trump played down abortion as a second-term priority, even as he took credit for the Supreme Court ending a woman’s federal right to terminate a pregnancy and returning abortion regulation to state governments. At Trump’s insistence, the GOP platform, for the first time in decades, did not call for a national ban on abortion. Trump maintains that overturning Roe v. Wade is enough on the federal level. Trump said last month on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a federal abortion ban if legislation reached his desk.But in an example of how the conservative movement might proceed with or without Trump, anti-abortion activists note that the GOP platform still asserts that a fetus should have due process protections under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. That constitutional argument is a roadmap for conservatives to seek a national abortion ban through federal courts.<h2>Taxes</h2>Trump’s tax policies broadly tilt toward corporations and wealthier Americans. That’s mostly due to his promise to extend his 2017 tax overhaul, with a few notable changes that include lowering the corporate income tax rate to 15% from the current 21%. That also involves rolling back Democratic President Joe Biden’s income tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans and scrapping Inflation Reduction Act levies that finance energy measures intended to combat climate change.Those policies notwithstanding, Trump has put more emphasis on new proposals aimed at working- and middle class Americans: exempting earned tips, Social Security wages and overtime wages from income taxes. It’s noteworthy, however, that his proposal on tips, depending on how Congress might write it, could give a back-door tax break to top wage earners by allowing them to reclassify some of their pay as tip income — a prospect that at its most extreme could see hedge-fund managers or top-flight attorneys taking advantage of a policy that Trump frames as being designed for restaurant servers, bartenders and other service workers.<h2>Tariffs and trade</h2>Trump’s posture on international trade is to distrust world markets as harmful to American interests. He proposes tariffs of 10% to 20% on foreign goods — and in some speeches has mentioned even higher percentages. He promises to reinstitute an August 2020 executive order requiring that the Food and Drug Administration buy “essential” medications only from U.S. companies. He pledges to block purchases of “any vital infrastructure” in the U.S. by Chinese buyers.<h2>DEI, LGBTQ and civil rights</h2>Trump has called for rolling back societal emphasis on diversity and for legal protections for LGBTQ citizens. Trump has called for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government institutions, using federal funding as leverage.On transgender rights, Trump promises generally to end “boys in girls’ sports,” a practice he insists, without evidence, is widespread. But his policies go well beyond standard applause lines from his rally speeches. Among other ideas, Trump would roll back the Biden administration’s policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students, and he would ask Congress to require that only two genders can be recognized at birth.<h2>Regulation, federal bureaucracy and presidential power</h2>The president-elect seeks to reduce the role of federal bureaucrats and regulations across economic sectors. Trump frames all regulatory cuts as an economic magic wand. He pledges precipitous drops in U.S. households’ utility bills by removing obstacles to fossil fuel production, including opening all federal lands for exploration — even though U.S. energy production is already at record highs. Trump promises to unleash housing construction by cutting regulations — though most construction rules come from state and local government. He also says he would end “frivolous litigation from the environmental extremists.”The approach would in many ways strengthen executive branch influence. That power would come more directly from the White House.He would make it easier to fire federal workers by classifying thousands of them as being outside civil service protections. That could weaken the government’s power to enforce statutes and rules by reducing the number of employees engaging in the work and, potentially, impose a chilling effect on those who remain.Trump also claims that presidents have exclusive power to control federal spending even after Congress has appropriated money. Trump argues that lawmakers’ budget actions “set a ceiling” on spending but not a floor — meaning the president’s constitutional duty to “faithfully execute the laws” includes discretion on whether to spend the money. This interpretation could set up a court battle with Congress.As a candidate, he also suggested that the Federal Reserve, an independent entity that sets interest rates, should be subject to more presidential power. Though he has not offered details, any such move would represent a momentous change to how the U.S. economic and monetary systems work.<h2>Education</h2>The federal Department of Education would be targeted for elimination in a second Trump administration. That does not mean that Trump wants Washington out of classrooms. He still proposes, among other maneuvers, using federal funding as leverage to pressure K-12 school systems to abolish tenure and adopt merit pay for teachers and to scrap diversity programs at all levels of education. He calls for pulling federal funding “for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”In higher education, Trump proposes taking over accreditation processes for colleges, a move he describes as his “secret weapon” against the “Marxist Maniacs and lunatics” he says control higher education. Trump takes aim at higher education endowments, saying he will collect “billions and billions of dollars” from schools via “taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments” at schools that do not comply with his edicts. That almost certainly would end up in protracted legal fights.As in other policy areas, Trump isn’t actually proposing limiting federal power in higher education but strengthening it. He calls for redirecting the confiscated endowment money into an online “American Academy” offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charges. “It will be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed—none of that’s going to be allowed,” Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023.<h2>Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid</h2>Trump insists he would protect Social Security and Medicare, popular programs geared toward older Americans and among the biggest pieces of the federal spending pie each year. There are questions about how his proposal not to tax tip and overtime wages might affect Social Security and Medicare. If such plans eventually involved only income taxes, the entitlement programs would not be affected. But exempting those wages from payroll taxes would reduce the funding stream for Social Security and Medicare outlays. Trump has talked little about Medicaid but his first administration, in general, defaulted to approving state requests for waivers of various federal rules and it broadly endorsed state-level work requirements for recipients.<h2>Affordable Care Act and Health Care</h2>As he has since 2015, Trump calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act and its subsidized health insurance marketplaces. But he still has not proposed a replacement: In a September debate, he insisted he had the “concepts of a plan.” In the latter stages of the campaign, Trump played up his alliance with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines and of pesticides used in U.S. agriculture. Trump repeatedly told rally crowds that he would put Kennedy in charge of “making America healthy again."<h2>Climate and energy</h2>Trump, who claims falsely that climate change is a “hoax,” blasts Biden-era spending on cleaner energy designed to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels. He proposes an energy policy – and transportation infrastructure spending – anchored to fossil fuels: roads, bridges and combustion-engine vehicles. “Drill, baby, drill!” was a regular chant at Trump rallies. Trump says he does not oppose electric vehicles but promises to end all Biden incentives to encourage EV market development. Trump also pledges to roll back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards.<h2>Workers’ rights</h2>Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance framed their ticket as favoring America’s workers. But Trump could make it harder for workers to unionize. In discussing auto workers, Trump focused almost exclusively on Biden’s push toward electric vehicles. When he mentioned unions, it was often to lump “the union bosses and CEOs” together as complicit in “this disastrous electric car scheme.” In an Oct. 23, 2023, statement, Trump said of United Auto Workers, “I’m telling you, you shouldn’t pay those dues.”<h2>National defense and America’s role in the world</h2>Trump’s rhetoric and policy approach in world affairs is more isolationist diplomatically, non-interventionist militarily and protectionist economically than the U.S. has been since World War II. But the details are more complicated. He pledges expansion of the military, promises to protect Pentagon spending from austerity efforts and proposes a new missile defense shield — an old idea from the Reagan era during the Cold War. Trump insists he can end Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, without explaining how. Trump summarizes his approach through another Reagan phrase: “peace through strength.” But he remains critical of NATO and top U.S. military brass. “I don’t consider them leaders,” Trump said of Pentagon officials that Americans “see on television.” He repeatedly praised authoritarians like Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Read Donald Trump's plan for his second administration

TOPEKA —It’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, according to National Sleep Foundation. So far this week, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported two accidents where the driver fell asleep.

Just after 3:30a.m. Wednesday in Rawlins County,&nbsp;a 2007 Saturn Vue driven by&nbsp;Lawrence Stephen&nbsp;Longwolf, 25, Vacaville, California, was northbound on Kansas 25 approximately eight miles south of U.S. 36

The driver fell asleep and woke up as the SUV was leaving the roadway to the east. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle crossed the southbound lane, entered the west ditch sideways and rolled.

EMS transported a passenger Kylie R.&nbsp; Cisco, 23, Anadarko, Oklahoma, to the Rawlins County Hospital.&nbsp; Longwolf and a 1-year-old passenger were not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Just before 3p.m. Tuesday, a 2006 Honda Accord driven by&nbsp; Jimi Wayne&nbsp; Hill, 26, Timken, was southbound on U.S. 183 at South County Line Road.

The driver fell asleep. The car traveled off the road to the west and the driver overcorrected. The Honda then crossed U.S. 183 to the east and struck a utility pole.

EMS transported Hill to Hays Medical Center. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

The Kansas Turnpike Safety Assist, sponsored by Geico reminds motorists to be fully awake when behind the wheel. "Ensure a better night’s sleep by a relaxing wind-down and putting your devices away an hour before bed."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730996217585.png" alt="Driving Drowsy Prevention Week November 3–9, 2024" />
 <figcaption>Driving Drowsy Prevention Week November 3–9, 2024</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA —It’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, according to National Sleep Foundation. So far this week, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported two accidents where the driver fell asleep.Just after 3:30a.m. Wednesday in Rawlins County,&nbsp;a 2007 Saturn Vue driven by&nbsp;Lawrence Stephen&nbsp;Longwolf, 25, Vacaville, California, was northbound on Kansas 25 approximately eight miles south of U.S. 36The driver fell asleep and woke up as the SUV was leaving the roadway to the east. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle crossed the southbound lane, entered the west ditch sideways and rolled.EMS transported a passenger Kylie R.&nbsp; Cisco, 23, Anadarko, Oklahoma, to the Rawlins County Hospital.&nbsp; Longwolf and a 1-year-old passenger were not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.Just before 3p.m. Tuesday, a 2006 Honda Accord driven by&nbsp; Jimi Wayne&nbsp; Hill, 26, Timken, was southbound on U.S. 183 at South County Line Road.The driver fell asleep. The car traveled off the road to the west and the driver overcorrected. The Honda then crossed U.S. 183 to the east and struck a utility pole.EMS transported Hill to Hays Medical Center. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week and our Kansas Turnpike Safety Assist, sponsored by <a href="https://twitter.com/GEICO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GEICO</a>, reminds motorists to be fully awake when behind the wheel. Ensure a better night’s sleep by a relaxing wind-down and putting your devices away an hour before bed. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GEICOSafetyPatrol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GEICOSafetyPatrol</a> <a href="https://t.co/Nt4y0x8B8y">pic.twitter.com/Nt4y0x8B8y</a>&mdash; Kansas Turnpike (@KansasTurnpike) <a href="https://twitter.com/KansasTurnpike/status/1854258453218492640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Kansas Turnpike Safety Assist, sponsored by Geico reminds motorists to be fully awake when behind the wheel. "Ensure a better night’s sleep by a relaxing wind-down and putting your devices away an hour before bed."

Two sleeping drivers in Kan. during Drowsy Driving Prevention Week

WASHINGTON (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;decisive victory over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>.

“In a democracy, the will of the people always prevails,” he said near the beginning.

Biden said he had spoken with Trump and assured him that he would direct his administration to ensure a “peaceful and orderly transition,” because that’s what the people deserve. Biden was subtly nodding to how Trump, in 2020, refused to accept he lost the election. Trump was reelected this week.

Biden spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House after Democrat Kamala Harris lost this week to Donald Trump, speaking to his supporters and Americans.

The president reiterated that the U.S. election system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.”

He closed by saying that defeat doesn't mean one is defeated.

“America endures,” he said. “We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged.”

WASHINGTON (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;decisive victory over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden: &quot;Yesterday I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I assured him that I&#39;ve directed my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That&#39;s what the American people deserve.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/rPWIBkUJY4">pic.twitter.com/rPWIBkUJY4</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1854562595476263180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“In a democracy, the will of the people always prevails,” he said near the beginning.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden on Vice President Harris: &quot;She and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/R0HHHIznev">pic.twitter.com/R0HHHIznev</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1854562751122936297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden said he had spoken with Trump and assured him that he would direct his administration to ensure a “peaceful and orderly transition,” because that’s what the people deserve. Biden was subtly nodding to how Trump, in 2020, refused to accept he lost the election. Trump was reelected this week.Biden spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House after Democrat Kamala Harris lost this week to Donald Trump, speaking to his supporters and Americans.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden: &quot;Now we have 74 days to finish the term, our term. Let&#39;s make every day count. That&#39;s the responsibility we have to the American people...A defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/bixM1TnS6m">pic.twitter.com/bixM1TnS6m</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1854565578477851033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The president reiterated that the U.S. election system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.”He closed by saying that defeat doesn't mean one is defeated.“America endures,” he said. “We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged.”

🎥 Biden guarantees ‘peaceful transfer of power’ in first remarks since Trump win

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/senate-house-election-updates-11-5-2024#00000192-feae-dd3b-abfa-feeef4820000">hung in the balance</a>&nbsp;Thursday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wins-second-term-policies-de3dcf0f173b42602b258042fd7aaafb">Trump second-term White House agenda</a>.

A few individual seats, or even a single one, will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-election-2024">determine the outcome</a>. Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week — or beyond.

After Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-elections-house-senate-harris-trump-94b49277db2a5c21f23236794a36afa6">swept into the majority</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;predicted his chamber would fall in line next.

“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.

President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-harris-election-updates-11-5-2024">won the Electoral College and the popular vote</a>&nbsp;against Democratic Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>, has consolidated growing power around his MAGA movement, backing newcomers to Washington and setting the stage for his own return to the White House.

Johnson said Republicans in Congress are preparing an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-mike-johnson-majority-trump-election-65d7217e4541cd314849c9a0da2b0081">“ambitious” 100-day agenda</a>&nbsp;with Trump, who he has said is “thinking big” about his legacy.

Tax cuts, securing the southern border and taking a ”blowtorch” to federal regulations are at the top of the agenda if the GOP sweeps the White House and Congress. Trump himself has promised mass deportations and retribution against his perceived enemies. And Republicans want to push federal agencies out of Washington and to restaff the government workforce with the help of outside think tanks, Johnson has said, to bring the federal government “to heel.”

But Johnson, after just a year on the job, has had difficulty governing the House, and the new Congress would be no different. Hard-liners led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Matt Gaetz and others have often confronted and upended their own GOP leadership in what has been one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-chaos-elections-democrats-republicans-divide-50e562326d5c1d8a43cc86381d5705f5">most chaotic sessions</a>&nbsp;in modern times.

If Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill.

Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play.”

With Democrats having defeated two House Republicans in Jeffries’ home state of New York, he said the path to the majority now runs through pickup opportunities in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California that are still too early to call.

“We must count every vote,” Jeffries said.

The House contests remained a tit-for-tat fight to the finish, with no dominant pathway to the majority for either party. Rarely, if ever have the two chambers of Congress flipped in opposite directions.

Each side is gaining and losing a few seats, including through the redistricting process, which is the routine redrawing of House seat boundary lines. The process reset seats in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.

Much of the outcome hinges on the West, particularly in California, where a handful of House seats are being fiercely contested, and mail-in ballots arriving a week after the election will still be counted. Hard-fought races around the “blue dot” in Omaha, Nebraska and in far-flung Alaska are among those being watched.

Trump, speaking early Wednesday at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/donald-trump-donald-trump-es-florida-west-palm-beach-729b033628874b8392a148c073148602">election night party</a>&nbsp;in Florida, said the results delivered an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.

He called the Senate rout “incredible,” and he praised Johnson, saying he’s “doing a terrific job.”

From the U.S. Capitol, Senate GOP Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">Mitch McConnell</a>, privately a harsh Trump critic, called it a “hell of a good day.”

Senate Republicans marched across the map alongside Trump, flipping the three Democratic-held seats and holding their own against Democratic challengers who failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas and Sen. Rick Scott in Florida.

In West Virginia,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-senate-justice-elliott-7376ed0ceb9bebd0766190fb14cc0e69">Jim Justice,</a>&nbsp;the state’s wealthy governor, flipped the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans toppled Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-senate-ohio-brown-moreno-74c4b91e5866215d4201377fefcadad0">Bernie Moreno.</a>&nbsp;And Republican Tim Sheehy defeated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana.

Democrats avoided a total wipeout by salvaging seats in the “blue wall” states. Rep. Elissa Slotkin won an open Senate seat in Michigan, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin was reelected in Wisconsin. Pennsylvania’s race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick was still undecided.

In other developments, Democrats made history by sending two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, to the Senate. Just thee Black women, including Harris, have served in the Senate, but never two at the same time.

All told, Senate Republicans have the potential to achieve their most robust majority in years — a testament to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">McConnell</a>, who made a career charting a path to power, this time aligned with Trump whom he has privately called “despicable” in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

During a news conference Wednesday, McConnell declined to answer questions about his past stark criticism of Trump and said he viewed the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.

He told reporters at the Capitol that a Senate under Republican control would “control the guardrails” and prevent changes in Senate rules that would end the filibuster.

“People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it,” McConnell said.

What’s still unclear is who will lead the new Republican Senate, as McConnell prepares to step down from the post.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held that post, are the front-runners to replace McConnell in a secret-ballot election scheduled for when senators arrive in Washington next week.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730988020671.png" alt="Image AP" />
 <figcaption>Image AP</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/senate-house-election-updates-11-5-2024#00000192-feae-dd3b-abfa-feeef4820000">hung in the balance</a>&nbsp;Thursday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wins-second-term-policies-de3dcf0f173b42602b258042fd7aaafb">Trump second-term White House agenda</a>.A few individual seats, or even a single one, will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-election-2024">determine the outcome</a>. Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week — or beyond.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691086285875.jpeg" alt="U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>After Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-elections-house-senate-harris-trump-94b49277db2a5c21f23236794a36afa6">swept into the majority</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;predicted his chamber would fall in line next.“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-harris-election-updates-11-5-2024">won the Electoral College and the popular vote</a>&nbsp;against Democratic Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>, has consolidated growing power around his MAGA movement, backing newcomers to Washington and setting the stage for his own return to the White House.Johnson said Republicans in Congress are preparing an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-mike-johnson-majority-trump-election-65d7217e4541cd314849c9a0da2b0081">“ambitious” 100-day agenda</a>&nbsp;with Trump, who he has said is “thinking big” about his legacy.Tax cuts, securing the southern border and taking a ”blowtorch” to federal regulations are at the top of the agenda if the GOP sweeps the White House and Congress. Trump himself has promised mass deportations and retribution against his perceived enemies. And Republicans want to push federal agencies out of Washington and to restaff the government workforce with the help of outside think tanks, Johnson has said, to bring the federal government “to heel.”But Johnson, after just a year on the job, has had difficulty governing the House, and the new Congress would be no different. Hard-liners led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Matt Gaetz and others have often confronted and upended their own GOP leadership in what has been one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-chaos-elections-democrats-republicans-divide-50e562326d5c1d8a43cc86381d5705f5">most chaotic sessions</a>&nbsp;in modern times.If Johnson’s slim four-seat majority were to shrink any further, governing could come to a standstill.Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House “remains very much in play.”With Democrats having defeated two House Republicans in Jeffries’ home state of New York, he said the path to the majority now runs through pickup opportunities in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California that are still too early to call.“We must count every vote,” Jeffries said.The House contests remained a tit-for-tat fight to the finish, with no dominant pathway to the majority for either party. Rarely, if ever have the two chambers of Congress flipped in opposite directions.Each side is gaining and losing a few seats, including through the redistricting process, which is the routine redrawing of House seat boundary lines. The process reset seats in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.Much of the outcome hinges on the West, particularly in California, where a handful of House seats are being fiercely contested, and mail-in ballots arriving a week after the election will still be counted. Hard-fought races around the “blue dot” in Omaha, Nebraska and in far-flung Alaska are among those being watched.Trump, speaking early Wednesday at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/donald-trump-donald-trump-es-florida-west-palm-beach-729b033628874b8392a148c073148602">election night party</a>&nbsp;in Florida, said the results delivered an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.He called the Senate rout “incredible,” and he praised Johnson, saying he’s “doing a terrific job.”From the U.S. Capitol, Senate GOP Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">Mitch McConnell</a>, privately a harsh Trump critic, called it a “hell of a good day.”Senate Republicans marched across the map alongside Trump, flipping the three Democratic-held seats and holding their own against Democratic challengers who failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas and Sen. Rick Scott in Florida.In West Virginia,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-senate-justice-elliott-7376ed0ceb9bebd0766190fb14cc0e69">Jim Justice,</a>&nbsp;the state’s wealthy governor, flipped the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans toppled Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-senate-ohio-brown-moreno-74c4b91e5866215d4201377fefcadad0">Bernie Moreno.</a>&nbsp;And Republican Tim Sheehy defeated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana.Democrats avoided a total wipeout by salvaging seats in the “blue wall” states. Rep. Elissa Slotkin won an open Senate seat in Michigan, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin was reelected in Wisconsin. Pennsylvania’s race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick was still undecided.In other developments, Democrats made history by sending two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, to the Senate. Just thee Black women, including Harris, have served in the Senate, but never two at the same time.All told, Senate Republicans have the potential to achieve their most robust majority in years — a testament to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">McConnell</a>, who made a career charting a path to power, this time aligned with Trump whom he has privately called “despicable” in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.During a news conference Wednesday, McConnell declined to answer questions about his past stark criticism of Trump and said he viewed the election results as a referendum on the Biden administration.He told reporters at the Capitol that a Senate under Republican control would “control the guardrails” and prevent changes in Senate rules that would end the filibuster.“People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it,” McConnell said.What’s still unclear is who will lead the new Republican Senate, as McConnell prepares to step down from the post.South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held that post, are the front-runners to replace McConnell in a secret-ballot election scheduled for when senators arrive in Washington next week.<h2>___</h2>Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

Control of the US House still hangs in the balance 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.

Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">addressing supporters in Florida</a>&nbsp;during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump to concede the race and to congratulate him, while Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.

“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung.

Biden's chief of staff later Wednesday nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.

A source with knowledge of the Trump campaign said transition talks to take over power on Jan. 20, 2025, had not begun in earnest. Instead, the president-elect was busy taking calls from leaders, domestic and international, donors and key supporters. Transition discussions are expected to ramp up later in the week, as attention turns to naming an inaugural committee and a formal transition team.

Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients reached out to Trump transition co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon to reiterate the important role the agreements with the White House and the General Services Administration play in beginning a presidential transition. The White House official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive transition planning.

The delay is holding up the federal government’s ability to begin processing security clearances for potential Trump administration national security appointees, which could limit the number of his staff who could work on sensitive information by Inauguration Day. It also means they can’t yet access federal facilities, documents and personnel to prepare for taking office.

The agreements are required by the Presidential Transition Act, and require the president-elect’s team to agree to an ethics plan and to limit and disclose private donations. Congress, in the act, set a deadline of Sept. 1 for the GSA agreement and Oct. 1 for the White House agreement, in an effort to ensure that incoming administrations are prepared to govern when they enter office on Jan. 20.

Lutnick and McMahon released a statement late Wednesday saying Trump will be selecting personnel for his administration in the “days and weeks ahead," but did not address the agreements with the Biden administration.

“As he chooses the best people to join his team and best policies to pursue, his transition team will ensure the implementation of President Trump’s common sense agenda starting on Day 1,” they said.

The White House announced that Biden had spoken to the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasizing the importance of working to bring the country together.

Biden also called Harris to salute her for her campaign. And Trump and Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect "acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” according to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.

Israeli Prime Minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/benjamin-netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;’s office said he called Trump and the pair had a “warm and cordial” conversation while also also discussing the ”Iranian threat.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had an “excellent call” with Trump, who has threatened to cut off the steady flow of U.S. aid and arms to his nation in its fight against Russia's nearly three-year-old invasion. “I praised his family and team for their great work," Zelenskyy said. "We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump, too, as did Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mohammad-bin-salman-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud">Mohammed bin Salman,</a>&nbsp;who spoke to the president-elect to express "the kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under his excellency’s leadership,” according to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry.

Trump made his first foreign trip as president during his first term to Saudi Arabia. He stood by the kingdom then, even as ties became strained over the killing of Washington Post columnist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jamal-khashoggi">Jamal Khashoggi</a>&nbsp;by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.

The president-elect has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-mideast-netanyahu-israel-gaza-iran-wars-2e37305522d19bdc34e956586cce99bd">vowed to bring peace to the Middle East</a>&nbsp;at a time when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has recently traded fire with Iran. Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term, has not said how he'd accomplish that.

Meanwhile, U.S. markets, banks and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bitcoin-crypto-donald-trump-election-c2e2a1a895288c5e9c0df2721012a5bb">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;all stormed higher Wednesday, as did Tesla, owned by outspoken Trump supporter Elon Musk, as investors looked favorably on a smooth election and Trump returning to the White House.

Trump got more potential good news with word that special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jack-smith">Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;is evaluating how to wind down the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">two federal cases against</a>&nbsp;the president-elect before he takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, according to a person familiar with Smith’s plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

Smith charged Trump last year with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>. The latter case had already been dismissed. But Trump’s election victory means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with decades-old department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.

Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Tom Beamont and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719509357152.png" alt="Inage courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Inage courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">addressing supporters in Florida</a>&nbsp;during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump to concede the race and to congratulate him, while Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung.Biden's chief of staff later Wednesday nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.A source with knowledge of the Trump campaign said transition talks to take over power on Jan. 20, 2025, had not begun in earnest. Instead, the president-elect was busy taking calls from leaders, domestic and international, donors and key supporters. Transition discussions are expected to ramp up later in the week, as attention turns to naming an inaugural committee and a formal transition team.Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients reached out to Trump transition co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon to reiterate the important role the agreements with the White House and the General Services Administration play in beginning a presidential transition. The White House official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive transition planning.The delay is holding up the federal government’s ability to begin processing security clearances for potential Trump administration national security appointees, which could limit the number of his staff who could work on sensitive information by Inauguration Day. It also means they can’t yet access federal facilities, documents and personnel to prepare for taking office.The agreements are required by the Presidential Transition Act, and require the president-elect’s team to agree to an ethics plan and to limit and disclose private donations. Congress, in the act, set a deadline of Sept. 1 for the GSA agreement and Oct. 1 for the White House agreement, in an effort to ensure that incoming administrations are prepared to govern when they enter office on Jan. 20.Lutnick and McMahon released a statement late Wednesday saying Trump will be selecting personnel for his administration in the “days and weeks ahead," but did not address the agreements with the Biden administration.“As he chooses the best people to join his team and best policies to pursue, his transition team will ensure the implementation of President Trump’s common sense agenda starting on Day 1,” they said.The White House announced that Biden had spoken to the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasizing the importance of working to bring the country together.Biden also called Harris to salute her for her campaign. And Trump and Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect "acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” according to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.Israeli Prime Minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/benjamin-netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu</a>&nbsp;’s office said he called Trump and the pair had a “warm and cordial” conversation while also also discussing the ”Iranian threat.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had an “excellent call” with Trump, who has threatened to cut off the steady flow of U.S. aid and arms to his nation in its fight against Russia's nearly three-year-old invasion. “I praised his family and team for their great work," Zelenskyy said. "We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump, too, as did Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mohammad-bin-salman-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud">Mohammed bin Salman,</a>&nbsp;who spoke to the president-elect to express "the kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under his excellency’s leadership,” according to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry.Trump made his first foreign trip as president during his first term to Saudi Arabia. He stood by the kingdom then, even as ties became strained over the killing of Washington Post columnist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jamal-khashoggi">Jamal Khashoggi</a>&nbsp;by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.The president-elect has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-mideast-netanyahu-israel-gaza-iran-wars-2e37305522d19bdc34e956586cce99bd">vowed to bring peace to the Middle East</a>&nbsp;at a time when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has recently traded fire with Iran. Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term, has not said how he'd accomplish that.Meanwhile, U.S. markets, banks and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bitcoin-crypto-donald-trump-election-c2e2a1a895288c5e9c0df2721012a5bb">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;all stormed higher Wednesday, as did Tesla, owned by outspoken Trump supporter Elon Musk, as investors looked favorably on a smooth election and Trump returning to the White House.Trump got more potential good news with word that special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jack-smith">Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;is evaluating how to wind down the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">two federal cases against</a>&nbsp;the president-elect before he takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, according to a person familiar with Smith’s plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.Smith charged Trump last year with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>. The latter case had already been dismissed. But Trump’s election victory means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with decades-old department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.__Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Tom Beamont and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

Biden invites Trump to meeting at the White House

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a shooting on Halloween that left a 13-year-old boy dead have arrested a 19-year-old woman, according to Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford.&nbsp;

Carrice Profit, identified from Sedgwick County booking records, is being held in the the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of 2nd Degree Murder.

&nbsp;Jermall Campbell, 19, identified as the female suspect’s cousin, has been charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Battery, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault in connection to the homicide. Campbell remains at large, and a warrant will be issued for his arrest.Campbell is considered armed and dangerous.

Just after 10:30p.m. October 31, police responded to a report of gunfire at the QuikTrip located at Central and Oliver in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.

Officers discovered evidence of a shooting and the convenience store. Simultaneously, a walk-in report was received from a local hospital indicating that a private vehicle had transported victims of this incident for treatment.

The victims included a 15-year-old boy from Wichita, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, and a 13-year-old boy who sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital.

Initial investigations reveal that a disturbance occurred in the QuikTrip parking lot, leading to the suspect firing at a crowd, which tragically resulted in injuries to the two victims.

&nbsp;If anyone has information about Campbell's whereabouts, please call 911 immediately. To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730979564649.png" alt="Profit-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Profit-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a shooting on Halloween that left a 13-year-old boy dead have arrested a 19-year-old woman, according to Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730567909379.png" alt="Campbell photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Campbell photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Carrice Profit, identified from Sedgwick County booking records, is being held in the the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of 2nd Degree Murder.&nbsp;Jermall Campbell, 19, identified as the female suspect’s cousin, has been charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Battery, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault in connection to the homicide. Campbell remains at large, and a warrant will be issued for his arrest.Campbell is considered armed and dangerous.Just after 10:30p.m. October 31, police responded to a report of gunfire at the QuikTrip located at Central and Oliver in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730455429350.png" alt="Police on the scene Thursday evening -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene Thursday evening -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers discovered evidence of a shooting and the convenience store. Simultaneously, a walk-in report was received from a local hospital indicating that a private vehicle had transported victims of this incident for treatment.The victims included a 15-year-old boy from Wichita, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, and a 13-year-old boy who sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital.Initial investigations reveal that a disturbance occurred in the QuikTrip parking lot, leading to the suspect firing at a crowd, which tragically resulted in injuries to the two victims.&nbsp;If anyone has information about Campbell's whereabouts, please call 911 immediately. To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

1 jailed for Halloween killing of 13-year-old, 1 still hiding from police 

The abortion-rights groups behind the amendment are challenging Missouri’s TRAP laws in the hopes of opening up more access than Missourians have seen in decades

Missouri’s Planned Parenthood clinics filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to strike down the state’s current abortion restrictions, less than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">an amendment enshrining reproductive rights in the constitution was approved by voters.&nbsp;</a>

The news was announced Wednesday afternoon by coalition members of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the organization behind Amendment 3.&nbsp;

Leaders with both Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said if the court grants their injunction, they plan to start providing abortions the day the amendment goes into effect on Dec. 5 at the health centers in Columbia, the Central West End in St. Louis and the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City.

A series of “targeted regulation of abortion providers” laws enacted by the legislature, including a mandatory 72-hour waiting period between the initial appointment and a surgical abortion and mandatory pelvic exams for medication abortions “were parts of a&nbsp;web of impenetrable, onerous, and medically unnecessary restrictions targeted at abortion providers,” that limited access for Missourians for years prior to the state’s abortion ban, the lawsuit reads.

“The restrictions we’re challenging today do not actually help patients. They hurt them,” Richard Muniz, interim President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said during a press conference Wednesday. “The ripple effects of these overreaching policies can be felt throughout the state. Missouri continues to have high STI rates and poor pregnancy outcomes, and providers do not want to train or practice in Missouri, creating even further scarcity and gaps in coverage for thousands of women and pregnant people throughout Missouri.”

The constitutional amendment, which won with<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/missouri/?r=83071" target="_blank">&nbsp;51.7% of the nearly 3 million votes</a>&nbsp;cast Tuesday, goes into effect in 30 days and prohibits the legislature from regulating abortion prior to the point of fetal viability — generally seen as the point at which a fetus can likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary measures.

But both proponents of and those opposed to Amendment 3 have warned that abortion access would not be immediate, as a bevy of challenges to current law must first make their way through the courts.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Jackson County, challenges a number of current state laws, including the state’s current abortion ban, a trigger law enacted in June 2022 that only allows abortions exceptions in cases of medical emergencies.&nbsp;

Among the TRAP laws targeted by the new lawsuit include:&nbsp;

The lawsuit also addresses access to medication abortion, asking that a judge lift the current restrictions that would make it difficult to prescribe, including a telemedicine ban that requires the physician who prescribes the medication to also be in the room when the patient takes the first dose of the medication.&nbsp;

It also seeks to end criminal penalties for abortion providers, who currently face loss of their license and up to 15 years in prison if they perform an abortion that doesn’t fall under the current exception for medical emergencies.&nbsp;

The lawsuit does not challenge Missouri’s current law requiring parental or guardian consent for minors seeking abortions. Muniz did not specifically say whether this will be challenged in the future, but rather noted this is only the first lawsuit.

Court challenges can take months, if not years. In Ohio, where citizens voted to protect abortion rights one year ago,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-ban-ruling-e83ad0f1af11ded06d73d900bb240a04" target="_blank">a county judge just struck down that state’s “heartbeat” law.</a>

Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said while the payoff is worthwhile, the road can be long to reach widespread access.&nbsp;

“They shouldn’t engage in magical thinking or fiction that these restrictions will fall away on their own,” she advised Missourians who voted in support of Amendment 3. “This is going to take hard work.”

Tori Schafer, director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, said while she hopes the legislature will respect the will of the people, those who supported Amendment 3 stand ready to hold them accountable.

Missouri lawmakers including state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley have said<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/02/missouri-abortion-amendment-march-life/">&nbsp;they intend to give Missourians the opportunity to vote on abortion again.&nbsp;</a>

When asked in September what GOP lawmakers might do if Amendment 3 passed, Coleman pointed to a 2018 citizen-led amendment that would have required legislative districts be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. This amendment, known as&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2020/11/04/voters-repeal-clean-missouri-redistricting-plan-they-enacted-in-2018/">“Clean Missouri,” was repealed two years later</a>&nbsp;through a legislature-proposed amendment.

On Wednesday morning, Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas More Society who previously argued against the amendment before the Missouri Supreme Court, promised to defend Missouri against Amendment 3.&nbsp;

“They’re not going to stand back and give up,” Levenson said. “They’ll fight around the edges to keep any restrictions in that they can.”&nbsp;

Former President Donald Trump’s victory means Missouri abortion-rights organizations may have more than just state anti-abortion forces working against them. It could soon also be the federal government.&nbsp;&nbsp;

One example is federal enforcement of the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that bans mailing obscene material, including for the use of abortion.

Hawley, who was re-elected to a second term on Tuesday, was among a number of senators who signed a letter in 2023 asking the U.S. Attorney General to enforce the Comstock Act&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24834197-20230123-letter-on-comstock-to-doj" target="_blank">and make illegal the mailing of abortion medication</a>, which has increasingly become popular and accessible across the United States over the last two years.

“We are being thoughtful about what a change in the federal administration could mean,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “I think more than anything, it will be the time for Missourians and individuals in other states who may have crossed political lines to hold accountable national leaders who have said they think this should be an issue decided by the states.”

Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, which led that state’s successful abortion-rights ballot measure last year,&nbsp;noted that it also takes time to rebuild health care infrastructure that had been limited or eliminated with abortion restrictions.&nbsp;

While abortion wasn’t outlawed in Missouri until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago, Missourians have long lacked access to the procedure as TRAP laws whittled away at abortion clinics’ abilities to stay open.&nbsp;

For clinics near the Kansas and Illinois borders, providers began sending Missourians across state lines where laws were less restrictive.&nbsp;

A decade ago, more than 5,000 abortions were performed in Missouri, according to the health department. By 2020, that number dropped to 167 as a result of the TRAP laws.

Between June 24, 2022 and July 31, 2024, 74 abortions were performed in Missouri under the state’s emergency exemption, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Despite facing additional hurdles to care, including the time and financial costs of travel, time off work and childcare, many Missourians have continued accessing abortion in the post-Roe era.

In 2023 alone, approximately 2,860 Missourians traveled to Kansas last year for abortions, and 8,710 traveled to Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://guttmacherinstitute.github.io/provision-dashboard/" target="_blank">according to the Guttmacher Institute,</a>&nbsp;a reproductive rights research group that closely tracks abortion data.&nbsp;

Abortion access in Missouri will likely have ripple effects across the Midwest and south, opening up another access point for those in states with bans like Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Copeland said Missouri’s first step toward legal action is nothing short of “momentous.”

“That the Missouri team did it this year of all years in this political climate is astounding,” she said. “It shows what an incredible campaign they waged, but also how deeply people feel about abortion access and reproductive freedom regardless of the party they identify with.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728400594576.png" alt=" The Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri (Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> The Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri (Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The abortion-rights groups behind the amendment are challenging Missouri’s TRAP laws in the hopes of opening up more access than Missourians have seen in decades</h2>Missouri’s Planned Parenthood clinics filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to strike down the state’s current abortion restrictions, less than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">an amendment enshrining reproductive rights in the constitution was approved by voters.&nbsp;</a>The news was announced Wednesday afternoon by coalition members of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the organization behind Amendment 3.&nbsp;Leaders with both Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said if the court grants their injunction, they plan to start providing abortions the day the amendment goes into effect on Dec. 5 at the health centers in Columbia, the Central West End in St. Louis and the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City.A series of “targeted regulation of abortion providers” laws enacted by the legislature, including a mandatory 72-hour waiting period between the initial appointment and a surgical abortion and mandatory pelvic exams for medication abortions “were parts of a&nbsp;web of impenetrable, onerous, and medically unnecessary restrictions targeted at abortion providers,” that limited access for Missourians for years prior to the state’s abortion ban, the lawsuit reads.“The restrictions we’re challenging today do not actually help patients. They hurt them,” Richard Muniz, interim President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said during a press conference Wednesday. “The ripple effects of these overreaching policies can be felt throughout the state. Missouri continues to have high STI rates and poor pregnancy outcomes, and providers do not want to train or practice in Missouri, creating even further scarcity and gaps in coverage for thousands of women and pregnant people throughout Missouri.”The constitutional amendment, which won with<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/missouri/?r=83071" target="_blank">&nbsp;51.7% of the nearly 3 million votes</a>&nbsp;cast Tuesday, goes into effect in 30 days and prohibits the legislature from regulating abortion prior to the point of fetal viability — generally seen as the point at which a fetus can likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary measures.But both proponents of and those opposed to Amendment 3 have warned that abortion access would not be immediate, as a bevy of challenges to current law must first make their way through the courts.The lawsuit, which was filed in Jackson County, challenges a number of current state laws, including the state’s current abortion ban, a trigger law enacted in June 2022 that only allows abortions exceptions in cases of medical emergencies.&nbsp;Among the TRAP laws targeted by the new lawsuit include:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Requirements that abortion clinics be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.&nbsp;</li><li>A 72-hour waiting period between a patient’s initial visit with a doctor and their abortion procedure.</li><li>Mandates that abortion clinics be located within 30 miles of a hospital where they have admitting privileges.&nbsp;</li><li>The required submission of all tissue removed during an abortion be submitted to a pathologist.&nbsp;</li><li>Rules requiring abortion providers report all abortions and abortion complications to the state.&nbsp;</li><li>Requirements that the same physician who initially sees a patient must also be the physician who performs the abortion procedure.</li><li>Current law requiring only physicians can perform abortions, excluding physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>The lawsuit also addresses access to medication abortion, asking that a judge lift the current restrictions that would make it difficult to prescribe, including a telemedicine ban that requires the physician who prescribes the medication to also be in the room when the patient takes the first dose of the medication.&nbsp;It also seeks to end criminal penalties for abortion providers, who currently face loss of their license and up to 15 years in prison if they perform an abortion that doesn’t fall under the current exception for medical emergencies.&nbsp;The lawsuit does not challenge Missouri’s current law requiring parental or guardian consent for minors seeking abortions. Muniz did not specifically say whether this will be challenged in the future, but rather noted this is only the first lawsuit.Court challenges can take months, if not years. In Ohio, where citizens voted to protect abortion rights one year ago,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-ban-ruling-e83ad0f1af11ded06d73d900bb240a04" target="_blank">a county judge just struck down that state’s “heartbeat” law.</a>Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said while the payoff is worthwhile, the road can be long to reach widespread access.&nbsp;“They shouldn’t engage in magical thinking or fiction that these restrictions will fall away on their own,” she advised Missourians who voted in support of Amendment 3. “This is going to take hard work.”Tori Schafer, director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, said while she hopes the legislature will respect the will of the people, those who supported Amendment 3 stand ready to hold them accountable.Missouri lawmakers including state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley have said<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/02/missouri-abortion-amendment-march-life/">&nbsp;they intend to give Missourians the opportunity to vote on abortion again.&nbsp;</a>When asked in September what GOP lawmakers might do if Amendment 3 passed, Coleman pointed to a 2018 citizen-led amendment that would have required legislative districts be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. This amendment, known as&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2020/11/04/voters-repeal-clean-missouri-redistricting-plan-they-enacted-in-2018/">“Clean Missouri,” was repealed two years later</a>&nbsp;through a legislature-proposed amendment.On Wednesday morning, Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas More Society who previously argued against the amendment before the Missouri Supreme Court, promised to defend Missouri against Amendment 3.&nbsp;“They’re not going to stand back and give up,” Levenson said. “They’ll fight around the edges to keep any restrictions in that they can.”&nbsp;Former President Donald Trump’s victory means Missouri abortion-rights organizations may have more than just state anti-abortion forces working against them. It could soon also be the federal government.&nbsp;&nbsp;One example is federal enforcement of the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that bans mailing obscene material, including for the use of abortion.Hawley, who was re-elected to a second term on Tuesday, was among a number of senators who signed a letter in 2023 asking the U.S. Attorney General to enforce the Comstock Act&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24834197-20230123-letter-on-comstock-to-doj" target="_blank">and make illegal the mailing of abortion medication</a>, which has increasingly become popular and accessible across the United States over the last two years.“We are being thoughtful about what a change in the federal administration could mean,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “I think more than anything, it will be the time for Missourians and individuals in other states who may have crossed political lines to hold accountable national leaders who have said they think this should be an issue decided by the states.”Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, which led that state’s successful abortion-rights ballot measure last year,&nbsp;noted that it also takes time to rebuild health care infrastructure that had been limited or eliminated with abortion restrictions.&nbsp;While abortion wasn’t outlawed in Missouri until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago, Missourians have long lacked access to the procedure as TRAP laws whittled away at abortion clinics’ abilities to stay open.&nbsp;For clinics near the Kansas and Illinois borders, providers began sending Missourians across state lines where laws were less restrictive.&nbsp;A decade ago, more than 5,000 abortions were performed in Missouri, according to the health department. By 2020, that number dropped to 167 as a result of the TRAP laws.Between June 24, 2022 and July 31, 2024, 74 abortions were performed in Missouri under the state’s emergency exemption, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.Despite facing additional hurdles to care, including the time and financial costs of travel, time off work and childcare, many Missourians have continued accessing abortion in the post-Roe era.In 2023 alone, approximately 2,860 Missourians traveled to Kansas last year for abortions, and 8,710 traveled to Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://guttmacherinstitute.github.io/provision-dashboard/" target="_blank">according to the Guttmacher Institute,</a>&nbsp;a reproductive rights research group that closely tracks abortion data.&nbsp;Abortion access in Missouri will likely have ripple effects across the Midwest and south, opening up another access point for those in states with bans like Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.Copeland said Missouri’s first step toward legal action is nothing short of “momentous.”“That the Missouri team did it this year of all years in this political climate is astounding,” she said. “It shows what an incredible campaign they waged, but also how deeply people feel about abortion access and reproductive freedom regardless of the party they identify with.”

Lawsuit challenges Missouri’s abortion restrictions hours after voters approve Amendment 3

SALINE COUNTY —A Kansas man is under investigation after a fight near&nbsp;Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday led to confrontations with&nbsp; school security and Salina police officers.

Just before 4p.m. on November 2, following the Kansas Wesleyan&nbsp; football game, three people were walking to their car when they encountered 25-year-old Donovan Green of Salina who was reportedly yelling profanities at a person passing nearby, according to Salina. Police Captain James Feldman.

 Green allegedly turned his attention toward the group and then directed his remarks at them. The group warned Green to back off, but Green reportedly charged a 25-year-old man from Fairfax, Virginia, in an attempt to tackle him.

The man from Virginia managed to take Green to the ground and restrained him until school security and police arrived.

Officers reported that Green was uncooperative and continued to escalate the situation. According to Feldman, Green spat in an officer’s face as they attempted to take him into custody. When officers used a restraint device known as a wrap to secure him, Green allegedly head-butted another officer while being placed in the patrol car.

Green was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges including battery, two counts of battery against a law enforcement officer, interference, and disorderly conduct. The officer was not injured, according to Feldman.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730980031521.png" alt="Green photo Saline County" />
 <figcaption>Green photo Saline County</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —A Kansas man is under investigation after a fight near&nbsp;Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday led to confrontations with&nbsp; school security and Salina police officers.Just before 4p.m. on November 2, following the Kansas Wesleyan&nbsp; football game, three people were walking to their car when they encountered 25-year-old Donovan Green of Salina who was reportedly yelling profanities at a person passing nearby, according to Salina. Police Captain James Feldman. Green allegedly turned his attention toward the group and then directed his remarks at them. The group warned Green to back off, but Green reportedly charged a 25-year-old man from Fairfax, Virginia, in an attempt to tackle him.The man from Virginia managed to take Green to the ground and restrained him until school security and police arrived.Officers reported that Green was uncooperative and continued to escalate the situation. According to Feldman, Green spat in an officer’s face as they attempted to take him into custody. When officers used a restraint device known as a wrap to secure him, Green allegedly head-butted another officer while being placed in the patrol car.Green was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges including battery, two counts of battery against a law enforcement officer, interference, and disorderly conduct. The officer was not injured, according to Feldman.

Kan. man accused of fight after football game, spitting on officers

WASHINGTON (AP) — A military judge has ruled that plea agreements struck by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are valid, voiding an order by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/911-guantanamo-plea-bargain-austin-d1ea80cf69649927d85b638f9913c76f">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to throw out the deals</a>, a government official said Wednesday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the order by the judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, has not yet been posted publicly or officially announced.

The plea agreements would spare Mohammed and the others the risk of the death penalty in exchange for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sept-11-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-guantanamo-76a2dc11440cf9c4c287ee69bd742aa3">guilty pleas in the long-running 9/11 case</a>. Government prosecutors had negotiated the deals with defense attorneys under government auspices, and the top official for the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had approved them.

The plea deals in the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people spurred immediate political blowback by Republican lawmakers and others when announced in late July.

The agreements, and Austin's attempt to reverse them, have been one of the most fraught episodes in a U.S. prosecution marked by delays and legal difficulties, including years of ongoing pretrial hearings to determine the admissibility of statements by the defendants given their years of torture in CIA custody.

Within days of the deals becoming public this summer, Austin issued a brief order saying he was nullifying them. Plea bargains in possible death penalty cases tied to one of the gravest crimes ever carried out on U.S. soil were a momentous step that should only be decided by the defense secretary, Austin said at the time.

The Pentagon is reviewing the judge's decision and had no immediate further comment, said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.

The New York Times first reported the ruling.

Military officials have yet to post the judge's decision on the Guantanamo military commission's online site.

However, a legal blog that long has covered the prosecutions from the Guantanamo courtroom said McCall's 29-page ruling concludes that Austin lacked the authority to toss out the plea deals.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1722465359811.jpeg" alt="FILE - This Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, center, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The man accused of being the main plotter in al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks has agreed to plead guilty, The Defense Department said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - This Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, center, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The man accused of being the main plotter in al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks has agreed to plead guilty, The Defense Department said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A military judge has ruled that plea agreements struck by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are valid, voiding an order by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/911-guantanamo-plea-bargain-austin-d1ea80cf69649927d85b638f9913c76f">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to throw out the deals</a>, a government official said Wednesday.The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the order by the judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, has not yet been posted publicly or officially announced.The plea agreements would spare Mohammed and the others the risk of the death penalty in exchange for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sept-11-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-guantanamo-76a2dc11440cf9c4c287ee69bd742aa3">guilty pleas in the long-running 9/11 case</a>. Government prosecutors had negotiated the deals with defense attorneys under government auspices, and the top official for the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had approved them.The plea deals in the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people spurred immediate political blowback by Republican lawmakers and others when announced in late July.The agreements, and Austin's attempt to reverse them, have been one of the most fraught episodes in a U.S. prosecution marked by delays and legal difficulties, including years of ongoing pretrial hearings to determine the admissibility of statements by the defendants given their years of torture in CIA custody.Within days of the deals becoming public this summer, Austin issued a brief order saying he was nullifying them. Plea bargains in possible death penalty cases tied to one of the gravest crimes ever carried out on U.S. soil were a momentous step that should only be decided by the defense secretary, Austin said at the time.The Pentagon is reviewing the judge's decision and had no immediate further comment, said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.The New York Times first reported the ruling.Military officials have yet to post the judge's decision on the Guantanamo military commission's online site.However, a legal blog that long has covered the prosecutions from the Guantanamo courtroom said McCall's 29-page ruling concludes that Austin lacked the authority to toss out the plea deals.

Plea deals revived for alleged 9/11 mastermind, 2 others

JOHNSON COUNTY —A man from Arkansas who admitted his role in a violent knife attack in Kansas is going to prison.

This week Johnson County Judge Thomas M. Sutherland sentenced&nbsp;35-year-old&nbsp;Amanjit Singh to nearly 24-years in prison for attempted first degree murder, according to Johnson County District Attorney's office.

In September Singh pleaded no contest to attempted First Degree Murder. In June of 2023, police responded to Stonebridge Liquors at W. 67th Street and Nieman Road in the city of Shawnee.&nbsp;&nbsp;The victim told investigators a man walked into the liquor store as she worked and attacked her with a knife.

Court documents say Singh stabbed the victim multiple times.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726179537432.png" alt="Singh-photo Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Singh-photo Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A man from Arkansas who admitted his role in a violent knife attack in Kansas is going to prison.This week Johnson County Judge Thomas M. Sutherland sentenced&nbsp;35-year-old&nbsp;Amanjit Singh to nearly 24-years in prison for attempted first degree murder, according to Johnson County District Attorney's office.In September Singh pleaded no contest to attempted First Degree Murder. In June of 2023, police responded to Stonebridge Liquors at W. 67th Street and Nieman Road in the city of Shawnee.&nbsp;&nbsp;The victim told investigators a man walked into the liquor store as she worked and attacked her with a knife.Court documents say Singh stabbed the victim multiple times.

Prison for violent knife attack on Kan. liquor store employee

&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating

(JASO) – Sheriff Tim Morse reports that on November 2, 2024,

Shortly after 4a.m. November 4, Sheriff's Deputies and police responded to a report of domestic violence at 619 ½ Vermont Ave. in Holton, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

During the course of the investigation the Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for the residence. William Daniel Collins, 39, of Holton, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and domestic battery. 

 Samantha Leighanne Gresham, 33, of Morrill, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730900695414.png" alt="Collins photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Collins photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating(JASO) – Sheriff Tim Morse reports that on November 2, 2024,Shortly after 4a.m. November 4, Sheriff's Deputies and police responded to a report of domestic violence at 619 ½ Vermont Ave. in Holton, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730900662437.png" alt="Gresham photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Gresham photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>During the course of the investigation the Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for the residence. William Daniel Collins, 39, of Holton, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and domestic battery. Samantha Leighanne Gresham, 33, of Morrill, was arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff: Drug bust after violent incident at Kansas home

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">two federal cases against Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;before the president-elect takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Smith charged Trump last year with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">Trump's election defeat of Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.

The person familiar with Smith's plans was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

By moving to wind down the cases before the inauguration in January, Smith and the Justice Department would be averting a potential showdown with Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fire-special-counsel-jack-smith-b0d3d24286fbe0c461a901a33ec78d62">said as recently as last month</a>&nbsp;that he would fire Smith “within two seconds” of taking office. It would also mean Trump would enter the White House without the legal cloud of federal criminal prosecutions that once carried the potential for felony convictions and prison sentences.

Smith’s two cases charge Trump in a conspiracy to undo the election results in the run-up to the Capitol riot, and with retaining top secret records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and obstructing FBI efforts to recover them.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-merrick-garland-government-and-550c01de053c08db4d53ca57f315feb6">He was appointed to the position in November 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland.</a>

The classified documents case has been stalled since July when a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">dismissed it on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed</a>. Smith has appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the request to revive the case is pending. Even as Smith looks to withdraw the documents case against Trump, he would seem likely to continue to challenge Cannon's ruling on the legality of his appointment given the precedent such a ruling would create.

In the 2020 election interference case, Trump was scheduled to stand trial in March in Washington, where more than 1,000 of his supporters have been convicted of charges for their roles in the Capitol riot. But the case was halted as Trump pursued his sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution that ultimately landed before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump could be emboldened by the Supreme Court’s ruling in July,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/supreme-court-rules-ex-presidents-have-broad-immunity-dimming-chance-of-a-pre-election-trump-trial/">which granted former presidents expansive immunity from prosecution</a>&nbsp;for acts taken in the White House and explicitly put off-limits any alleged conduct involving Trump’s discussions with the Justice Department. That included his efforts to use the Justice Department to conduct sham election fraud investigations as part of his bid to stay in power.

The conservative-majority Supreme Court sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which of the other allegations in the indictment, if any, could move forward to trial.

In response,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-capitol-riot-jack-smith-a4b4d7821c1a6d1f5076ec68f5ba7170">Smith’s team last month filed a 165-page brief</a>&nbsp;laying out new evidence to persuade the judge that the actions alleged in the indictment were taken in Trump's private capacity as a candidate — not as commander-in-chief — and therefore can remain part of the case. Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to file their response later this month.

In New York, meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-merchan-hush-money-sentencing-immunity-a4635cbd1a619b00588d1ebcc3c7b9cc">Trump is fighting to overturn his felony conviction</a>&nbsp;and stave off a potential prison sentence for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. It is the only one of his criminal cases to go to trial.

A judge is expected to rule next week on whether to uphold or toss the verdict in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling that presidents have broad protections from prosecution.

Judge Juan M. Merchan has said he will issue a ruling on Trump’s dismissal request on Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. The judge has penciled in Nov. 26 for sentencing, “if necessary.” Punishments range from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.

Though Trump technically has no authority as president to shut down a state-level prosecution like the one in New York, his victory nonetheless calls into question that case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fulton-county-fani-willis-trump-courtney-kramer-105147df7e97766e311e5e2a12a17c90">as well as a separate pending case in Fulton County, Georgia</a>&nbsp;charging him with plotting to subvert that state’s election in 2020.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661941600753.jpeg" alt="This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI at President elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Department of Justice via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI at President elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Department of Justice via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">two federal cases against Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;before the president-elect takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.Smith charged Trump last year with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">Trump's election defeat of Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.The person familiar with Smith's plans was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.By moving to wind down the cases before the inauguration in January, Smith and the Justice Department would be averting a potential showdown with Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fire-special-counsel-jack-smith-b0d3d24286fbe0c461a901a33ec78d62">said as recently as last month</a>&nbsp;that he would fire Smith “within two seconds” of taking office. It would also mean Trump would enter the White House without the legal cloud of federal criminal prosecutions that once carried the potential for felony convictions and prison sentences.NBC News first reported Smith's plans.Smith’s two cases charge Trump in a conspiracy to undo the election results in the run-up to the Capitol riot, and with retaining top secret records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and obstructing FBI efforts to recover them.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-merrick-garland-government-and-550c01de053c08db4d53ca57f315feb6">He was appointed to the position in November 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland.</a>The classified documents case has been stalled since July when a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">dismissed it on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed</a>. Smith has appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the request to revive the case is pending. Even as Smith looks to withdraw the documents case against Trump, he would seem likely to continue to challenge Cannon's ruling on the legality of his appointment given the precedent such a ruling would create.In the 2020 election interference case, Trump was scheduled to stand trial in March in Washington, where more than 1,000 of his supporters have been convicted of charges for their roles in the Capitol riot. But the case was halted as Trump pursued his sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution that ultimately landed before the U.S. Supreme Court.Trump could be emboldened by the Supreme Court’s ruling in July,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/supreme-court-rules-ex-presidents-have-broad-immunity-dimming-chance-of-a-pre-election-trump-trial/">which granted former presidents expansive immunity from prosecution</a>&nbsp;for acts taken in the White House and explicitly put off-limits any alleged conduct involving Trump’s discussions with the Justice Department. That included his efforts to use the Justice Department to conduct sham election fraud investigations as part of his bid to stay in power.The conservative-majority Supreme Court sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which of the other allegations in the indictment, if any, could move forward to trial.In response,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-capitol-riot-jack-smith-a4b4d7821c1a6d1f5076ec68f5ba7170">Smith’s team last month filed a 165-page brief</a>&nbsp;laying out new evidence to persuade the judge that the actions alleged in the indictment were taken in Trump's private capacity as a candidate — not as commander-in-chief — and therefore can remain part of the case. Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to file their response later this month.In New York, meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-merchan-hush-money-sentencing-immunity-a4635cbd1a619b00588d1ebcc3c7b9cc">Trump is fighting to overturn his felony conviction</a>&nbsp;and stave off a potential prison sentence for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. It is the only one of his criminal cases to go to trial.A judge is expected to rule next week on whether to uphold or toss the verdict in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling that presidents have broad protections from prosecution.Judge Juan M. Merchan has said he will issue a ruling on Trump’s dismissal request on Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. The judge has penciled in Nov. 26 for sentencing, “if necessary.” Punishments range from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.Though Trump technically has no authority as president to shut down a state-level prosecution like the one in New York, his victory nonetheless calls into question that case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fulton-county-fani-willis-trump-courtney-kramer-105147df7e97766e311e5e2a12a17c90">as well as a separate pending case in Fulton County, Georgia</a>&nbsp;charging him with plotting to subvert that state’s election in 2020.

Dept. of Justice will end their criminal cases against Donald Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that “we must accept the results of this election” as she encouraged supporters to continue fighting for their vision of the country after her loss to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>.

The Democratic vice president said the battle would continue "in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.”

“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

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 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that “we must accept the results of this election” as she encouraged supporters to continue fighting for their vision of the country after her loss to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Watch Vice President Kamala Harris&#39; complete concession speech here: <a href="https://t.co/iAnYEZYd0z">https://t.co/iAnYEZYd0z</a> <a href="https://t.co/j8r6WMlrYC">pic.twitter.com/j8r6WMlrYC</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1854351315012370542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Democratic vice president said the battle would continue "in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.”“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”Harris delivered her remarks at Howard University, her alma mater and one of the country's most prominent historically Black schools, in the same spot where she hoped to give a victory speech.“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said.Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was in the audience. So were Reps. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, and Barbara Lee, both from Harris’ home state of California.Before her speech, Harris called Trump to concede the election and congratulate him on his victory. She said, “We will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”Harris, once viewed as a potential savior for the Democratic Party after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;'s reelection campaign stalled, is reckoning with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2">a profound rejection</a>&nbsp;by American voters in this year's presidential election.She trailed in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">every battleground state</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Trump</a>, a man she described as an existential danger to the country's foundational institutions. And Trump appeared on track to win the popular vote for the first time in his three campaigns for the White House — even after two impeachments, felony convictions and his attempt to overturn his previous election loss.Biden plans to address the election results on Thursday. The White House said he spoke with Harris and Trump on Wednesday, and he invited the president-elect to meet with him soon.David Plouffe, a top Harris adviser, said campaign staffers “left it all on the field for their country.”“We dug out of a deep hole but not enough,” he said. “A devastating loss."In a bitter footnote for Harris, as the sitting vice president she is expected to oversee Congress' ceremonial certification of the election.It's the same role Mike Pence played four years ago, when Trump directed his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol. Although critics said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/">the violent insurrection</a>&nbsp;crystallized Trump's threat to American democracy, that ultimately did not dissuade voters from electing him again.Harris became the Democratic candidate after Biden, who was already struggling to convince voters that he could serve as president until he was 86 years old, stumbled badly in his June 27 debate with Trump.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-drops-out-2024-election-ddffde72838370032bdcff946cfc2ce6">He dropped out of the race</a>&nbsp;on July 21 and endorsed his vice president, who swiftly unified the Democratic Party around her candidacy.It was a remarkable twist of fate for Harris. Four years earlier, her own presidential campaign had flamed out and revealed the political limitations of someone once dubbed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnSG7515hWo">“the female Barack Obama.”</a>&nbsp;Even though Biden chose Harris as his running mate, she languished in the role after taking office as the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.Some Democrats started writing her off when they pondered the party's future after Biden. But Harris found fresh purpose after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in 2022, and she became the White House's leading advocate for abortion rights.Harris also made a more concerted effort to network with local politicians, business leaders and cultural figures, forging connections that could serve her down the road. The moment arrived sooner than she anticipated, and she was catapulted into the presidential race with Biden's departure only a month before the Democratic National Convention.Harris instantly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-joe-biden-donald-trump-election-90b9d5c6dc5553703af88dfa442a6bac">reset the terms of the contest</a>&nbsp;with Trump. She was 18 years younger and a former courtroom prosecutor going up against the first major presidential candidate convicted of crimes.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-joe-biden-donald-trump-1cc8b3e7b308b6178c04931d0fa1e79b">Her candidacy energized Democrats</a>&nbsp;who feared they were destined for defeat with Biden at the top of the ticket.But she also faced steep odds from the beginning. She inherited Biden's political operation with just 107 days until the end of the election, and she faced a restless electorate that was eager for change.Although Harris pitched “a new way forward," she struggled&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-biden-legacy-question-83f3d9128ff9e916ff5832e269da1f1e">to meaningfully differentiate herself</a>&nbsp;from the unpopular sitting president. In addition, she had limited time to introduce herself to skeptical voters, who never cast a ballot for her in a presidential primary.Democrats now face the prospect of picking up the pieces during a second Trump presidency, and it's unclear what role Harris will play in her party's future.“The work of protecting America from the impacts of a Trump Presidency starts now," wrote Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris' campaign chair, in a letter to staff. "I know the Vice President isn’t finished in this fight, and I know the very people on this email are also going to be leaders in this collective mission.”