JACKSON COUNTY, Mo.—Three students and the driver were injured in a school bus accident just after 6:30a.m. Thursday in Jackson County.

A Blue Springs School District bus struck a building at the intersection of 7 Highway and 40 Highway, according to a social media report from Blue Springs Police.

The bus driver and three students were transported to local hospitals for evaluation. At this time, their injuries do not appear to be serious.

Based on witness statements and driver accounts, the police investigation&nbsp; revealed that the bus had the right of way at the intersection. A vehicle approaching a yield sign failed to yield to the school bus, resulting in the accident, according to Blue Springs Police.

 The accident remains under investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758809652290.png" alt="photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY, Mo.—Three students and the driver were injured in a school bus accident just after 6:30a.m. Thursday in Jackson County.A Blue Springs School District bus struck a building at the intersection of 7 Highway and 40 Highway, according to a social media report from Blue Springs Police.The bus driver and three students were transported to local hospitals for evaluation. At this time, their injuries do not appear to be serious.Based on witness statements and driver accounts, the police investigation&nbsp; revealed that the bus had the right of way at the intersection. A vehicle approaching a yield sign failed to yield to the school bus, resulting in the accident, according to Blue Springs Police. The accident remains under investigation.

Police determine cause of KC bus crash that injured students, driver 

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">James Comey</a>&nbsp;was charged Thursday with lying to Congress in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.

The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of Trump’s chief grievances, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-russia-48f9d5132d7a4e2d823edad8fc407979">long-concluded investigation into Russian interference</a>&nbsp;in the 2016 election, to face prosecution. Trump has for years derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign, and has made clear his desire for retribution.

Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pam-bondi">Pam Bondi</a>, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.

The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Bondi is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-weaponizing-government-second-term-54ab244ccb2328d116a498bbaeb680ef">being weaponized in pursuit of investigations</a>&nbsp;and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies. It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.

Comey was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">fired</a>&nbsp;months into Trump’s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation. He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in charges.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

The office that filed the case against Comey, the Eastern District of Virginia, was thrown into turmoil last week following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-letitia-james-siebert-trump-9ec1a96c05fa77d8acc558bd803622a2">the resignation of chief prosecutor Erik Siebert</a>, who had not charged Comey and had faced pressure to bring charges against another Trump target, New York Attorney General Letitia James, in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-letitia-james-07452728c0bf2677ca095b7cf14db2c6">a mortgage fraud investigation</a>.

The following evening,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/letitia-james-eastern-district-of-virginia-trump-8c84bd8603a4b932f9cb2e451ef057a3">Trump lamented in a Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;aimed at the attorney general that department investigations had not resulted in prosecutions. He nominated as the new U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who had been one of Trump’s personal lawyers but lacked the federal prosecution experience that would typically accompany the responsibility of running one of the Justice Department’s most prestigious offices.

Halligan had rushed to present the case to a grand jury this week. Prosecutors evaluating whether Comey lied to Congress during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, had until Tuesday to bring a case before the five-year statute of limitations expired. The push to move forward came even as prosecutors in the office had detailed in a memo concerns about the pursuit of an indictment.

The two-count indictment consists of charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Comey’s lawyer had no immediate comment.

Trump has for years railed against both a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia preferred him to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and the criminal investigation that tried to determine whether his campaign had conspired with Moscow to sway the outcome of that race. Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia, but they did find that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.

Trump has seized on the fact that Mueller’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign and the Kremlin colluded, and that there were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f2d8d48dede72f5ceb9883e97818caa2">significant errors and omissions</a>&nbsp;made by the FBI in wiretap applications, to claim vindication. A yearslong investigation into potential misconduct during the Russia investigation, was conducted by a different special counsel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-trump-russia-probe-7e84f94ca9cf7905cbc5eddc108575b3">John Durham</a>. That produced three criminal cases, including against an FBI lawyer, but not against senior government officials.

The criminal case against Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation but rather accuses him of having lied to Congress.

The indictment comes against the backdrop of a Trump administration effort to cast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.

Administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gabbard-russia-2016-election-interference-895e863c27e5853f10c819121d73df8a">declassified a series of documents</a>&nbsp;meant to chip away at the strength of an Obama-era intelligence assessment published in January 2017 that said Moscow had engaged in a broad campaign of interference at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, Comey was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation in the summer of 2016.

Comey’s relationship with Trump was strained from the start and was exacerbated when Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private White House dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president. That overture so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, an action later investigated by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice.

After being let go, Comey authorized a close friend to share with a reporter the substance of an unclassified memo that documented an Oval Office request from Trump to shut down an FBI investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump and his allies later branded Comey a leaker, with the president even accusing him of treason. Comey himself has called Trump “ego driven” and likened him to a mafia don.

The Justice Department, during Trump’s first term, declined to prosecute Comey over his handling of his memos. The department’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ee2870cb0c9148e08161d851b26092e9">inspector general</a>&nbsp;did issue a harshly critical report in 2019 that said Comey violated FBI policies, including by failing to return the documents to the FBI after he was dismissed and for sharing them with his personal lawyers without FBI permission.

Earlier this year, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-maurene-comey-trump-23fb32ac0e4402873862d3ca6d31d18e">fired Comey’s daughter</a>, Maurene Comey, from her job as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She has since sued, saying the termination was carried out without any explanation and was done for political reasons.

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">James Comey</a>&nbsp;was charged Thursday with making a false statement and obstruction in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.

The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official to face prosecution in connection with one of Trump’s chief grievances: the long-concluded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-russia-48f9d5132d7a4e2d823edad8fc407979">investigation into Russian interference</a>&nbsp;in the 2016 election. Trump and his supporters have long derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign.

The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pam-bondi">Pam Bondi</a>, a Trump loyalist, is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies.

It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.

Comey was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">fired</a>&nbsp;months into Trump’s first administration and has long been a top target for Trump supporters seeking retribution. Comey was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump complained directly to Bondi that she had not yet brought charges against him.

The following evening,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/letitia-james-eastern-district-of-virginia-trump-8c84bd8603a4b932f9cb2e451ef057a3">Trump said in a Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;aimed at the attorney general that department investigations had not resulted in prosecutions. He said he would nominate Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide, to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She has been one of Trump’s personal lawyers and does not have experience as a federal prosecutor.

The office that filed the case against Comey, the Eastern District of Virginia, was thrown into turmoil last week following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-letitia-james-siebert-trump-9ec1a96c05fa77d8acc558bd803622a2">the resignation of chief prosecutor Erik Siebert</a>&nbsp;under pressure to bring charges against another Trump target, New York Attorney General Letitia James, in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-letitia-james-07452728c0bf2677ca095b7cf14db2c6">a mortgage fraud investigation</a>.

Halligan had rushed to present the case to a grand jury this week. Prosecutors were evaluating whether Comey lied to Congress during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, and they had until Tuesday to bring a case before the five-year statute of limitations expired. The push to move forward came even as prosecutors in the office had detailed in a memo concerns about the pursuit of an indictment.

The criminal case against Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation. Rather, it accuses him of having lied to a Senate committee in his 2020 appearance when he said he never authorized anyone to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about the investigation.

Trump’s administration is trying to cast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.

Comey has for years been a prime Trump antagonist. Comey was a senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758766634623.png" alt="File photo Former FBI Director James Comey" />
 <figcaption>File photo Former FBI Director James Comey</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">James Comey</a>&nbsp;was charged Thursday with lying to Congress in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.&mdash; Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/1971345371583611099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of Trump’s chief grievances, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-russia-48f9d5132d7a4e2d823edad8fc407979">long-concluded investigation into Russian interference</a>&nbsp;in the 2016 election, to face prosecution. Trump has for years derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign, and has made clear his desire for retribution.Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pam-bondi">Pam Bondi</a>, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Bondi is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-weaponizing-government-second-term-54ab244ccb2328d116a498bbaeb680ef">being weaponized in pursuit of investigations</a>&nbsp;and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies. It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.Comey was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">fired</a>&nbsp;months into Trump’s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation. He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in charges.“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”The office that filed the case against Comey, the Eastern District of Virginia, was thrown into turmoil last week following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-letitia-james-siebert-trump-9ec1a96c05fa77d8acc558bd803622a2">the resignation of chief prosecutor Erik Siebert</a>, who had not charged Comey and had faced pressure to bring charges against another Trump target, New York Attorney General Letitia James, in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-letitia-james-07452728c0bf2677ca095b7cf14db2c6">a mortgage fraud investigation</a>.The following evening,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/letitia-james-eastern-district-of-virginia-trump-8c84bd8603a4b932f9cb2e451ef057a3">Trump lamented in a Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;aimed at the attorney general that department investigations had not resulted in prosecutions. He nominated as the new U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who had been one of Trump’s personal lawyers but lacked the federal prosecution experience that would typically accompany the responsibility of running one of the Justice Department’s most prestigious offices.Halligan had rushed to present the case to a grand jury this week. Prosecutors evaluating whether Comey lied to Congress during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, had until Tuesday to bring a case before the five-year statute of limitations expired. The push to move forward came even as prosecutors in the office had detailed in a memo concerns about the pursuit of an indictment.The two-count indictment consists of charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Comey’s lawyer had no immediate comment.Trump has for years railed against both a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia preferred him to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and the criminal investigation that tried to determine whether his campaign had conspired with Moscow to sway the outcome of that race. Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia, but they did find that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.Trump has seized on the fact that Mueller’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign and the Kremlin colluded, and that there were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f2d8d48dede72f5ceb9883e97818caa2">significant errors and omissions</a>&nbsp;made by the FBI in wiretap applications, to claim vindication. A yearslong investigation into potential misconduct during the Russia investigation, was conducted by a different special counsel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-trump-russia-probe-7e84f94ca9cf7905cbc5eddc108575b3">John Durham</a>. That produced three criminal cases, including against an FBI lawyer, but not against senior government officials.The criminal case against Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation but rather accuses him of having lied to Congress.The indictment comes against the backdrop of a Trump administration effort to cast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.Administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gabbard-russia-2016-election-interference-895e863c27e5853f10c819121d73df8a">declassified a series of documents</a>&nbsp;meant to chip away at the strength of an Obama-era intelligence assessment published in January 2017 that said Moscow had engaged in a broad campaign of interference at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.A senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, Comey was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation in the summer of 2016.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758766786219.png" alt="File photo President Trump and Comey in 2017-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo President Trump and Comey in 2017-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Comey’s relationship with Trump was strained from the start and was exacerbated when Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private White House dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president. That overture so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.Trump fired Comey in May 2017, an action later investigated by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice.After being let go, Comey authorized a close friend to share with a reporter the substance of an unclassified memo that documented an Oval Office request from Trump to shut down an FBI investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump and his allies later branded Comey a leaker, with the president even accusing him of treason. Comey himself has called Trump “ego driven” and likened him to a mafia don.The Justice Department, during Trump’s first term, declined to prosecute Comey over his handling of his memos. The department’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ee2870cb0c9148e08161d851b26092e9">inspector general</a>&nbsp;did issue a harshly critical report in 2019 that said Comey violated FBI policies, including by failing to return the documents to the FBI after he was dismissed and for sharing them with his personal lawyers without FBI permission.Earlier this year, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-maurene-comey-trump-23fb32ac0e4402873862d3ca6d31d18e">fired Comey’s daughter</a>, Maurene Comey, from her job as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She has since sued, saying the termination was carried out without any explanation and was done for political reasons.--------------------WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">James Comey</a>&nbsp;was charged Thursday with making a false statement and obstruction in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.&mdash; Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/1971345371583611099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official to face prosecution in connection with one of Trump’s chief grievances: the long-concluded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-russia-48f9d5132d7a4e2d823edad8fc407979">investigation into Russian interference</a>&nbsp;in the 2016 election. Trump and his supporters have long derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign.The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pam-bondi">Pam Bondi</a>, a Trump loyalist, is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies.It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.Comey was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">fired</a>&nbsp;months into Trump’s first administration and has long been a top target for Trump supporters seeking retribution. Comey was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump complained directly to Bondi that she had not yet brought charges against him.The following evening,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/letitia-james-eastern-district-of-virginia-trump-8c84bd8603a4b932f9cb2e451ef057a3">Trump said in a Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;aimed at the attorney general that department investigations had not resulted in prosecutions. He said he would nominate Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide, to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She has been one of Trump’s personal lawyers and does not have experience as a federal prosecutor.“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”The office that filed the case against Comey, the Eastern District of Virginia, was thrown into turmoil last week following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-letitia-james-siebert-trump-9ec1a96c05fa77d8acc558bd803622a2">the resignation of chief prosecutor Erik Siebert</a>&nbsp;under pressure to bring charges against another Trump target, New York Attorney General Letitia James, in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-letitia-james-07452728c0bf2677ca095b7cf14db2c6">a mortgage fraud investigation</a>.Halligan had rushed to present the case to a grand jury this week. Prosecutors were evaluating whether Comey lied to Congress during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, and they had until Tuesday to bring a case before the five-year statute of limitations expired. The push to move forward came even as prosecutors in the office had detailed in a memo concerns about the pursuit of an indictment.Trump has for years railed against both a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia preferred him to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and the criminal investigation that tried to determine whether his campaign had conspired with Moscow to sway the outcome of that race. Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia, but they did find that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.Trump has seized on the fact that Mueller’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign and the Kremlin colluded, and that there were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f2d8d48dede72f5ceb9883e97818caa2">significant errors and omissions</a>&nbsp;made by the FBI in wiretap applications, to claim vindication. A yearslong investigation into potential misconduct during the Russia investigation, was conducted by a different special counsel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-trump-russia-probe-7e84f94ca9cf7905cbc5eddc108575b3">John Durham</a>. That produced three criminal cases, including against an FBI lawyer, but not against senior government officials.The criminal case against Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation. Rather, it accuses him of having lied to a Senate committee in his 2020 appearance when he said he never authorized anyone to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about the investigation.Trump’s administration is trying to cast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.Administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gabbard-russia-2016-election-interference-895e863c27e5853f10c819121d73df8a">declassified a series of documents</a>&nbsp;meant to chip away at the strength of an Obama-era intelligence assessment published in January 2017 that said Moscow had engaged in a broad campaign of interference at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Comey has for years been a prime Trump antagonist. Comey was a senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation.Comey’s relationship with Trump was strained from the start and was exacerbated when Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private White House dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president. That overture so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.Trump fired Comey in May 2017, an action later investigated by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice.After being let go, Comey authorized a close friend to share with a reporter the substance of an unclassified memo that documented an Oval Office request from Trump to shut down an FBI investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump and his allies later branded Comey a leaker, with the president even accusing him of treason. Comey himself has called Trump “ego driven” and likened him to a mafia don.The Justice Department, during Trump’s first term, declined to prosecute Comey over his handling of his memos. The department’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ee2870cb0c9148e08161d851b26092e9">inspector general</a>&nbsp;did issue a harshly critical report in 2019 that said Comey violated FBI policies, including by failing to return the documents to the FBI after he was dismissed and for sharing them with his personal lawyers without FBI permission.Earlier this year, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-maurene-comey-trump-23fb32ac0e4402873862d3ca6d31d18e">fired Comey’s daughter</a>, Maurene Comey, from her job as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She has since sued, saying the termination was carried out without any explanation and was done for political reasons.

Ex-FBI Director, Trump adversary, indicted on charges of lying to Congress 

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another fatal hit-and-and run incident in Kansas City.

Just after 9p.m. Wednesday, a bicyclist was eastbound on Independence Avenue and as he entered the intersection at Hardesty Avenue in Kansas City Missouri. He changed lanes and entered the westbound lane, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez. A westbound pickup truck&nbsp; on Independence struck the bicyclist head-on. 

The pickup driver fled the scene in an unknown direction. EMS arrived and pronounced the bicyclist deceased.&nbsp; &nbsp;Police have not released the name of the bicyclist.

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another fatal hit-and-and run incident in Kansas City.Just after 9p.m. Wednesday, a bicyclist was eastbound on Independence Avenue and as he entered the intersection at Hardesty Avenue in Kansas City Missouri. He changed lanes and entered the westbound lane, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez. A westbound pickup truck&nbsp; on Independence struck the bicyclist head-on. The pickup driver fled the scene in an unknown direction. EMS arrived and pronounced the bicyclist deceased.&nbsp; &nbsp;Police have not released the name of the bicyclist.

KCPD: Bicyclist killed after head-on crash with a pickup

New survey shows rise in problem gambling

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

TOPEKA — Kansas legislators are considering changes to the way the state taxes sports gambling after receiving less than a 1% cut on more than $2.7 billion in bets in the past fiscal year.

As the expiration dates for contracts between the state and sports wager operators draw nearer, Kansas is confronting an increasingly complex and more profitable gambling climate than when it first legalized sports betting in 2022.

During the 2025 session, the Legislature implemented&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/17/last-minute-moratorium-on-kansas-sports-betting-contract-negotiations-provokes-uncertainty/">a last-minute moratorium</a>&nbsp;on the state approving any contract renewals for online sportsbooks. A hearing Monday was the first public discussion of potential changes to Kansas’ sportsbook market since then.

Legislators toyed with the idea of rejiggering the formula that dictates the allocation of sports betting revenues at a Monday hearing in Topeka. Of the $2.7 billion in wagering revenue in fiscal year 2025, which began in July 2024 and ended in June, Kansas retained about $17 million, or 0.6%, according to state data.

Lawmakers also considered changing the way book operators reach customers.

John Pappas, the state advocacy director for iDevelopment and Economic Association, a national trade group for mobile sportsbook operators and technology providers, said during the hearing that Kansas’ model is a success story.

But Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a Republican from St. Marys, said he struggled to accept that notion.

“I guess we represent different people, right?” he said to Pappas. “ You have your clients. I have the people of my district. The people of Kansas.”

In ranking sports wagering tax revenue per $1 million wagered since inception, Kansas ranks 29 out of 33 states.

“This is absolute failure from my perspective,” Awerkamp said.

“What am I not seeing?” he added. “How can you say that this is a success story when we’re basically one of the worst states in the country?”

Pappas said the answer is simple. Success is based on the size of Kansas’ market. For a small population, Kansas’ sports betting revenues are disproportionately large. In Awerkamp’s eyes, the problem is that the revenues are only taxed at 10%.

Six states and Washington, D.C., set different tax rates for online and retail sports betting. Kansas is one of 11 states that tax online and retail sports betting at the same rate of 10% or less. New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island have the highest tax rates at 51%.

Kansans over the age of 21 can bet on more than 50 categories of live and virtual sports, from bull riding to baseball to chess. Casinos in Kansas are allowed to contract with sportsbook operators, of which there are currently six: BetMGM, Caesar’s, DraftKings, ESPNBet, FanDuel and Fanatics.

The 5-year contracts, which include retail and mobile betting, are set to expire around the same time in August 2027. Other states run their own books, or contract directly with book operators.

Existing sportsbook operators and Kansas casinos opposed a change to Kansas’ model. Some cautioned lawmakers about modifying business in Kansas while sportsbooks are expected to begin operating in neighboring states, including Missouri later this year.

Aaron Gomes, president of the parent company to Kansas Crossing Casino in Pittsburg, said in written testimony, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The casino works with three book operators: Caesars, Fanatics and BetMGM.

“Untethering sports wagering from casinos would not only disrupt these partnerships — it would risk undermining the very institutions that have delivered economic value to Kansas,” said Gomes, who is the chief operating officer of the casino’s owner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment.

Earlier in the hearing, in discussion with another casino representative, Awerkamp said the sole purpose of the Kansas Lottery is to generate revenue for the state to offset burdens on taxpayers.

“From my perspective, what’s happened is certain organizations have recognized a tremendous opportunity of essentially a constitutionally protected monopoly and tried to get in the process and take a cut,” he said.

The Kansas Lottery was established for the good of the people, Awerkamp said, not the good of the casinos.

Kansans’ attitudes toward gambling have evolved since the state legalized sports wagering, and problem gambling behaviors have escalated, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_spc_2025_on_fed_and_st_aff_1/documents/testimony/20250922_12.pdf" target="_blank">2025 study</a>&nbsp;that surveyed more than 1,600 Kansas adults.

It was the first time the survey was conducted since 2017, and it recommended enhancing problem gambling messaging, improving state-funded treatment and gambling screening, regulating gambling advertising, and conducting statewide surveys more frequently.

Around 70% of survey respondents reported gambling, and 34% of respondents said they had gambled in the past month, an increase from 19% who reported gambling in 2017.

“The number of Kansans at moderate or high risk for problem gambling has more than tripled since 2017,” the survey found.

Almost everyone surveyed who was classified as high risk acknowledged they had a gambling problem. Many said gambling caused health, financial and relational problems. Substance use and mental health struggles were more likely for those in the high-risk category than those in the moderate and low-risk categories, the study said. Kansans are also less likely to use a gambling hotline than they were eight years ago.

More Kansans are citing their motivation for gambling as paying bills and escaping everyday problems. In 2017, 18% of survey respondents said they gamble to pay bills and 16% said they want to escape their problems. In 2025, those percentages rose to 38% and 35%. Still, between the two surveys, the top motivations remained entertainment and fun, to win money and excitement and challenge.

Around 37% of respondents reported placing a sports wager in 2025. Fewer than half of those surveyed viewed sports betting as entertainment that allows for reasonable gambling.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758822367620.png" alt="Photo Kansas Star Casino" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Star Casino</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>New survey shows rise in problem gambling</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas legislators are considering changes to the way the state taxes sports gambling after receiving less than a 1% cut on more than $2.7 billion in bets in the past fiscal year.As the expiration dates for contracts between the state and sports wager operators draw nearer, Kansas is confronting an increasingly complex and more profitable gambling climate than when it first legalized sports betting in 2022.During the 2025 session, the Legislature implemented&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/17/last-minute-moratorium-on-kansas-sports-betting-contract-negotiations-provokes-uncertainty/">a last-minute moratorium</a>&nbsp;on the state approving any contract renewals for online sportsbooks. A hearing Monday was the first public discussion of potential changes to Kansas’ sportsbook market since then.Legislators toyed with the idea of rejiggering the formula that dictates the allocation of sports betting revenues at a Monday hearing in Topeka. Of the $2.7 billion in wagering revenue in fiscal year 2025, which began in July 2024 and ended in June, Kansas retained about $17 million, or 0.6%, according to state data.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758822343321.png" alt="Photo Boot Hill Casino" />
 <figcaption>Photo Boot Hill Casino</figcaption>
 </figure>Lawmakers also considered changing the way book operators reach customers.John Pappas, the state advocacy director for iDevelopment and Economic Association, a national trade group for mobile sportsbook operators and technology providers, said during the hearing that Kansas’ model is a success story.But Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a Republican from St. Marys, said he struggled to accept that notion.“I guess we represent different people, right?” he said to Pappas. “ You have your clients. I have the people of my district. The people of Kansas.”In ranking sports wagering tax revenue per $1 million wagered since inception, Kansas ranks 29 out of 33 states.“This is absolute failure from my perspective,” Awerkamp said.“What am I not seeing?” he added. “How can you say that this is a success story when we’re basically one of the worst states in the country?”Pappas said the answer is simple. Success is based on the size of Kansas’ market. For a small population, Kansas’ sports betting revenues are disproportionately large. In Awerkamp’s eyes, the problem is that the revenues are only taxed at 10%.Six states and Washington, D.C., set different tax rates for online and retail sports betting. Kansas is one of 11 states that tax online and retail sports betting at the same rate of 10% or less. New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island have the highest tax rates at 51%.Kansans over the age of 21 can bet on more than 50 categories of live and virtual sports, from bull riding to baseball to chess. Casinos in Kansas are allowed to contract with sportsbook operators, of which there are currently six: BetMGM, Caesar’s, DraftKings, ESPNBet, FanDuel and Fanatics.The 5-year contracts, which include retail and mobile betting, are set to expire around the same time in August 2027. Other states run their own books, or contract directly with book operators.Existing sportsbook operators and Kansas casinos opposed a change to Kansas’ model. Some cautioned lawmakers about modifying business in Kansas while sportsbooks are expected to begin operating in neighboring states, including Missouri later this year.Aaron Gomes, president of the parent company to Kansas Crossing Casino in Pittsburg, said in written testimony, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”The casino works with three book operators: Caesars, Fanatics and BetMGM.“Untethering sports wagering from casinos would not only disrupt these partnerships — it would risk undermining the very institutions that have delivered economic value to Kansas,” said Gomes, who is the chief operating officer of the casino’s owner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment.Earlier in the hearing, in discussion with another casino representative, Awerkamp said the sole purpose of the Kansas Lottery is to generate revenue for the state to offset burdens on taxpayers.“From my perspective, what’s happened is certain organizations have recognized a tremendous opportunity of essentially a constitutionally protected monopoly and tried to get in the process and take a cut,” he said.The Kansas Lottery was established for the good of the people, Awerkamp said, not the good of the casinos.<h2>Raising the stakes</h2>Kansans’ attitudes toward gambling have evolved since the state legalized sports wagering, and problem gambling behaviors have escalated, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_spc_2025_on_fed_and_st_aff_1/documents/testimony/20250922_12.pdf" target="_blank">2025 study</a>&nbsp;that surveyed more than 1,600 Kansas adults.It was the first time the survey was conducted since 2017, and it recommended enhancing problem gambling messaging, improving state-funded treatment and gambling screening, regulating gambling advertising, and conducting statewide surveys more frequently.Around 70% of survey respondents reported gambling, and 34% of respondents said they had gambled in the past month, an increase from 19% who reported gambling in 2017.“The number of Kansans at moderate or high risk for problem gambling has more than tripled since 2017,” the survey found.Almost everyone surveyed who was classified as high risk acknowledged they had a gambling problem. Many said gambling caused health, financial and relational problems. Substance use and mental health struggles were more likely for those in the high-risk category than those in the moderate and low-risk categories, the study said. Kansans are also less likely to use a gambling hotline than they were eight years ago.More Kansans are citing their motivation for gambling as paying bills and escaping everyday problems. In 2017, 18% of survey respondents said they gamble to pay bills and 16% said they want to escape their problems. In 2025, those percentages rose to 38% and 35%. Still, between the two surveys, the top motivations remained entertainment and fun, to win money and excitement and challenge.Around 37% of respondents reported placing a sports wager in 2025. Fewer than half of those surveyed viewed sports betting as entertainment that allows for reasonable gambling.

Kansas legislators look for bigger payout from sportsbooks with contracts set to expire

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned the military's top officers — hundreds of generals and admirals — to a base in northern Virginia for a sudden meeting next week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The directive did not offer a reason for the gathering Tuesday of senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers at the Marine Corps base in Quantico. The people, who described the move as unusual, were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive plans and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, confirmed that Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”

Across the military, there are 800 generals and admirals of all ranks. Many command thousands of service members and are stationed across the world in more than a dozen countries and time zones.

The meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, comes on the heels of several unusual and unexplained actions that Hegseth has taken involving military leaders.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-pentagon-cuts-dd2107dff617951b0edf6ca86074d836">In May, Hegseth ordered</a>&nbsp;that the military cut 20% of its four-star general officers, directed an additional 10% cut from all general and flag officers across the force, and told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-brown-joint-chiefs-of-staff-firing-fa428cc1508a583b3bf5e7a5a58f6acf">In February, Hegseth fired</a>&nbsp;Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's top officer, and Gen. James Slife, the Air Force's second highest officer, without explanation. He also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-firing-chairman-lawyers-6bead3346b1210e45e77648e6cbc3599">relieved the military's top lawyers</a>.

Since then, Hegseth has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-trump-dei-chatfield-nato-23df15b59766458d106567ba782d2f15">fired other military leaders</a>&nbsp;without saying why. Most recently it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-dia-iran-intelligence-trump-kruse-5cb1fb89b8f12c3b517f139f6d840b48">a general</a>&nbsp;who led a military intelligence agency whose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">initial assessment</a>&nbsp;of U.S. damage to Iranian nuclear sites in American strikes angered President Donald Trump.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758823087918.png" alt="File Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth- photo CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth- photo CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned the military's top officers — hundreds of generals and admirals — to a base in northern Virginia for a sudden meeting next week, according to two people familiar with the matter.The directive did not offer a reason for the gathering Tuesday of senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers at the Marine Corps base in Quantico. The people, who described the move as unusual, were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive plans and spoke on condition of anonymity.The Pentagon's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, confirmed that Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”Across the military, there are 800 generals and admirals of all ranks. Many command thousands of service members and are stationed across the world in more than a dozen countries and time zones.The meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, comes on the heels of several unusual and unexplained actions that Hegseth has taken involving military leaders.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-pentagon-cuts-dd2107dff617951b0edf6ca86074d836">In May, Hegseth ordered</a>&nbsp;that the military cut 20% of its four-star general officers, directed an additional 10% cut from all general and flag officers across the force, and told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-brown-joint-chiefs-of-staff-firing-fa428cc1508a583b3bf5e7a5a58f6acf">In February, Hegseth fired</a>&nbsp;Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's top officer, and Gen. James Slife, the Air Force's second highest officer, without explanation. He also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-firing-chairman-lawyers-6bead3346b1210e45e77648e6cbc3599">relieved the military's top lawyers</a>.Since then, Hegseth has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-trump-dei-chatfield-nato-23df15b59766458d106567ba782d2f15">fired other military leaders</a>&nbsp;without saying why. Most recently it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-dia-iran-intelligence-trump-kruse-5cb1fb89b8f12c3b517f139f6d840b48">a general</a>&nbsp;who led a military intelligence agency whose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">initial assessment</a>&nbsp;of U.S. damage to Iranian nuclear sites in American strikes angered President Donald Trump.

Hegseth abruptly summons top military commanders to a meeting 

DENVER (AP) — A jury has awarded $205 million to the parents of a 6-year-old girl&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-caves-glenwood-springs-ff78e3ea77521d20115409f6eadb4cc1">who fell to her death</a>&nbsp;at a Colorado amusement park after she wasn't strapped in to a ride.

The verdict was reached Friday in Glenwood Springs, where Wongel Estifanos fell about 100 feet (30 meters) to her death on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in 2021.

The floor drops out from underneath riders, who plunge down a mine shaft strapped to their seats.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-colorado-caves-d834535c3cb33dd02cbc8db6ff486772">State investigators found</a>&nbsp;Estifanos was sitting on top of two seat belts instead of wearing them across her lap, and two newly hired operators never noticed despite doing checks. Investigators also found that an alarm system warned of a problem, but one of the workers reset the system and started the ride because they weren’t trained well enough to know what to do about it.

Jurors found the amusement park, the maker of the ride and two operators should pay the verdict, with the park responsible for paying most of it, according to court documents.

In a statement to The Denver Post, Glenwood Caverns spokesperson Kimberly Marcum said the park worked with independent engineers to redesign the ride after Estifanos’ death. She also said the verdict puts the park's existence “at serious risk.”

Marcum did not immediately return a telephone call or email from The Associated Press on Wednesday asking whether the park planned to appeal the verdict.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758744769100.png" alt="Wongel Estifanos - courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Wongel Estifanos - courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — A jury has awarded $205 million to the parents of a 6-year-old girl&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-caves-glenwood-springs-ff78e3ea77521d20115409f6eadb4cc1">who fell to her death</a>&nbsp;at a Colorado amusement park after she wasn't strapped in to a ride.The verdict was reached Friday in Glenwood Springs, where Wongel Estifanos fell about 100 feet (30 meters) to her death on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in 2021.The floor drops out from underneath riders, who plunge down a mine shaft strapped to their seats.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-colorado-caves-d834535c3cb33dd02cbc8db6ff486772">State investigators found</a>&nbsp;Estifanos was sitting on top of two seat belts instead of wearing them across her lap, and two newly hired operators never noticed despite doing checks. Investigators also found that an alarm system warned of a problem, but one of the workers reset the system and started the ride because they weren’t trained well enough to know what to do about it.Jurors found the amusement park, the maker of the ride and two operators should pay the verdict, with the park responsible for paying most of it, according to court documents.In a statement to The Denver Post, Glenwood Caverns spokesperson Kimberly Marcum said the park worked with independent engineers to redesign the ride after Estifanos’ death. She also said the verdict puts the park's existence “at serious risk.”Marcum did not immediately return a telephone call or email from The Associated Press on Wednesday asking whether the park planned to appeal the verdict.

Family awarded millions after girl fell to her death from theme park ride

Starbucks said Thursday it's closing hundreds of U.S. and Canadian stores and laying off 900 nonretail employees as it focuses more of its resources on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-third-quarter-earnings-protein-drink-533edb1a204c2048d649d794e38ad303">turnaround</a>.

The Seattle coffee giant said store closures would start immediately. The company wouldn't give a number of stores that are closing, but it said it expects to have 18,300 North American locations when its fiscal year ends on Sunday, which is 124 fewer than it had at the end of its 2024 fiscal year. As of June 29, the company had 18,734 locations.

Starbucks said workers in its stores will be offered transfers to other locations where possible and severance packages.

Starbucks said it will notify nonretail employees whose positions are being eliminated early Friday. Starbucks asked employees who can work from home to do so on Thursday and Friday.

In a letter sent to employees Thursday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said a review of the company's stores identified locations where the company doesn't see a path to financial stability or isn't able to create the physical environment customers expect. Those stores are being closed.

“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” Niccol wrote. “This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.”

Starbucks said it expects to spend $1 billion on the restructuring, including $150 million on employee separation benefits and $850 million related to the physical store closing and the cost of exiting leases.

Starbucks shares were down less than 1% in morning trading Thursday.

It was not immediately clear how many of the stores that are closing are unionized. Workers at 650 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, but they have yet to reach a contract agreement with the company.

Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing workers, said Thursday that the closures were made without input from Starbucks' baristas. The union said it intends to engage in bargaining at every union-represented store that is closing to ensure workers can be placed at another store they prefer.

“Fixing what’s broken at Starbucks isn’t possible without centering the people who engage with the company’s customers day in and day out,” the union said.

News of the store closures came just over a week after unionized employees in three states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-dress-code-lawsuits-union-9d1eff89242d00f65d459d8a393f409a">sued Starbucks</a>&nbsp;over its new dress code, saying the company refused to reimburse workers who had to buy new clothes.

Starbucks said it used a consistent set of criteria to determine the stores that are closing and union representation wasn't a factor.

It’s rare for Starbucks to shrink its store count during a fiscal year.

Niccol said Starbucks plans to increase its North American store count in its next fiscal year. The company said it also plans to redesign more than 1,000 locations in the next 12 months to give them a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-ceo-niccol-coffee-b547ab2141e194b30675ad8d1caff90d">warmer, more welcoming feel</a>.

This is the second big round of layoffs at Starbucks this year. In February, Niccol&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-layoffs-corporate-ac4110200335139836c6b370d864313c">announced the layoffs</a>&nbsp;of 1,100 corporate employees globally and eliminated several hundred open positions. At the time, Niccol said Starbucks needed to operate more efficiently and increase accountability for decisions.

Niccol is a turnaround specialist who was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-ceo-brian-niccol-f2b918d9862a329d7f0ba3373ebbc444">brought into Starbucks</a>&nbsp;a year ago this month to give the brand a jolt. Under Niccol's leadership, the struggling Chipotle chain, where Niccol was CEO for about 6 years, essentially doubled its revenue and its profit, and its stock price soared.

In July, Starbucks reported its sixth straight quarter of lower same-store sales, as weak U.S. traffic continued to be a drain on the company. Niccol is trying to turn that around by adding staff, making stores cozier and introducing software that helps prioritize orders and make sure customers can get their drink within four minutes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736805731004.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business WriterStarbucks said Thursday it's closing hundreds of U.S. and Canadian stores and laying off 900 nonretail employees as it focuses more of its resources on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-third-quarter-earnings-protein-drink-533edb1a204c2048d649d794e38ad303">turnaround</a>.The Seattle coffee giant said store closures would start immediately. The company wouldn't give a number of stores that are closing, but it said it expects to have 18,300 North American locations when its fiscal year ends on Sunday, which is 124 fewer than it had at the end of its 2024 fiscal year. As of June 29, the company had 18,734 locations.Starbucks said workers in its stores will be offered transfers to other locations where possible and severance packages.Starbucks said it will notify nonretail employees whose positions are being eliminated early Friday. Starbucks asked employees who can work from home to do so on Thursday and Friday.In a letter sent to employees Thursday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said a review of the company's stores identified locations where the company doesn't see a path to financial stability or isn't able to create the physical environment customers expect. Those stores are being closed.“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” Niccol wrote. “This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.”Starbucks said it expects to spend $1 billion on the restructuring, including $150 million on employee separation benefits and $850 million related to the physical store closing and the cost of exiting leases.Starbucks shares were down less than 1% in morning trading Thursday.It was not immediately clear how many of the stores that are closing are unionized. Workers at 650 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, but they have yet to reach a contract agreement with the company.Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing workers, said Thursday that the closures were made without input from Starbucks' baristas. The union said it intends to engage in bargaining at every union-represented store that is closing to ensure workers can be placed at another store they prefer.“Fixing what’s broken at Starbucks isn’t possible without centering the people who engage with the company’s customers day in and day out,” the union said.News of the store closures came just over a week after unionized employees in three states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-dress-code-lawsuits-union-9d1eff89242d00f65d459d8a393f409a">sued Starbucks</a>&nbsp;over its new dress code, saying the company refused to reimburse workers who had to buy new clothes.Starbucks said it used a consistent set of criteria to determine the stores that are closing and union representation wasn't a factor.It’s rare for Starbucks to shrink its store count during a fiscal year.Niccol said Starbucks plans to increase its North American store count in its next fiscal year. The company said it also plans to redesign more than 1,000 locations in the next 12 months to give them a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-ceo-niccol-coffee-b547ab2141e194b30675ad8d1caff90d">warmer, more welcoming feel</a>.This is the second big round of layoffs at Starbucks this year. In February, Niccol&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-layoffs-corporate-ac4110200335139836c6b370d864313c">announced the layoffs</a>&nbsp;of 1,100 corporate employees globally and eliminated several hundred open positions. At the time, Niccol said Starbucks needed to operate more efficiently and increase accountability for decisions.Niccol is a turnaround specialist who was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-ceo-brian-niccol-f2b918d9862a329d7f0ba3373ebbc444">brought into Starbucks</a>&nbsp;a year ago this month to give the brand a jolt. Under Niccol's leadership, the struggling Chipotle chain, where Niccol was CEO for about 6 years, essentially doubled its revenue and its profit, and its stock price soared.In July, Starbucks reported its sixth straight quarter of lower same-store sales, as weak U.S. traffic continued to be a drain on the company. Niccol is trying to turn that around by adding staff, making stores cozier and introducing software that helps prioritize orders and make sure customers can get their drink within four minutes.

Starbucks to close hundreds of stores, lay off workers 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man injured in a fatal fight on July 4, will return to court on Thursday.

&nbsp;Eduardo Diaz-Yobal, 33, will face a preliminary hearing in Judge Christopher Magana's courtroom, according to the Sedgwick District Attorney's office. Diaz-Yobal is charged with first-degree murder in&nbsp;the death of 33-year-old Cesar Gonzalez.

Early on July 4, police responded to a report of an assault in the 3000 block of North Fairview in Wichita, according to a media release from Wichita Police. A caller reported witnessing a man attacking another man. The victim was later identified as Gonzalez of Wichita.&nbsp;

Before officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene. Officers found Gonzalez unresponsive in the parking lot. Sedgwick County EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased at 1:54 a.m.

Officers located the suspect identified as<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/inmatesearch/Details.aspx?Id=254855">&nbsp;Diaz-Yobal, 33, of Wichita,</a>&nbsp;in the 300 block of W. 29th Street and took him into custody without incident.

Diaz-Yobal had injuries consistent with the altercation and was admitted to an area hospital for treatment, released and then booked into the Sedgwick County Jail where he is being on bond of over&nbsp;&nbsp;$1,500,000.00, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751715135638.png" alt="DIAZ-YOBAL-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>DIAZ-YOBAL-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man injured in a fatal fight on July 4, will return to court on Thursday.&nbsp;Eduardo Diaz-Yobal, 33, will face a preliminary hearing in Judge Christopher Magana's courtroom, according to the Sedgwick District Attorney's office. Diaz-Yobal is charged with first-degree murder in&nbsp;the death of 33-year-old Cesar Gonzalez.Early on July 4, police responded to a report of an assault in the 3000 block of North Fairview in Wichita, according to a media release from Wichita Police. A caller reported witnessing a man attacking another man. The victim was later identified as Gonzalez of Wichita.&nbsp;Before officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene. Officers found Gonzalez unresponsive in the parking lot. Sedgwick County EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased at 1:54 a.m.Officers located the suspect identified as<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/inmatesearch/Details.aspx?Id=254855">&nbsp;Diaz-Yobal, 33, of Wichita,</a>&nbsp;in the 300 block of W. 29th Street and took him into custody without incident.Diaz-Yobal had injuries consistent with the altercation and was admitted to an area hospital for treatment, released and then booked into the Sedgwick County Jail where he is being on bond of over&nbsp;&nbsp;$1,500,000.00, according to online jail records.

Kansas man faces hearing for deadly 4th of July fight

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/seung-min-kim">SEUNG MIN KIM</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-trump-funding-bill-republicans-shutdown-1fea0f79c85ec69b91d9789fbda00834">government shuts down</a>&nbsp;next week.

In a memo released Wednesday night, the Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, is not otherwise funded and is “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.

A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions, which would trigger yet another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.

Once any potential government shutdown ends, agencies are asked to revise their reduction in force plans “as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,” according to the memo, which was first reported by Politico.

This move from OMB significantly increases the consequences of a potential government shutdown next week and escalates pressure on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-government-shutdown-schumer-jeffries-meeting-8b1726435066403bf6b9fe4e4fffc029">Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries</a>. The two leaders have kept nearly all of their Democratic lawmakers united against a clean funding bill pushed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that would keep the federal government operating for seven more weeks, demanding immediate improvements to health care in exchange for their votes.

In statements issued shortly after the memo was released, the two Democrats showed no signs of budging.

“We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings,” Jeffries wrote in a post on X. “Get lost.”

Jeffries called Russ Vought, the head of OMB, a “malignant political hack.”

Schumer said in a statement that the OMB memo is an “attempt at intimidation” and predicted the “unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.”

OMB noted that it held its first planning call with other federal agencies earlier this week to plan for a shutdown. The budget office plays point in managing federal government shutdowns, particularly planning for them ahead of time. Past budget offices have also posted shutdown contingency plans — which would outline which agency workers would stay on the job during a government shutdown and which would be furloughed — on its website, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/guidance/agency-contingency-plans/" target="_blank">this one has not</a>.

The memo noted that congressional Democrats are refusing to support a clean government funding bill “due to their partisan demands,” which include an extension of enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus a reversal of Medicaid cuts that were included in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-republican-trump-tax-bill-f65be44e1050431a601320197322551b">Republicans’ big tax and spending cuts law.</a>

“As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one,” the memo reads, which also notes that the GOP’s signature law, a major tax and border spending package, gives “ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.”

OMB noted that it had asked all agencies to submit their plans in case of a government shutdown by Aug. 1.

“OMB has received many, but not all, of your submissions,” it added. “Please send us your updated lapse plans ASAP.”

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/seung-min-kim">SEUNG MIN KIM</a>WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-trump-funding-bill-republicans-shutdown-1fea0f79c85ec69b91d9789fbda00834">government shuts down</a>&nbsp;next week.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758805389171.png" alt="Image OMB" />
 <figcaption>Image OMB</figcaption>
 </figure>In a memo released Wednesday night, the Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, is not otherwise funded and is “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions, which would trigger yet another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.Once any potential government shutdown ends, agencies are asked to revise their reduction in force plans “as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,” according to the memo, which was first reported by Politico.This move from OMB significantly increases the consequences of a potential government shutdown next week and escalates pressure on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-government-shutdown-schumer-jeffries-meeting-8b1726435066403bf6b9fe4e4fffc029">Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries</a>. The two leaders have kept nearly all of their Democratic lawmakers united against a clean funding bill pushed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that would keep the federal government operating for seven more weeks, demanding immediate improvements to health care in exchange for their votes.In statements issued shortly after the memo was released, the two Democrats showed no signs of budging.“We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings,” Jeffries wrote in a post on X. “Get lost.”Jeffries called Russ Vought, the head of OMB, a “malignant political hack.”Schumer said in a statement that the OMB memo is an “attempt at intimidation” and predicted the “unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.”OMB noted that it held its first planning call with other federal agencies earlier this week to plan for a shutdown. The budget office plays point in managing federal government shutdowns, particularly planning for them ahead of time. Past budget offices have also posted shutdown contingency plans — which would outline which agency workers would stay on the job during a government shutdown and which would be furloughed — on its website, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/guidance/agency-contingency-plans/" target="_blank">this one has not</a>.The memo noted that congressional Democrats are refusing to support a clean government funding bill “due to their partisan demands,” which include an extension of enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus a reversal of Medicaid cuts that were included in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-republican-trump-tax-bill-f65be44e1050431a601320197322551b">Republicans’ big tax and spending cuts law.</a>“As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one,” the memo reads, which also notes that the GOP’s signature law, a major tax and border spending package, gives “ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.”OMB noted that it had asked all agencies to submit their plans in case of a government shutdown by Aug. 1.“OMB has received many, but not all, of your submissions,” it added. “Please send us your updated lapse plans ASAP.”

Read the memo: OMB threatens mass firings if government shutdown hits

KANSAS CITY —Homicide detectives investigating a fatal fire in Kansas City have released the name of the victim as 44-year-old Robert Hill, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Alayna Gonzalez.

Just before 1a.m. September 19, the Kansas City Fire Department was dispatched to an apartment fire in the 4400 Block of Independence in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.

Crews discovered a victim, later identified as Hill and removed him from the apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp;

Fire crews notified Kansas City, Missouri police of the death. Detectives from Violent Crimes Division and Bomb and Arson then responded to the scene for a death investigation, according to KCPD Sergeant Jake Becchina.

&nbsp;Based on some of the evidence located at the scene the, medical examiner and detectives determined that Hill's death may not have been the result of natural causes or fire.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758311035022.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Homicide detectives investigating a fatal fire in Kansas City have released the name of the victim as 44-year-old Robert Hill, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Alayna Gonzalez.Just before 1a.m. September 19, the Kansas City Fire Department was dispatched to an apartment fire in the 4400 Block of Independence in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.Crews discovered a victim, later identified as Hill and removed him from the apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp;Fire crews notified Kansas City, Missouri police of the death. Detectives from Violent Crimes Division and Bomb and Arson then responded to the scene for a death investigation, according to KCPD Sergeant Jake Becchina.&nbsp;Based on some of the evidence located at the scene the, medical examiner and detectives determined that Hill's death may not have been the result of natural causes or fire.

Homicide: KCPD releases name of victim found in apartment fire

SEDGWICK COUNTY — A man accused in a fatal hit-and-run made his first court appearane this week.&nbsp;

Blaine L. Hughes, 21, Wichita, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Just after 9 p.m. September 17, police were dispatched to the scene of a reported hit-and-run at the intersection of Murdock and Broadway in Wichita, according to a media release.&nbsp; First responders found 57-year-old Daniel Forshey lying in the roadway. Sedgwick County EMS arrived shortly after and pronounced Forshey dead at 9:11 p.m.

The Wichita Police Accident Follow-Up Unit interviewed witnesses and obtained video footage of the suspect vehicle. Initial investigations indicate that Forshey was riding his bicycle eastbound on Murdock when he was struck by a white 2006 Dodge Ram 1500.

After hitting Forshey, the suspect, later identified in the county booking report as Hughes drove into a Jump Start parking lot before fleeing southbound on Topeka.

In the early morning hours of September 18, patrol officers from the east bureau located the Hughes' truck and took him into custody without incident.

Hughes remains jailed on a $100,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758208031431.png" alt="Hughes photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Hughes photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — A man accused in a fatal hit-and-run made his first court appearane this week.&nbsp;Blaine L. Hughes, 21, Wichita, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Just after 9 p.m. September 17, police were dispatched to the scene of a reported hit-and-run at the intersection of Murdock and Broadway in Wichita, according to a media release.&nbsp; First responders found 57-year-old Daniel Forshey lying in the roadway. Sedgwick County EMS arrived shortly after and pronounced Forshey dead at 9:11 p.m.The Wichita Police Accident Follow-Up Unit interviewed witnesses and obtained video footage of the suspect vehicle. Initial investigations indicate that Forshey was riding his bicycle eastbound on Murdock when he was struck by a white 2006 Dodge Ram 1500.After hitting Forshey, the suspect, later identified in the county booking report as Hughes drove into a Jump Start parking lot before fleeing southbound on Topeka.In the early morning hours of September 18, patrol officers from the east bureau located the Hughes' truck and took him into custody without incident.Hughes remains jailed on a $100,000 bond.

Suspect in crash that killed Kansas bicyclist faced a judge

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jimmy-kimmel">Jimmy Kimmel</a>&nbsp;is back on his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-career-e5d12c1f9512266753b52873db0dd62a">ABC late-night show</a>, but it's still a mystery when — or if — viewers in cities such as Washington, Seattle and St. Louis will be able to see him again on their televisions.

ABC stations owned by the Nexstar and Sinclair corporations took Kimmel off the air last week on the same day the network&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-show-suspended-charlie-kirk-a2bfa904429c318fe52e7d3493c6883d">suspended him</a>&nbsp;for comments that angered supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-conservative-activist-shot-546165a8151104e0938a5e085be1e8bd">slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk</a>. Those stations kept him off the air Tuesday, when ABC lifted the suspension. The unusual dispute attracted the attention of U.S. senators, who said they wanted to investigate the relationship between the affiliates and President Donald Trump's administration.

Kimmel returned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-returns-suspension-charlie-kirk-d6421f17ebef4735753495b4f4997c8f">with no apologies</a>, but in an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-monologue-key-moments-2ad8513693aef095dd4cc998afc0cfaa">emotional monologue</a>&nbsp;where he appeared close to tears, the host said that he was not trying to joke about the assassination. He also paid tribute to Kirk's widow.

And it got a large audience, with ABC reporting nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the broadcast alone, despite the blackouts in many cities. As is often the case with late-night hosts' monologues, there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel's opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening. ABC says more than 26 million people watched Kimmel's return on social media, including YouTube.

Typically, he gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. The numbers released by ABC do not include viewership from streaming services.

A spokesman for Nexstar said Wednesday that Kimmel will continue to be preempted from its stations while the company evaluates his show. Together, the Nexstar and Sinclair groups account for about a quarter of ABC's affiliates, many in smaller cities such as Nashville, Tennessee; Lubbock, Texas; or Topeka, Kansas.

“We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at the (ABC parent) Walt Disney Co., with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve,” Nexstar said.

Dispute highlights relationship between networks and local stations

The dispute focused attention on the business relationships between television networks and the local stations that carry their programming. In the past, local stations occasionally balked at airing a network show, but it was usually an individual market or two worried about pushing boundaries in language or sexual content, said Ted Harbert, a former top executive at ABC and CBS.

What's different this time is groups that have gobbled up multiple stations acting collectively on content for largely political reasons.

“This is how much the country's political divisions have seeped their way into something that has been, for the last 50 or 75 years, a relatively orderly business,” Harbert said.

Leadership of ownership groups is generally more conservative than the media and entertainment figures on the stations they broadcast, said Ken Basin, author of “The Business of Television.” Both Sinclair, with conservative political content, and Nexstar have reason to curry favor with the Trump administration, he said. Nexstar is seeking regulatory approval for the purchase of a rival, he said.

“I worry that this is not going to be the only dispute of this nature in the years ahead,” Basin said.

It's possible that Disney could play hardball if negotiations on Kimmel's return drag on, such as threatening to withhold other ABC programming — even the “nuclear option” of football games. Its unclear how the affiliate agreements are worded.

But Matt Dolgin, senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research Service, said he doubts the dispute reaches that point. The station groups have a far less diversified business portfolio than Disney, and the expiration of affiliate agreements next year looms as a deadline, he said. They have few good options if they lose ABC programming.

“From a business perspective, the best course on this issue (for Disney) is to stay above the fray,” Dolgin said. “The dollars associated with this show are very low.”

As they climb, the stunning number of YouTube views of Kimmel's monologue serve to make television broadcasting less important, hurting the negotiating position of the stations.

For the station groups, the biggest goal should be to negotiate their way out of this — while finding a way to save face, he said. Sinclair initially took a strong stance, saying Kimmel would not return to its stations without apologizing to Kirk's widow and donating money to Kirk's political organization. That's not likely to happen.

Kimmel was at risk of losing show entirely

Last week, Kimmel seemed to be in real danger of losing his show entirely until advocates for free speech protested, including many who canceled subscriptions for Disney services.

“The backlash was stronger than they expected, stronger than I expected,” Basin said. “There was a sense of despair within the industry that this was a ‘canary in a coal mine’ moment.”

Four Democratic senators said late Tuesday that they wanted to look into what happened with the station groups.

“If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech but also risk running afoul of anti-corruption law,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Ron Wyden and Chris Van Hollen wrote to the companies.

On Wednesday, another group of senators led by California Democrat Adam Schiff said they wanted to question FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about “implicit threats” made to Disney over Kimmel.

In his monologue Tuesday, Kimmel tried to thread the needle between both sides in a raw political moment, and seemed to realize its difficulty.

“I don’t think what I’m going to say is going to make much of a difference,” he said. “If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.”

Within hours, many proved his point. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization that Kirk founded that is now headed by his widow, posted on X that Kimmel’s monologue was “not good enough.”

In another corner of social media, comic Ben Stiller posted that it was a “brilliant monologue.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758149830141.png" alt="Image courtesy ABC" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy ABC</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jimmy-kimmel">Jimmy Kimmel</a>&nbsp;is back on his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-career-e5d12c1f9512266753b52873db0dd62a">ABC late-night show</a>, but it's still a mystery when — or if — viewers in cities such as Washington, Seattle and St. Louis will be able to see him again on their televisions.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return. <a href="https://t.co/beGC6VID2x">pic.twitter.com/beGC6VID2x</a>&mdash; Sinclair, Inc. (@WeAreSinclair) <a href="https://twitter.com/WeAreSinclair/status/1970266039532306593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>ABC stations owned by the Nexstar and Sinclair corporations took Kimmel off the air last week on the same day the network&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-show-suspended-charlie-kirk-a2bfa904429c318fe52e7d3493c6883d">suspended him</a>&nbsp;for comments that angered supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-conservative-activist-shot-546165a8151104e0938a5e085be1e8bd">slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk</a>. Those stations kept him off the air Tuesday, when ABC lifted the suspension. The unusual dispute attracted the attention of U.S. senators, who said they wanted to investigate the relationship between the affiliates and President Donald Trump's administration.Kimmel returned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-returns-suspension-charlie-kirk-d6421f17ebef4735753495b4f4997c8f">with no apologies</a>, but in an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-monologue-key-moments-2ad8513693aef095dd4cc998afc0cfaa">emotional monologue</a>&nbsp;where he appeared close to tears, the host said that he was not trying to joke about the assassination. He also paid tribute to Kirk's widow.And it got a large audience, with ABC reporting nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the broadcast alone, despite the blackouts in many cities. As is often the case with late-night hosts' monologues, there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel's opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening. ABC says more than 26 million people watched Kimmel's return on social media, including YouTube.Typically, he gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. The numbers released by ABC do not include viewership from streaming services.A spokesman for Nexstar said Wednesday that Kimmel will continue to be preempted from its stations while the company evaluates his show. Together, the Nexstar and Sinclair groups account for about a quarter of ABC's affiliates, many in smaller cities such as Nashville, Tennessee; Lubbock, Texas; or Topeka, Kansas.“We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at the (ABC parent) Walt Disney Co., with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve,” Nexstar said.<h2>Dispute highlights relationship between networks and local stations</h2>The dispute focused attention on the business relationships between television networks and the local stations that carry their programming. In the past, local stations occasionally balked at airing a network show, but it was usually an individual market or two worried about pushing boundaries in language or sexual content, said Ted Harbert, a former top executive at ABC and CBS.What's different this time is groups that have gobbled up multiple stations acting collectively on content for largely political reasons.“This is how much the country's political divisions have seeped their way into something that has been, for the last 50 or 75 years, a relatively orderly business,” Harbert said.Leadership of ownership groups is generally more conservative than the media and entertainment figures on the stations they broadcast, said Ken Basin, author of “The Business of Television.” Both Sinclair, with conservative political content, and Nexstar have reason to curry favor with the Trump administration, he said. Nexstar is seeking regulatory approval for the purchase of a rival, he said.“I worry that this is not going to be the only dispute of this nature in the years ahead,” Basin said.It's possible that Disney could play hardball if negotiations on Kimmel's return drag on, such as threatening to withhold other ABC programming — even the “nuclear option” of football games. Its unclear how the affiliate agreements are worded.But Matt Dolgin, senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research Service, said he doubts the dispute reaches that point. The station groups have a far less diversified business portfolio than Disney, and the expiration of affiliate agreements next year looms as a deadline, he said. They have few good options if they lose ABC programming.“From a business perspective, the best course on this issue (for Disney) is to stay above the fray,” Dolgin said. “The dollars associated with this show are very low.”As they climb, the stunning number of YouTube views of Kimmel's monologue serve to make television broadcasting less important, hurting the negotiating position of the stations.For the station groups, the biggest goal should be to negotiate their way out of this — while finding a way to save face, he said. Sinclair initially took a strong stance, saying Kimmel would not return to its stations without apologizing to Kirk's widow and donating money to Kirk's political organization. That's not likely to happen.<h2>Kimmel was at risk of losing show entirely</h2>Last week, Kimmel seemed to be in real danger of losing his show entirely until advocates for free speech protested, including many who canceled subscriptions for Disney services.“The backlash was stronger than they expected, stronger than I expected,” Basin said. “There was a sense of despair within the industry that this was a ‘canary in a coal mine’ moment.”Four Democratic senators said late Tuesday that they wanted to look into what happened with the station groups.“If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech but also risk running afoul of anti-corruption law,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Ron Wyden and Chris Van Hollen wrote to the companies.On Wednesday, another group of senators led by California Democrat Adam Schiff said they wanted to question FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about “implicit threats” made to Disney over Kimmel.In his monologue Tuesday, Kimmel tried to thread the needle between both sides in a raw political moment, and seemed to realize its difficulty.“I don’t think what I’m going to say is going to make much of a difference,” he said. “If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.”Within hours, many proved his point. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization that Kirk founded that is now headed by his widow, posted on X that Kimmel’s monologue was “not good enough.”In another corner of social media, comic Ben Stiller posted that it was a “brilliant monologue.”___

Kimmel is back on ABC, but many affiliates still refuse to air his show

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a hit-and-run accident in Kansas City.

Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, the Kansas City, Missouri fire department&nbsp;responded to a reported car into a building at 4601 Independence Avenue, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

First responders&nbsp; found that a pickup truck had struck the business that house a dental practice. The occupants of the truck fled the scene. 

KCFD remained on the scene until a board up crew could arrive and secure the building due to a large hole in the front of the building. No injuries were reported.&nbsp; Law enforcement reported no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758741525524.png" alt="Photo KCFD" />
 <figcaption>Photo KCFD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a hit-and-run accident in Kansas City.Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, the Kansas City, Missouri fire department&nbsp;responded to a reported car into a building at 4601 Independence Avenue, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.First responders&nbsp; found that a pickup truck had struck the business that house a dental practice. The occupants of the truck fled the scene. KCFD remained on the scene until a board up crew could arrive and secure the building due to a large hole in the front of the building. No injuries were reported.&nbsp; Law enforcement reported no additional details.

Hit-and-run: Pickup struck dental office in Kansas City

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/autism-tylenol-pregnancy-mothers-trump-fact-check-6e03fb199acf0c5ce313536c53424788">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that he was the victim of “three very sinister events” during his time at the United Nations on Tuesday and that the Secret Service will be looking into the issues.

The president was attending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-unga-trump-global-feb243ecb979d53317dfb1cad9968038">the U.N. General Assembly</a>, where he gave a speech excoriating the institution for having squandered its potential. He also criticized U.S. allies in Europe for their handling of the Russian war in Ukraine and their acceptance of immigrants as he told fellow world leaders that their nations were “going to hell.”

On his social media website, Trump indicated that he was in a sour mood at the U.N. because of a trio of mishaps that he suggested was part of a conspiracy against him.

First, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-unga-trump-global-feb243ecb979d53317dfb1cad9968038">escalator came to a “screeching halt”</a>&nbsp;with Trump and his entourage on it, an event that Trump called “absolutely sabotage.”

Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said a videographer from the U.S. delegation who ran ahead of Trump may have “inadvertently” triggered the stop mechanism at the top of the escalator.

“The people that did it should be arrested,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Second, Trump said his teleprompter went “stone cold dark” during his address to the U.N. The problem with that accusation is the White House was responsible for operating the teleprompter for the president, according to a U.N. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758639253110.png" alt="Image from CSPAN video" />
 <figcaption>Image from CSPAN video</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/autism-tylenol-pregnancy-mothers-trump-fact-check-6e03fb199acf0c5ce313536c53424788">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that he was the victim of “three very sinister events” during his time at the United Nations on Tuesday and that the Secret Service will be looking into the issues.The president was attending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-unga-trump-global-feb243ecb979d53317dfb1cad9968038">the U.N. General Assembly</a>, where he gave a speech excoriating the institution for having squandered its potential. He also criticized U.S. allies in Europe for their handling of the Russian war in Ukraine and their acceptance of immigrants as he told fellow world leaders that their nations were “going to hell.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/Ug37t0pp2r">pic.twitter.com/Ug37t0pp2r</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1970968867141976464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">CLIP: &quot;Bad escalator&quot; President Trump referred to during his address to the U.N. General Assembly. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA80?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNGA80</a> <a href="https://t.co/S1w9kUOq1l">https://t.co/S1w9kUOq1l</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ja1JRyfF7m">pic.twitter.com/Ja1JRyfF7m</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1970544863130399037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">NOW - Escalator at UN headquarters immediately stops as Trump and Melania step on it shortly after arriving. <a href="https://t.co/8nlUkDoQxm">pic.twitter.com/8nlUkDoQxm</a>&mdash; Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) <a href="https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1970488216470859859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump begins <a href="https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN</a> General Assembly Address: &quot;I don&#39;t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working…Whoever&#39;s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/01t80AL9de">pic.twitter.com/01t80AL9de</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1970492091034734761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On his social media website, Trump indicated that he was in a sour mood at the U.N. because of a trio of mishaps that he suggested was part of a conspiracy against him.First, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-unga-trump-global-feb243ecb979d53317dfb1cad9968038">escalator came to a “screeching halt”</a>&nbsp;with Trump and his entourage on it, an event that Trump called “absolutely sabotage.”Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said a videographer from the U.S. delegation who ran ahead of Trump may have “inadvertently” triggered the stop mechanism at the top of the escalator.“The people that did it should be arrested,” Trump said on Truth Social.Second, Trump said his teleprompter went “stone cold dark” during his address to the U.N. The problem with that accusation is the White House was responsible for operating the teleprompter for the president, according to a U.N. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.Third, Trump said that the sound was off at the U.N. as he spoke and that people could only hear his remarks if they had interpreters speaking into earpieces. Trump said his wife, Melania, told him she couldn’t hear what he said.“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage,” said Trump, who is seeking an investigation of the matter.Trump told the U.N. to save its security tapes regarding the escalator stoppage as the Secret Service will be involved in the inquiry.