RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday an American activist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkish-american-palestinian-activist-funeral-israel-palestinians-ff3ed17b295793bce4631fdb2a35332c">killed in the West Bank</a>&nbsp;last week was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by soldiers firing upon participants in a demonstration against settlements that turned violent. The acknowledgement drew a strong rebuke from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the activist's family.

Israel expressed its “deepest regret” for the death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-shot-killed-west-bank-israel-palestinians-b2f1c741cea3d56eb1a339240dbf036e">Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,</a>&nbsp;a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship, and said a criminal investigation has been launched.

Blinken condemned the “unprovoked and unjustified” killing when asked about the Israeli inquiry at a news conference in London. “No one should be shot while attending a protest,” he said. “The Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank.”

Eygi's family in the U.S. released a statement saying “we are deeply offended by the suggestion that her killing by a trained sniper was in any way unintentional. The disregard shown for human life in the inquiry is appalling.”

An Israeli protester who witnessed the shooting, Jonathan Pollak, said Eygi was killed about half an hour after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces had subsided, in an area several hundred meters (yards) from where the demonstration took place. Pollak said he saw two Israeli soldiers mount the roof of a nearby home, train a gun in the group’s direction and fire, with one of the bullets striking Eygi in the head.

Israel said its inquiry into Eygi’s killing “found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.”

The killing came amid a surge of violence in the West Bank since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;began in October, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-jenin-hamas-militants-c1618cc024d8a5269486e266593b5434">increasing Israeli raids</a>, attacks by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-raids-bc3383024400ee42518e41f3660acbd4">Palestinian militants</a>&nbsp;on Israelis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-bank-israel-palestinians-settler-violence-ffa6e84c39861c224f685e660c53a82d">attacks by Israeli settlers</a>&nbsp;on Palestinians and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-6-september-2024-29705c9c6cc59054d74b1dbcd29497df">heavier military crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on Palestinian protests.

Israel says it thoroughly investigates allegations of its forces killing civilians and holds them accountable. It says soldiers often have to make split-second decisions while operating in areas where militants hide among civilians. But even in the most shocking cases — and those captured on video — soldiers often get relatively light sentences.

The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession for Eygi in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday. Turkish authorities said they are working on repatriating her body to Turkey for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim, as per her family’s wishes.

Eygi was a volunteer with the activist group International Solidarity Movement. But Eygi's uncle said in an interview with the Turkish TV channel HaberTurk that she kept her visit to the West Bank secret from at least some of her family members. She said she was traveling to Jordan to help Palestinians there, he said.

"She hid the fact that she was going to Palestine. She blocked us from her social media posts so that we would not see them,” Yilmaz Eygi said.

The deaths of American citizens in the West Bank have drawn international attention, such as the fatal shooting of a prominent Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022 in the Jenin refugee camp.

Several independent investigations and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-west-bank-middle-east-israel-8df6c999627efcef2fe0ca2b401e7a2c">reporting by The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;shortly after the killing determined that Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire. Months later, the military said there was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-journalists-veterans-al-jazeera-0e33ab0025cf06ee498ab83445e39733">“high probablility”</a>&nbsp;one of its soldiers had mistakenly killed her but that no one would be punished.

Earlier in 2022, Israel’s military said it would punish a senior officer and remove two others from their posts over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-2569b996a0d596a5981d09ef811783f4">the death of Omar Assad, 78</a>, a Palestinian-American who was dragged from a car by Israeli troops, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.

The military later said the soldiers believed Assad was asleep when they cut his zip-ties and left him face-down in an abandoned building where he had been detained with three other Palestinians.

The deaths of Palestinians who do not have dual nationality rarely receive the same scrutiny.

Human rights groups say Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for killing Palestinians and that any resulting military investigations often reflect a pattern of impunity. B’Tselem, a leading Israeli watchdog, became so frustrated with the system that in 2016 it dismissed the probes as a whitewash and halted its decades-long practice of assisting investigations.

Last year, an Israeli court acquitted a member of the paramilitary Border Police who had been charged with reckless manslaughter in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-autistic-court-jerusalem-shooting-acquitted-cddd8df0d1f9fd2925a5a3ea011655f4">the deadly shooting of 32-year-old Eyad Hallaq</a>, an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem’s Old City in 2020. The case had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-middle-east-shootings-863c927ae5a5e2eae21b1dff3bc36c4b">drawn comparisons to the police killing</a>&nbsp;of George Floyd in the United States.

In 2017, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria was convicted for manslaughter and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-90c06663250747a68b6d77e3199d136b">served nine months after he killed a wounded</a>, incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank city of Hebron. The combat medic was caught on video fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who was lying motionless on the ground.

That case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-cf98215495194f37b283dc11d3ff7fd3">deeply divided Israelis</a>, with the military saying Azaria had clearly violated its code of ethics, while many Israelis — particularly on the nationalist right — defended his actions and accused military brass of second-guessing a soldier operating in dangerous conditions.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday an American activist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkish-american-palestinian-activist-funeral-israel-palestinians-ff3ed17b295793bce4631fdb2a35332c">killed in the West Bank</a>&nbsp;last week was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by soldiers firing upon participants in a demonstration against settlements that turned violent. The acknowledgement drew a strong rebuke from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the activist's family.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Aysenur Ezgi Eygi should be alive today. Instead, she was shot in the head and killed by the IDF while protesting Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank. She was an American citizen. There must be accountability and a thorough, independent investigation. <a href="https://t.co/FQuPq3Sf9R">pic.twitter.com/FQuPq3Sf9R</a>&mdash; Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1833255569530225068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Israel expressed its “deepest regret” for the death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-shot-killed-west-bank-israel-palestinians-b2f1c741cea3d56eb1a339240dbf036e">Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,</a>&nbsp;a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship, and said a criminal investigation has been launched.Blinken condemned the “unprovoked and unjustified” killing when asked about the Israeli inquiry at a news conference in London. “No one should be shot while attending a protest,” he said. “The Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in the West Bank.”Eygi's family in the U.S. released a statement saying “we are deeply offended by the suggestion that her killing by a trained sniper was in any way unintentional. The disregard shown for human life in the inquiry is appalling.”An Israeli protester who witnessed the shooting, Jonathan Pollak, said Eygi was killed about half an hour after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces had subsided, in an area several hundred meters (yards) from where the demonstration took place. Pollak said he saw two Israeli soldiers mount the roof of a nearby home, train a gun in the group’s direction and fire, with one of the bullets striking Eygi in the head.Israel said its inquiry into Eygi’s killing “found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.”The killing came amid a surge of violence in the West Bank since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;began in October, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-jenin-hamas-militants-c1618cc024d8a5269486e266593b5434">increasing Israeli raids</a>, attacks by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-raids-bc3383024400ee42518e41f3660acbd4">Palestinian militants</a>&nbsp;on Israelis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-bank-israel-palestinians-settler-violence-ffa6e84c39861c224f685e660c53a82d">attacks by Israeli settlers</a>&nbsp;on Palestinians and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-6-september-2024-29705c9c6cc59054d74b1dbcd29497df">heavier military crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on Palestinian protests.Israel says it thoroughly investigates allegations of its forces killing civilians and holds them accountable. It says soldiers often have to make split-second decisions while operating in areas where militants hide among civilians. But even in the most shocking cases — and those captured on video — soldiers often get relatively light sentences.The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession for Eygi in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday. Turkish authorities said they are working on repatriating her body to Turkey for burial in the Aegean coastal town of Didim, as per her family’s wishes.Eygi was a volunteer with the activist group International Solidarity Movement. But Eygi's uncle said in an interview with the Turkish TV channel HaberTurk that she kept her visit to the West Bank secret from at least some of her family members. She said she was traveling to Jordan to help Palestinians there, he said."She hid the fact that she was going to Palestine. She blocked us from her social media posts so that we would not see them,” Yilmaz Eygi said.The deaths of American citizens in the West Bank have drawn international attention, such as the fatal shooting of a prominent Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022 in the Jenin refugee camp.Several independent investigations and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-west-bank-middle-east-israel-8df6c999627efcef2fe0ca2b401e7a2c">reporting by The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;shortly after the killing determined that Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire. Months later, the military said there was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-journalists-veterans-al-jazeera-0e33ab0025cf06ee498ab83445e39733">“high probablility”</a>&nbsp;one of its soldiers had mistakenly killed her but that no one would be punished.Earlier in 2022, Israel’s military said it would punish a senior officer and remove two others from their posts over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-2569b996a0d596a5981d09ef811783f4">the death of Omar Assad, 78</a>, a Palestinian-American who was dragged from a car by Israeli troops, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.The military later said the soldiers believed Assad was asleep when they cut his zip-ties and left him face-down in an abandoned building where he had been detained with three other Palestinians.The deaths of Palestinians who do not have dual nationality rarely receive the same scrutiny.Human rights groups say Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for killing Palestinians and that any resulting military investigations often reflect a pattern of impunity. B’Tselem, a leading Israeli watchdog, became so frustrated with the system that in 2016 it dismissed the probes as a whitewash and halted its decades-long practice of assisting investigations.Last year, an Israeli court acquitted a member of the paramilitary Border Police who had been charged with reckless manslaughter in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-autistic-court-jerusalem-shooting-acquitted-cddd8df0d1f9fd2925a5a3ea011655f4">the deadly shooting of 32-year-old Eyad Hallaq</a>, an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem’s Old City in 2020. The case had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-middle-east-shootings-863c927ae5a5e2eae21b1dff3bc36c4b">drawn comparisons to the police killing</a>&nbsp;of George Floyd in the United States.In 2017, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria was convicted for manslaughter and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-90c06663250747a68b6d77e3199d136b">served nine months after he killed a wounded</a>, incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank city of Hebron. The combat medic was caught on video fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who was lying motionless on the ground.That case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-cf98215495194f37b283dc11d3ff7fd3">deeply divided Israelis</a>, with the military saying Azaria had clearly violated its code of ethics, while many Israelis — particularly on the nationalist right — defended his actions and accused military brass of second-guessing a soldier operating in dangerous conditions.

Israel says its forces likely shot and killed an American activist 

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire that damaged three homes on Monday night in Topeka.

Just after&nbsp;11:30 p.m., crews responded to report of a house fire 406 SW Clay Street in Topeka, according to spokesperson Rosie Nichols

First responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from a two-story home.&nbsp; There were no residents home and no injuries reported.

The fire originated on the second floor of the home.&nbsp;Heat from the fire caused an estimated $10,000 in structural damages to a neighboring house and approximately $4,000 to a second neighboring house.

The total estimated loss at the home where the fire originated was approximately $18,500, including approximately $4,500 in structural damages. 

Working smoke detectors were not located in the house where the fire originated.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725978031146.png" alt="Crews on the scene of the Monday night fire -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Crews on the scene of the Monday night fire -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire that damaged three homes on Monday night in Topeka.Just after&nbsp;11:30 p.m., crews responded to report of a house fire 406 SW Clay Street in Topeka, according to spokesperson Rosie NicholsFirst responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from a two-story home.&nbsp; There were no residents home and no injuries reported.The fire originated on the second floor of the home.&nbsp;Heat from the fire caused an estimated $10,000 in structural damages to a neighboring house and approximately $4,000 to a second neighboring house.The total estimated loss at the home where the fire originated was approximately $18,500, including approximately $4,500 in structural damages. Working smoke detectors were not located in the house where the fire originated.

Fire at Kansas home damages two adjacent houses

Schwab urges U.S. Postal Service to guarantee timely delivery of postmarked ballots

TOPEKA — The Kansas secretary of state said in a letter to the U.S. postmaster general that approximately 1,000 August primary voters in Kansas were disenfranchised because ballots mailed before Election Day in August arrived in county offices more than three days after the deadline or without an essential postmark.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican who serves as the state’s chief elections officer, told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy there was cause to be “extremely concerned” about “a troubling pattern that persists in the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and handling of ballots.” He send the same letter to the six members of the Kansas congressional delegation.

During the August primary, Schwab said, 18% of Kansans exercised the constitutional right to vote by sending ballots through the mail. Nearly 1,000 of those individuals, or 2% of ballots transmitted by mail in Kansas, weren’t counted “due to USPS administrative failures,” he said.

In correspondence released Monday, Schwab sought assurances that the USPS would guarantee every mail ballot in the November general election received a postmark so it could be counted. Schwab also asked that ballots placed in USPS custody before Election Day would be delivered to county offices before the three-day, post-election window closed.

“The USPS’ proper and timely handling of mail ballots is a key aspect to maintaining trust in our election system by assuring the public that utmost care is taken to preserve the safety and security of their ballot,” Schwab said. “Kansas has had mail voting in some form since the Civil War, but never has a lack of confidence in the delivery of our ballot been questioned as it has in the 21st century.”

Kansas law requires advance mail-in ballots to be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Only ballots received in county election offices within three days of a primary or general election could be counted in Kansas.

Schwab said a post-election survey showed county election offices in the state received ballots from the postal service days or weeks after they were mailed. He said some ballots placed in the mail ahead of Election Day didn’t get a postmark.

Approximately half the state’s county clerks reported receiving mail-in ballots without a postmark or after the three-day grace period permitted under statute, he said.

“It is unacceptable that voters, who follow the rules for requesting, voting and returning their mail ballot, are disenfranchised by the USPS because ballots that were properly and timely mailed were delivered without a postmark or not at all,” Schwab said.

In July, the USPS’ office of inspector general recommended the postal service make changes to allow postmarking of ballots that erroneously didn’t receive one. The operational shift could help voters feel more confident their ballot would move efficiently through USPS, the inspector general said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720316487639.png" alt="Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican, send a letter to the U.S. postmaster general and the Kansas congressional delegation complaining that nearly 1,000 advance ballots dropped in the mail before Election Day in the August primary weren't counted because envelopes lacked the required postmark or arrived after the three-day grace period&nbsp;authorized under state law.-Post file photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican, send a letter to the U.S. postmaster general and the Kansas congressional delegation complaining that nearly 1,000 advance ballots dropped in the mail before Election Day in the August primary weren't counted because envelopes lacked the required postmark or arrived after the three-day grace period&nbsp;authorized under state law.-Post file photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Schwab urges U.S. Postal Service to guarantee timely delivery of postmarked ballots</h2>TOPEKA — The Kansas secretary of state said in a letter to the U.S. postmaster general that approximately 1,000 August primary voters in Kansas were disenfranchised because ballots mailed before Election Day in August arrived in county offices more than three days after the deadline or without an essential postmark.Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican who serves as the state’s chief elections officer, told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy there was cause to be “extremely concerned” about “a troubling pattern that persists in the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and handling of ballots.” He send the same letter to the six members of the Kansas congressional delegation.During the August primary, Schwab said, 18% of Kansans exercised the constitutional right to vote by sending ballots through the mail. Nearly 1,000 of those individuals, or 2% of ballots transmitted by mail in Kansas, weren’t counted “due to USPS administrative failures,” he said.In correspondence released Monday, Schwab sought assurances that the USPS would guarantee every mail ballot in the November general election received a postmark so it could be counted. Schwab also asked that ballots placed in USPS custody before Election Day would be delivered to county offices before the three-day, post-election window closed.“The USPS’ proper and timely handling of mail ballots is a key aspect to maintaining trust in our election system by assuring the public that utmost care is taken to preserve the safety and security of their ballot,” Schwab said. “Kansas has had mail voting in some form since the Civil War, but never has a lack of confidence in the delivery of our ballot been questioned as it has in the 21st century.”Kansas law requires advance mail-in ballots to be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Only ballots received in county election offices within three days of a primary or general election could be counted in Kansas.Schwab said a post-election survey showed county election offices in the state received ballots from the postal service days or weeks after they were mailed. He said some ballots placed in the mail ahead of Election Day didn’t get a postmark.Approximately half the state’s county clerks reported receiving mail-in ballots without a postmark or after the three-day grace period permitted under statute, he said.“It is unacceptable that voters, who follow the rules for requesting, voting and returning their mail ballot, are disenfranchised by the USPS because ballots that were properly and timely mailed were delivered without a postmark or not at all,” Schwab said.In July, the USPS’ office of inspector general recommended the postal service make changes to allow postmarking of ballots that erroneously didn’t receive one. The operational shift could help voters feel more confident their ballot would move efficiently through USPS, the inspector general said.

Kansas election official says nearly 1,000 primary ballots tossed due to mail processing issues

KANSAS CITY—Over the weekend police continued enforcement against criminals performing illegal sideshows all around Kansas City, including both sides of the river, according to a social media report from Kansas City Police.

Police made two arrests had six vehicles towed and issued 57 citations, including for spectating.

Property Crimes detectives also joined, as some vehicles were stolen. Officers also recovered four guns.

"Officers put their personal safety at risk against hundreds of criminals who chose not to obey the law, but the streets belong to all of us, and we will continue the work."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725931467781.png" alt="Guns recovered during the side show arrests in Kansas City-photo KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Guns recovered during the side show arrests in Kansas City-photo KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Over the weekend police continued enforcement against criminals performing illegal sideshows all around Kansas City, including both sides of the river, according to a social media report from Kansas City Police.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725931670203.png" alt="Photo KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Photo KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>Police made two arrests had six vehicles towed and issued 57 citations, including for spectating.

Property Crimes detectives also joined, as some vehicles were stolen. Officers also recovered four guns.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725931448287.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"Officers put their personal safety at risk against hundreds of criminals who chose not to obey the law, but the streets belong to all of us, and we will continue the work."

KCPD busts more sideshows, seizes guns, cars and makes arrests

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take the stage next week in the only planned debate between the respective Democratic and GOP presidential candidates between now and November.

It’s the first presidential debate since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race following his own disastrous debate performance in late June against Trump. Biden, who faced mounting calls to resign,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/pass-torch-biden-addresses-nation-why-he-wont-seek-second-term" target="_blank">passed the torch</a>&nbsp;to Harris back in July.

The veep has embarked on an unprecedented and expedited campaign as she and Trump vie for the Oval Office. The election is just two months away.

Though the Harris and Trump campaigns clashed over debate procedures in recent weeks, both candidates have agreed to the finalized rules. ABC News, host of the debate, released the rules Wednesday.

The debate will be Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. Eastern time at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The debate will be 90 minutes long and include two commercial breaks,&nbsp;<a href="https://abc.com/news/5e38600c-4732-4cd2-a99c-3dedfa81beb0/category/1138628" target="_blank">according to ABC</a>.

The Keystone State — where both Harris and Trump have spent a lot of time campaigning — could determine the outcome of the presidential election. The battleground state has narrowly flip-flopped in recent elections, with Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/pennsylvania/" target="_blank">turning Pennsylvania blue</a>&nbsp;in 2020 after Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president/pennsylvania/" target="_blank">secured a red win</a>&nbsp;in 2016.

The debate will air live on ABC News and will also be streaming on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the debate.

Harris and Trump will each have two minutes to answer questions and two minutes to give rebuttals. They will also be granted one additional minute to clarify or follow up on anything.

Microphones will be muted when it’s not a candidate’s turn to speak, just like the previous debate between Biden and Trump in June.

The candidates will not give opening statements. Trump won a coin flip to determine the order of closing statements and podium placement. Trump, who selected the statement order, will give the final closing statement.

Each closing statement will be two minutes long.

Harris and Trump are not allowed to bring any props or prewritten notes to the debate stage. They will each receive a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle.

There will be no live audience at the National Constitution Center, as was the case in the last presidential debate.

Harris and Trump are not permitted to interact with their campaign staff during the two commercial breaks.

Trump went on the attack over the details of the debate, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/town-hall-no-questions-trump-grouses-about-polls-attacks-debate-host" target="_blank">Fox News’ Sean Hannity</a>&nbsp;during an interview Wednesday in Pennsylvania that “ABC is the worst network in terms of fairness” and “the most dishonest network, the meanest, the nastiest.”

He accused the network of releasing poor polls on purpose ahead of a previous election to drive down voter turnout.

Trump also claimed, without evidence, that Harris would get the questions in advance of the debate. ABC’s debate rules state that no candidates or campaigns will receive any topics or questions ahead of the event.

Meanwhile, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance will battle it out at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/mark-your-calendar-vp-candidates-walz-and-vance-debate-oct-1" target="_blank">vice presidential debate</a>&nbsp;hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 in New York City.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1724867447394.png" alt="Photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take the stage next week in the only planned debate between the respective Democratic and GOP presidential candidates between now and November.It’s the first presidential debate since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race following his own disastrous debate performance in late June against Trump. Biden, who faced mounting calls to resign,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/pass-torch-biden-addresses-nation-why-he-wont-seek-second-term" target="_blank">passed the torch</a>&nbsp;to Harris back in July.The veep has embarked on an unprecedented and expedited campaign as she and Trump vie for the Oval Office. The election is just two months away.Though the Harris and Trump campaigns clashed over debate procedures in recent weeks, both candidates have agreed to the finalized rules. ABC News, host of the debate, released the rules Wednesday.<h2>When and where is the debate?</h2>The debate will be Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. Eastern time at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The debate will be 90 minutes long and include two commercial breaks,&nbsp;<a href="https://abc.com/news/5e38600c-4732-4cd2-a99c-3dedfa81beb0/category/1138628" target="_blank">according to ABC</a>.The Keystone State — where both Harris and Trump have spent a lot of time campaigning — could determine the outcome of the presidential election. The battleground state has narrowly flip-flopped in recent elections, with Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/pennsylvania/" target="_blank">turning Pennsylvania blue</a>&nbsp;in 2020 after Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president/pennsylvania/" target="_blank">secured a red win</a>&nbsp;in 2016.<h2>How can I watch the debate?</h2>The debate will air live on ABC News and will also be streaming on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the debate.Harris and Trump will each have two minutes to answer questions and two minutes to give rebuttals. They will also be granted one additional minute to clarify or follow up on anything.<h2>Will the mics be muted?</h2>Microphones will be muted when it’s not a candidate’s turn to speak, just like the previous debate between Biden and Trump in June.The candidates will not give opening statements. Trump won a coin flip to determine the order of closing statements and podium placement. Trump, who selected the statement order, will give the final closing statement.Each closing statement will be two minutes long.Harris and Trump are not allowed to bring any props or prewritten notes to the debate stage. They will each receive a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle.<h2>Will there be a live audience?</h2>There will be no live audience at the National Constitution Center, as was the case in the last presidential debate.Harris and Trump are not permitted to interact with their campaign staff during the two commercial breaks.<h2>Trump slams ABC ahead of debate</h2>Trump went on the attack over the details of the debate, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/town-hall-no-questions-trump-grouses-about-polls-attacks-debate-host" target="_blank">Fox News’ Sean Hannity</a>&nbsp;during an interview Wednesday in Pennsylvania that “ABC is the worst network in terms of fairness” and “the most dishonest network, the meanest, the nastiest.”He accused the network of releasing poor polls on purpose ahead of a previous election to drive down voter turnout.Trump also claimed, without evidence, that Harris would get the questions in advance of the debate. ABC’s debate rules state that no candidates or campaigns will receive any topics or questions ahead of the event.Meanwhile, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance will battle it out at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/mark-your-calendar-vp-candidates-walz-and-vance-debate-oct-1" target="_blank">vice presidential debate</a>&nbsp;hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 in New York City.

5 things to know about the Harris-Trump presidential debate  

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal crash involving two vehicles in Shawnee County on Sunday have identified the victim as 45-year-old&nbsp; Julie A. Tibbits of Topeka.

According to Deputy Abigail Christian, a southbound Dodge sedan with two occupants and a Buick SUV with four occupants collided at NE Kincaid Road and 62nd Street.&nbsp;

Tibbits was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Deputy Christian. American Medical Response transported four others to a local hospital.&nbsp; The crash remains under investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725840465323.png" alt="View of the fatal crash scene -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>View of the fatal crash scene -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal crash involving two vehicles in Shawnee County on Sunday have identified the victim as 45-year-old&nbsp; Julie A. Tibbits of Topeka.According to Deputy Abigail Christian, a southbound Dodge sedan with two occupants and a Buick SUV with four occupants collided at NE Kincaid Road and 62nd Street.&nbsp;Tibbits was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Deputy Christian. American Medical Response transported four others to a local hospital.&nbsp; The crash remains under investigation.

Sheriff IDs Kan. woman who died in crash that injured 4 others

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday over whether an abortion-rights amendment should go before voters this year.

The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution is expected to widely undo the state’s 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed. The state’s highest court has mere hours Tuesday to issue what will likely be the final say on the measure before a deadline to make changes to the November ballot.

Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, told judges that Missouri’s law requires petition signers “to be fully informed” and argued that the initiative petition “misled voters” by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal.

But removing the measure would step on Missouri voters' rights to sidestep the legislature and enact laws and constitutional amendments by the ballot, abortion-rights campaign lawyer Chuck Hatfield argued.

“The court will send a message today,” Hatfield said, “about whether in our little corner of the democracy, the government will honor the will of the people or whether we will have it snatched away.”

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself following a county circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitutional-amendment-4f40c97177cdeaea6aec3fca59c2f99e">judge’s ruling Friday</a>. Ashcroft's move appears symbolic, although lawyers for his office argued it made the appeal moot.

The amendment is part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">national push to have voters</a>&nbsp;weigh in on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after.

At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-election-2024-roe-ballot-4403190b898e501b0834053c3417d072">enshrining abortion rights</a>, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do.

New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about its impact.

Voting on the polarizing issue could draw more people to the polls, potentially impacting results for the presidency in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes for closely contested state offices. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election.

Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas’ highest court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-arkansas-supreme-court-48c208d49d82b467fbcc4b9c2724617a">upheld a decision</a>&nbsp;to keep an abortion rights initiative off the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.

Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions on their ballots since Roe was overturned have sided with abortion-rights supporters.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday over whether an abortion-rights amendment should go before voters this year.

At issue is a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, along with the right for individuals to make other reproductive health care decisions. If enacted, the measure is widely expected to undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban.

The proposal had been slated for the November ballot. But Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself, following a county circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitutional-amendment-4f40c97177cdeaea6aec3fca59c2f99e">judge’s ruling Friday</a>&nbsp;that sided with abortion opponents and several Republican lawmakers who sought to have the amendment taken off the ballot.

Monday’s move by Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, is largely symbolic. The Supreme Court is expected to have the final say on the measure and faces a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline to make changes to the November ballot. That gives the court mere hours to issue a ruling after the morning hearing.

Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas’ highest court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-arkansas-supreme-court-48c208d49d82b467fbcc4b9c2724617a">upheld a decision</a>&nbsp;to keep an abortion-rights ballot initiative off the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.

The legal challenge to Missouri's proposed amendment hinges on a state law requiring campaigns to inform voters during the petition signature-gathering process about any laws that proposed amendments would overturn.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in a court brief that Missouri's abortion-rights campaign “defrauded potential signers by failing to disclose any of the many, many provisions” of Missouri law it proposes to repeal, including the state's current ban.

Lawyers for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the abortion-rights campaign, wrote that the case is about “whether the people’s right to engage in direct democracy will be protected.”

“The circuit court’s decision threatens to grind our system of constitutional initiative petition to a halt at the last minute,” the attorneys wrote. “Hundreds of thousands have exercised their power as citizens, and want their fellow Missourians to vote on whether to change the Constitution with regard to abortion rights.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725989236561.png" alt=" Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, argues before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 in Jefferson City as the court hears a case questioning whether an amendment to overturn the state’s abortion ban should remain on the November ballot (Pool photo by Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)." />
 <figcaption> Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, argues before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 in Jefferson City as the court hears a case questioning whether an amendment to overturn the state’s abortion ban should remain on the November ballot (Pool photo by Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch).</figcaption>
 </figure>By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated PressJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday over whether an abortion-rights amendment should go before voters this year.The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution is expected to widely undo the state’s 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed. The state’s highest court has mere hours Tuesday to issue what will likely be the final say on the measure before a deadline to make changes to the November ballot.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725707612193.png" alt=" Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas Moore Society, represents a group of Missouri anti-abortion lawmakers and activists Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a trial at the Cole County Courthouse photo by Anna Spoerre" />
 <figcaption> Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas Moore Society, represents a group of Missouri anti-abortion lawmakers and activists Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a trial at the Cole County Courthouse photo by Anna Spoerre</figcaption>
 </figure>Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, told judges that Missouri’s law requires petition signers “to be fully informed” and argued that the initiative petition “misled voters” by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal.But removing the measure would step on Missouri voters' rights to sidestep the legislature and enact laws and constitutional amendments by the ballot, abortion-rights campaign lawyer Chuck Hatfield argued.“The court will send a message today,” Hatfield said, “about whether in our little corner of the democracy, the government will honor the will of the people or whether we will have it snatched away.”Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself following a county circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitutional-amendment-4f40c97177cdeaea6aec3fca59c2f99e">judge’s ruling Friday</a>. Ashcroft's move appears symbolic, although lawyers for his office argued it made the appeal moot.The amendment is part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">national push to have voters</a>&nbsp;weigh in on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after.At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-election-2024-roe-ballot-4403190b898e501b0834053c3417d072">enshrining abortion rights</a>, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do.New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about its impact.Voting on the polarizing issue could draw more people to the polls, potentially impacting results for the presidency in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes for closely contested state offices. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election.Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas’ highest court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-arkansas-supreme-court-48c208d49d82b467fbcc4b9c2724617a">upheld a decision</a>&nbsp;to keep an abortion rights initiative off the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions on their ballots since Roe was overturned have sided with abortion-rights supporters.-------------JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday over whether an abortion-rights amendment should go before voters this year.At issue is a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, along with the right for individuals to make other reproductive health care decisions. If enacted, the measure is widely expected to undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban.The proposal had been slated for the November ballot. But Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself, following a county circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitutional-amendment-4f40c97177cdeaea6aec3fca59c2f99e">judge’s ruling Friday</a>&nbsp;that sided with abortion opponents and several Republican lawmakers who sought to have the amendment taken off the ballot.Monday’s move by Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, is largely symbolic. The Supreme Court is expected to have the final say on the measure and faces a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline to make changes to the November ballot. That gives the court mere hours to issue a ruling after the morning hearing.The amendment is part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">national push to have voters</a>&nbsp;weigh in on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after.At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-election-2024-roe-ballot-4403190b898e501b0834053c3417d072">enshrining abortion rights</a>, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do.New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about its impact.Voting on the polarizing issue could draw more people to the polls, potentially impacting results for the presidency in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes for closely contested state offices. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election.Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas’ highest court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-arkansas-supreme-court-48c208d49d82b467fbcc4b9c2724617a">upheld a decision</a>&nbsp;to keep an abortion-rights ballot initiative off the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.The legal challenge to Missouri's proposed amendment hinges on a state law requiring campaigns to inform voters during the petition signature-gathering process about any laws that proposed amendments would overturn.Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in a court brief that Missouri's abortion-rights campaign “defrauded potential signers by failing to disclose any of the many, many provisions” of Missouri law it proposes to repeal, including the state's current ban.Lawyers for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the abortion-rights campaign, wrote that the case is about “whether the people’s right to engage in direct democracy will be protected.”“The circuit court’s decision threatens to grind our system of constitutional initiative petition to a halt at the last minute,” the attorneys wrote. “Hundreds of thousands have exercised their power as citizens, and want their fellow Missourians to vote on whether to change the Constitution with regard to abortion rights.”Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions on their ballots since Roe was overturned have sided with abortion-rights supporters.

Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments on abortion-rights amendment 

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A police officer dragged Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill out of his sports car by his arm and head and then forced him face first onto the ground after Hill put up the window of his sports car during a traffic stop before Sunday's game, body camera video released Monday shows.

The video showed that the altercation between the Miami-Dade County officers and Hill escalated quickly, that the officers cursed at Hill but he did not resist their physical force or strike at them. Six officers' body camera videos have been released.

Police Director Stephanie Davis said the tape would normally not be released while the investigation is ongoing, but she wanted to demonstrate the department's “commitment to transparency and maintaining public trust.”

One video showed the motorcycle officer who had pulled Hill over on the roadway leading into Hard Rock Stadium. He had apparently already struck or tapped on the window of Hill's McClaren sports car.

The officer looked inside and demanded to know why Hill didn't have his seatbelt on. Hill, through the open window, said to the officer, “Don't do my window like that.”

“Why do you have it up?” the officer replied.

“Do what you gotta do” Hill said and put the darkly tinted window back up.

“Keep your window down,” the officer told him, tapping on the glass. The officer paused for about five seconds and looked around. He told Hill again to keep the window down or “I am going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car.”

The officer then demanded Hill open the door. Another officers stepped up and said, “Get out of the car or I will break that ... window," using an obscenity.

The door opened and the second officer reached in and grabbed Hill by the arm and the back of the head as the player said, “I am getting out."

The second officer forced Hill face first onto the ground. The officers forced Hill's arms behind his back as Hill yelled into his cellphone, “I am getting arrested Drew.” It was unclear if he was talking to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, or the team's director of security, Drew Brooks. Both soon showed up at the scene.

The officers handcuff Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back. “If we tell you to do something, do it.”

“Take me to jail, brother, do what you gotta do,” Hill replied.

“We are,” the officer who pulled him out said.

“You crazy,” Hill said to the officer.

The officers then pull him to his feet as Hill said, "Why you beating on my window like you are all crazy for?"

The officers stand Hill up and walk him to the sidewalk. One officer told him to sit on the curb. Hill said to the officer he just had surgery on his knee.

The officer who pulled Hill from the car jumped behind him and put a bar hold around Hill's upper chest or neck. He pulled Hill into a seating position.

“Chill, bro,” Hill told the officers.

At that point, teammate Calais Campbell parked his SUV in front of Hill's car, got out and asked what was going on. The officers ordered Campbell to get back in his vehicle and leave. They then told him they were going to give him a ticket for blocking the road. He, too, was soon in handcuffs. He was never cited.

Hill and Campbell were eventually released and allowed to go into the stadium. Hill received two citations but was never arrested. One officer was placed on administrative leave.

Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, defended the officer's actions, saying Monday that Hill "was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.

“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground."

Hill said he doesn't understand why the situation escalated.

“I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that,” he said.

Julius B. Collins, Hill’s attorney, said the receiver’s legal team is exploring all legal options and called the officers' actions “excessive."

“Mr. Hill understands the inherently dangerous job that law enforcement is tasked with and understands that officer safety is important;” read Collins' statement, “however, at no point in time did Mr. Hill pose a threat to these officers."

Campbell said he tried to de-escalate the situation. He said he got out of his car with his hands up above his head and approached the scene, informing officers that he was a friend of Hill’s. He remained at the scene to “support” Hill. Police later placed him in handcuffs for “disobeying a direct order” by being too close.

“They were trying to yank him down to the ground,” Campbell said Monday on ESPN. “I saw them kick him and pull him down ... I feel like one officer was pushing on his head.”

Campbell said tight end Jonnu Smith and later receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were also there to support Hill, who repeated to them, “Don't leave me.”

Hill, 30, who is Black, said he wondered what would have happened to him if he weren't an NFL star. Some of his teammates who are also Black said they were used to seeing that sort of interaction.

“Excessive force on a Black man, that’s not uncommon," said safety Jevon Holland. "It’s a very common thing in America. So I think that needs to be addressed at a countrywide level.”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday he was upset by the situation. McDaniel appeared to fight back tears as he reflected on the incident.

“It’s probably more visceral because, yes, I do spend a lot of time prioritizing empathy, and when you know you can’t truly understand, the unknown is what crushes me,” McDaniel said. "I can only forecast, and so my forecast — what if it’s worse?”

In May, golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and taken to jail after being accused of not following police orders during an investigation of a pedestrian fatality outside Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky, during the PGA Championship.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/scottie-scheffler-police-arrest-louisville-cf7f59fc48d223083bb71d272d139050">Criminal charges</a>&nbsp;against the Masters champion were later dropped.

This isn’t the first off-field incident involving Hill.

He was accused of punching his girlfriend in college and got kicked off the team at Oklahoma State, later pleading guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation. In 2019, prosecutors in suburban Kansas City declined to charge Hill after an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée and their 3-year-old child.

Last offseason, Hill was under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after it was reported that he got into an argument with a South Florida marina worker, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the worker. Hill and the man later resolved their dispute.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A police officer dragged Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill out of his sports car by his arm and head and then forced him face first onto the ground after Hill put up the window of his sports car during a traffic stop before Sunday's game, body camera video released Monday shows.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Here is the body cam footage from Tyreek Hill’s detainment before the Miami Dolphins game. This level of aggression and demeaning behavior was not necessary. This is an excessive overuse of power. <a href="https://t.co/yrLifkdRle">pic.twitter.com/yrLifkdRle</a>&mdash; Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) <a href="https://twitter.com/RGIII/status/1833301689266217465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The video showed that the altercation between the Miami-Dade County officers and Hill escalated quickly, that the officers cursed at Hill but he did not resist their physical force or strike at them. Six officers' body camera videos have been released.Police Director Stephanie Davis said the tape would normally not be released while the investigation is ongoing, but she wanted to demonstrate the department's “commitment to transparency and maintaining public trust.”One video showed the motorcycle officer who had pulled Hill over on the roadway leading into Hard Rock Stadium. He had apparently already struck or tapped on the window of Hill's McClaren sports car.The officer looked inside and demanded to know why Hill didn't have his seatbelt on. Hill, through the open window, said to the officer, “Don't do my window like that.”“Why do you have it up?” the officer replied.“Do what you gotta do” Hill said and put the darkly tinted window back up.“Keep your window down,” the officer told him, tapping on the glass. The officer paused for about five seconds and looked around. He told Hill again to keep the window down or “I am going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car.”The officer then demanded Hill open the door. Another officers stepped up and said, “Get out of the car or I will break that ... window," using an obscenity.The door opened and the second officer reached in and grabbed Hill by the arm and the back of the head as the player said, “I am getting out."The second officer forced Hill face first onto the ground. The officers forced Hill's arms behind his back as Hill yelled into his cellphone, “I am getting arrested Drew.” It was unclear if he was talking to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, or the team's director of security, Drew Brooks. Both soon showed up at the scene.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725929820574.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The officers handcuff Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back. “If we tell you to do something, do it.”“Take me to jail, brother, do what you gotta do,” Hill replied.“We are,” the officer who pulled him out said.“You crazy,” Hill said to the officer.The officers then pull him to his feet as Hill said, "Why you beating on my window like you are all crazy for?"The officers stand Hill up and walk him to the sidewalk. One officer told him to sit on the curb. Hill said to the officer he just had surgery on his knee.The officer who pulled Hill from the car jumped behind him and put a bar hold around Hill's upper chest or neck. He pulled Hill into a seating position.“Chill, bro,” Hill told the officers.At that point, teammate Calais Campbell parked his SUV in front of Hill's car, got out and asked what was going on. The officers ordered Campbell to get back in his vehicle and leave. They then told him they were going to give him a ticket for blocking the road. He, too, was soon in handcuffs. He was never cited.Hill and Campbell were eventually released and allowed to go into the stadium. Hill received two citations but was never arrested. One officer was placed on administrative leave.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725929853616.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, defended the officer's actions, saying Monday that Hill "was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground."Hill said he doesn't understand why the situation escalated.“I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that,” he said.Julius B. Collins, Hill’s attorney, said the receiver’s legal team is exploring all legal options and called the officers' actions “excessive."“Mr. Hill understands the inherently dangerous job that law enforcement is tasked with and understands that officer safety is important;” read Collins' statement, “however, at no point in time did Mr. Hill pose a threat to these officers."Campbell said he tried to de-escalate the situation. He said he got out of his car with his hands up above his head and approached the scene, informing officers that he was a friend of Hill’s. He remained at the scene to “support” Hill. Police later placed him in handcuffs for “disobeying a direct order” by being too close.“They were trying to yank him down to the ground,” Campbell said Monday on ESPN. “I saw them kick him and pull him down ... I feel like one officer was pushing on his head.”Campbell said tight end Jonnu Smith and later receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were also there to support Hill, who repeated to them, “Don't leave me.”Hill, 30, who is Black, said he wondered what would have happened to him if he weren't an NFL star. Some of his teammates who are also Black said they were used to seeing that sort of interaction.“Excessive force on a Black man, that’s not uncommon," said safety Jevon Holland. "It’s a very common thing in America. So I think that needs to be addressed at a countrywide level.”Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday he was upset by the situation. McDaniel appeared to fight back tears as he reflected on the incident.“It’s probably more visceral because, yes, I do spend a lot of time prioritizing empathy, and when you know you can’t truly understand, the unknown is what crushes me,” McDaniel said. "I can only forecast, and so my forecast — what if it’s worse?”In May, golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and taken to jail after being accused of not following police orders during an investigation of a pedestrian fatality outside Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky, during the PGA Championship.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/scottie-scheffler-police-arrest-louisville-cf7f59fc48d223083bb71d272d139050">Criminal charges</a>&nbsp;against the Masters champion were later dropped.This isn’t the first off-field incident involving Hill.He was accused of punching his girlfriend in college and got kicked off the team at Oklahoma State, later pleading guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation. In 2019, prosecutors in suburban Kansas City declined to charge Hill after an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée and their 3-year-old child.Last offseason, Hill was under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after it was reported that he got into an argument with a South Florida marina worker, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the worker. Hill and the man later resolved their dispute.___

Video: Officers dragged former KC Chief out of car after he put window up

ANDREW COUNTY, Missouri —A police lieutenant with the Savannah, Missouri Police Department has been charged in the death of K9 Horus.&nbsp;

The Missouri Attorney General's office has charged officer Daniel Zeigler with animal abuse following an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol on the case.&nbsp;

Reports say that Horus died in mid June from heat exposure after being left in a police vehicle overnight.&nbsp; The car has a safety feature which is designed to roll down the windows and sound the horn if temperatures reach 90 degrees, but the Patrols report shows the system had been turned off.&nbsp; The high temperature that day reached 88 degrees.

A misdemeanor can include up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Residents of a small western Missouri town are saddened and angered after a police dog died in a hot car.

The dog named Horus died June 20 following an overnight shift, Police Chief David Vincent said. In a Facebook posting on Wednesday, Vincent said he couldn't discuss the circumstances of the dog's death while the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducts an investigation.

“Horus was a great asset to our department and the community,” Vincent wrote. “I trusted this K9 around my grandchildren and they adored him. I am upset and angry about what happened to Horus as everyone else is.”

Several residents of the town of 5,000 residents that sits about an hour's drive north of Kansas City posted that the person responsible for the dog's death should face criminal charges.

“The officer should be charged,” one man wrote. “Just as any member of the public would be if they had caused the dog’s death. No excuse at all.”

For now, Horus is buried in an unmarked gravesite. In another post, Vincent said an anonymous donor is buying a headstone. Vincent said city staff will maintain the site that will be “a place of honor.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720202220440.png" alt="Horus photo courtesy Savannah Police" />
 <figcaption>Horus photo courtesy Savannah Police</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE St. Joseph PostANDREW COUNTY, Missouri —A police lieutenant with the Savannah, Missouri Police Department has been charged in the death of K9 Horus.&nbsp;The Missouri Attorney General's office has charged officer Daniel Zeigler with animal abuse following an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol on the case.&nbsp;Reports say that Horus died in mid June from heat exposure after being left in a police vehicle overnight.&nbsp; The car has a safety feature which is designed to roll down the windows and sound the horn if temperatures reach 90 degrees, but the Patrols report shows the system had been turned off.&nbsp; The high temperature that day reached 88 degrees.A misdemeanor can include up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.----------KANSAS CITY (AP) — Residents of a small western Missouri town are saddened and angered after a police dog died in a hot car.The dog named Horus died June 20 following an overnight shift, Police Chief David Vincent said. In a Facebook posting on Wednesday, Vincent said he couldn't discuss the circumstances of the dog's death while the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducts an investigation.“Horus was a great asset to our department and the community,” Vincent wrote. “I trusted this K9 around my grandchildren and they adored him. I am upset and angry about what happened to Horus as everyone else is.”Several residents of the town of 5,000 residents that sits about an hour's drive north of Kansas City posted that the person responsible for the dog's death should face criminal charges.“The officer should be charged,” one man wrote. “Just as any member of the public would be if they had caused the dog’s death. No excuse at all.”For now, Horus is buried in an unmarked gravesite. In another post, Vincent said an anonymous donor is buying a headstone. Vincent said city staff will maintain the site that will be “a place of honor.”

Officer charged after police dog died in a hot car

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a woman on drug allegations after a traffic stop.

Just before 1 a.m. Friday, a sheriff's deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck without an operable tag light in the 1100 block of NW Topeka Boulevard, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the driver had a revoked driver’s license and illegal narcotics were located.

The passenger, Kimberly D. Fish, 50, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant and&nbsp;Use/possess w/intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body.&nbsp; The driver was not arrested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725718597721.png" alt="Fish-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Fish-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a woman on drug allegations after a traffic stop.Just before 1 a.m. Friday, a sheriff's deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck without an operable tag light in the 1100 block of NW Topeka Boulevard, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.During the investigation, it was discovered that the driver had a revoked driver’s license and illegal narcotics were located.The passenger, Kimberly D. Fish, 50, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant and&nbsp;Use/possess w/intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body.&nbsp; The driver was not arrested.

Kan. driver did not know passenger was in possession of drugs 

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Sunday issued a scathing report on their investigation into the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-afghanistan-government-and-politics-86f939c746c7bc56bb9f11f095a95366">U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>, blaming the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-takeover-timeline-df3df916cae4b07d53a302dc9a2811d8">disastrous</a>&nbsp;end of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-september-11-d2c7426736f9f530e0e62f2295a44d28">America’s longest war</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-michigan-afghanistan-war-46eb2b0861939bf022747920c0ee0234">President Joe Biden’s administration</a>&nbsp;and minimizing the role of former President Donald Trump, who had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban.

<a href="https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HFAC-Republican-Interim-Report-A-22Strategic-Failure22-Assessing-the-Administrations-Afghanistan-Withdrawal.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the report

The partisan review lays out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump’s February 2020 withdrawal deal, that allowed America’s fundamentalist Taliban enemy to sweep through and conquer all of the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-withdrawal-anniversary-afghans-kabul-f6a42bfa49507f9ba7fb977a7ebb2feb">Afghan battlefield allies</a>, women activists and others at risk from the Taliban.

But House Republicans’ report breaks little new ground as the withdrawal has been exhaustively litigated through several independent reviews. Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame.

Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who led the investigation as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the GOP review reveals that the Biden administration “had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies.”

“At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security,” he said in a statement.

McCaul earlier in the day denied that the timing of the report’s release ahead of the presidential election was political, or that Republicans ignored Trump’s mistakes in the U.S. withdrawal.

A White House spokesperson, Sharon Yang, said the Republican report was based on “cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and preexisting biases.”

“Because of the bad deal former President Trump cut with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan by May of 2021, President Biden inherited an untenable position,” either ramp up the U.S. war against a strengthened Taliban, or end it, Yang said in a statement.

House Democrats in a statement said the report by their Republican colleagues ignored facts about Trump’s role.

The more than 18-month investigation by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee zeroed in on the months leading up to the removal of U.S. troops, saying that Biden and his administration undermined high-ranking officials and ignored warnings as the Taliban seized key cities far faster than most U.S. officials had expected or prepared for.

“I called their advance ‘the Red Blob,’'' retired Col. Seth Krummrich said of the Taliban, telling the committee that at the special operations’ central command where he was chief of staff, ”we tracked the Taliban advance daily, looking like a red blob gobbling up terrain.”

“I don’t think we ever thought — you know, nobody ever talked about, ‘Well, what’s going to happen when the Taliban come over the wall?’'' Carol Perez, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for management at the time of the withdrawal, said of what House Republicans said was minimal State Department planning before abandoning the embassy in mid-August 2021 when the Taliban swept into Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

The withdrawal ended a nearly two-decade occupation by U.S. and allied forces begun to rout out the al-Qaida militants responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaida’s leader, Osama bin Laden, to shelter in Afghanistan. Committee staffers noted reports since the U.S. withdrawal of the group rebuilding in Afghanistan, such as a U.N. report of up to eight al-Qaida training camps there.

The Taliban overthrew an Afghan government and military that the U.S. had spent nearly 20 years and trillions of dollars building in hopes of keeping the country from again becoming a base for anti-Western extremists.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf" target="_blank">2023 report by the U.S. government watchdog for the U.S. in Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;singles out Trump’s February 2020 deal with the Taliban agreeing to withdraw all American forces and military contractors by the spring of the next year, and both Trump’s and Biden’s determination to keep pulling out U.S. forces despite the Taliban breaking key commitments in the withdrawal deal.

House Republicans’ more than 350-page document is the product of hours of testimony — including with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Central Command retired Gen. Frank McKenzie and others who were senior officials at the time — seven public hearings and round-tables as well as more than 20,000 pages of State Department documents reviewed by the committees.

With Biden no longer running for reelection, Trump and his GOP allies have tried to elevate the withdrawal as a campaign issue against Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential race.

The report by House Republican cites Harris’ overall responsibility as an adviser to Biden, but doesn’t point to specific counsel or action by Harris that contributed to the many failures.

Republicans point to testimony and records that claim the Biden administration’s reliance on input from military and civilian leaders on the ground in Afghanistan in the months before the withdrawal was “severely limited,” with most of the decision-making taking place by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan without consultation with key stakeholders.

Yang, the White House spokesperson, denied that, saying the administration had sought input from officials in Kabul and others across the U.S. government.

The report says Biden proceeded with the withdrawal even though the Taliban was failing to keep some of its agreements under the deal, including breaking its promise to enter talks with the then-U.S.- backed Afghan government.

Former State Department spokesperson Ned Price testified to the committee that adherence to the Doha Agreement was “immaterial” to Biden’s decision to withdraw, according to the report.

Earlier reviews have said Trump also carried out his early steps of the withdrawal deal, cutting the U.S. troop presence from about 13,000 to an eventual 2,500 despite early Taliban noncompliance with some parts of the deal, and despite the Taliban escalating attacks on Afghan forces.

The House report faults a longtime U.S. diplomat for Afghanistan, former Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, not Trump, for Trump administration actions in its negotiations with the Taliban. The new report says that Trump was following recommendations of American military leaders in making sharp cuts in U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan after the signing.

‘We were still in planning’ when Kabul fell

The report also goes into the vulnerability of U.S. embassy staff in Kabul as the Biden administration planned its exit. Republicans claim there was a “dogmatic insistence” by the Biden administration to maintain a large diplomatic footprint despite concerns about the lack of security afforded to personnel once U.S. forces left.

McKenzie, who was one of the two U.S. generals who oversaw the evacuation, told lawmakers that the administration’s insistence at keeping the embassy open and fully operational was the “fatal flaw that created what happened in August,” according to the report.

The committee report claims that State Department officials went as far as watering down or “even completely rewriting reports” from heads of diplomatic security and the Department of Defense that had warned of the threats to U.S. personnel as the withdrawal date got closer.

“We were still in planning” when Kabul fell, Perez, the senior U.S. diplomat, testified to the committee.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725911207774.png" alt="Image from the Afghanistan withdrawal report" />
 <figcaption>Image from the Afghanistan withdrawal report</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Sunday issued a scathing report on their investigation into the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-afghanistan-government-and-politics-86f939c746c7bc56bb9f11f095a95366">U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>, blaming the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-takeover-timeline-df3df916cae4b07d53a302dc9a2811d8">disastrous</a>&nbsp;end of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-september-11-d2c7426736f9f530e0e62f2295a44d28">America’s longest war</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-michigan-afghanistan-war-46eb2b0861939bf022747920c0ee0234">President Joe Biden’s administration</a>&nbsp;and minimizing the role of former President Donald Trump, who had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban.<a href="https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HFAC-Republican-Interim-Report-A-22Strategic-Failure22-Assessing-the-Administrations-Afghanistan-Withdrawal.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the reportThe partisan review lays out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump’s February 2020 withdrawal deal, that allowed America’s fundamentalist Taliban enemy to sweep through and conquer all of the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-withdrawal-anniversary-afghans-kabul-f6a42bfa49507f9ba7fb977a7ebb2feb">Afghan battlefield allies</a>, women activists and others at risk from the Taliban.But House Republicans’ report breaks little new ground as the withdrawal has been exhaustively litigated through several independent reviews. Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame.Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who led the investigation as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the GOP review reveals that the Biden administration “had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies.”“At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security,” he said in a statement.McCaul earlier in the day denied that the timing of the report’s release ahead of the presidential election was political, or that Republicans ignored Trump’s mistakes in the U.S. withdrawal.A White House spokesperson, Sharon Yang, said the Republican report was based on “cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and preexisting biases.”“Because of the bad deal former President Trump cut with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan by May of 2021, President Biden inherited an untenable position,” either ramp up the U.S. war against a strengthened Taliban, or end it, Yang said in a statement.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725911178941.png" alt="Image from the Afghanistan withdrawal report" />
 <figcaption>Image from the Afghanistan withdrawal report</figcaption>
 </figure>House Democrats in a statement said the report by their Republican colleagues ignored facts about Trump’s role.The more than 18-month investigation by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee zeroed in on the months leading up to the removal of U.S. troops, saying that Biden and his administration undermined high-ranking officials and ignored warnings as the Taliban seized key cities far faster than most U.S. officials had expected or prepared for.“I called their advance ‘the Red Blob,’'' retired Col. Seth Krummrich said of the Taliban, telling the committee that at the special operations’ central command where he was chief of staff, ”we tracked the Taliban advance daily, looking like a red blob gobbling up terrain.”“I don’t think we ever thought — you know, nobody ever talked about, ‘Well, what’s going to happen when the Taliban come over the wall?’'' Carol Perez, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for management at the time of the withdrawal, said of what House Republicans said was minimal State Department planning before abandoning the embassy in mid-August 2021 when the Taliban swept into Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.The withdrawal ended a nearly two-decade occupation by U.S. and allied forces begun to rout out the al-Qaida militants responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaida’s leader, Osama bin Laden, to shelter in Afghanistan. Committee staffers noted reports since the U.S. withdrawal of the group rebuilding in Afghanistan, such as a U.N. report of up to eight al-Qaida training camps there.The Taliban overthrew an Afghan government and military that the U.S. had spent nearly 20 years and trillions of dollars building in hopes of keeping the country from again becoming a base for anti-Western extremists.A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf" target="_blank">2023 report by the U.S. government watchdog for the U.S. in Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;singles out Trump’s February 2020 deal with the Taliban agreeing to withdraw all American forces and military contractors by the spring of the next year, and both Trump’s and Biden’s determination to keep pulling out U.S. forces despite the Taliban breaking key commitments in the withdrawal deal.House Republicans’ more than 350-page document is the product of hours of testimony — including with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Central Command retired Gen. Frank McKenzie and others who were senior officials at the time — seven public hearings and round-tables as well as more than 20,000 pages of State Department documents reviewed by the committees.With Biden no longer running for reelection, Trump and his GOP allies have tried to elevate the withdrawal as a campaign issue against Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential race.The report by House Republican cites Harris’ overall responsibility as an adviser to Biden, but doesn’t point to specific counsel or action by Harris that contributed to the many failures.Some highlights of the report:<h2>Decision to withdraw</h2>Republicans point to testimony and records that claim the Biden administration’s reliance on input from military and civilian leaders on the ground in Afghanistan in the months before the withdrawal was “severely limited,” with most of the decision-making taking place by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan without consultation with key stakeholders.Yang, the White House spokesperson, denied that, saying the administration had sought input from officials in Kabul and others across the U.S. government.The report says Biden proceeded with the withdrawal even though the Taliban was failing to keep some of its agreements under the deal, including breaking its promise to enter talks with the then-U.S.- backed Afghan government.Former State Department spokesperson Ned Price testified to the committee that adherence to the Doha Agreement was “immaterial” to Biden’s decision to withdraw, according to the report.Earlier reviews have said Trump also carried out his early steps of the withdrawal deal, cutting the U.S. troop presence from about 13,000 to an eventual 2,500 despite early Taliban noncompliance with some parts of the deal, and despite the Taliban escalating attacks on Afghan forces.The House report faults a longtime U.S. diplomat for Afghanistan, former Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, not Trump, for Trump administration actions in its negotiations with the Taliban. The new report says that Trump was following recommendations of American military leaders in making sharp cuts in U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan after the signing.<h2>‘We were still in planning’ when Kabul fell</h2>The report also goes into the vulnerability of U.S. embassy staff in Kabul as the Biden administration planned its exit. Republicans claim there was a “dogmatic insistence” by the Biden administration to maintain a large diplomatic footprint despite concerns about the lack of security afforded to personnel once U.S. forces left.McKenzie, who was one of the two U.S. generals who oversaw the evacuation, told lawmakers that the administration’s insistence at keeping the embassy open and fully operational was the “fatal flaw that created what happened in August,” according to the report.The committee report claims that State Department officials went as far as watering down or “even completely rewriting reports” from heads of diplomatic security and the Department of Defense that had warned of the threats to U.S. personnel as the withdrawal date got closer.“We were still in planning” when Kabul fell, Perez, the senior U.S. diplomat, testified to the committee.<h2>___</h2>

Read the new report on the disastrous end to US war in Afghanistan

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-earl-jones">James Earl Jones,</a>&nbsp;who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.

His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.

The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0c663181fccc4be5a06b6f63670fc7d6/james-earl-jones-happy-receive-voice-icon-award">deep into his 80s,</a>&nbsp;won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-earl-jones-james-earl-jones-august-wilson-b4056d456fb32a19657d1b9ff39ee0d6">Broadway theater was renamed</a>&nbsp;in his honor.

He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/f5220b7049444bc9ab4e273edf022cba">a Broadway run of “The Gin Game”</a>&nbsp;having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.

“The need to storytell has always been with us,” he told The Associated Press then. “I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."

Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams,” the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit “The Great White Hope,” the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-entertainment-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-3064de5f4a327209306fda7df7d25f14">writer Alex Haley</a>&nbsp;in “Roots: The Next Generation” and a South African minister in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (“No, I am your father,” commonly misremembered as “Luke, I am your father”), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in Disney's animated “The Lion King” and announcing “This is CNN” during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the “Great American Documents” audiobook.

“If you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the payment in these streets looks for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,” Samuel L. Jackson once said.

Some of his other films include “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Greatest” (with Muhammad Ali), “Conan the Barbarian,” “Three Fugitives” and playing an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations — “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” In a rare romantic comedy, “Claudine,” Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958’s “Sunrise At Campobello” and would win his two Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” (1969) and “Fences” (1987). He also was nominated for “On Golden Pond” (2005) and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.”

As a rising stage and television actor, he appeared in “As the World Turns” in 1965, one of the first Black actors to have such role on daytime TV. He performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in “Othello,” “Macbeth” and “King Lear” and in off-Broadway plays.

Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725918777492.png" alt="FILE - James Earl Jones arrives at the American Theatre Wing benefit to honor CBS and Leslie Moonves, Chairman of CBS, Monday, April 11, 2005, in New York. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning, Sept. 9, 2024, at home. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - James Earl Jones arrives at the American Theatre Wing benefit to honor CBS and Leslie Moonves, Chairman of CBS, Monday, April 11, 2005, in New York. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning, Sept. 9, 2024, at home. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-earl-jones">James Earl Jones,</a>&nbsp;who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0c663181fccc4be5a06b6f63670fc7d6/james-earl-jones-happy-receive-voice-icon-award">deep into his 80s,</a>&nbsp;won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-earl-jones-james-earl-jones-august-wilson-b4056d456fb32a19657d1b9ff39ee0d6">Broadway theater was renamed</a>&nbsp;in his honor.He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/f5220b7049444bc9ab4e273edf022cba">a Broadway run of “The Gin Game”</a>&nbsp;having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.“The need to storytell has always been with us,” he told The Associated Press then. “I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams,” the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit “The Great White Hope,” the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-entertainment-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-3064de5f4a327209306fda7df7d25f14">writer Alex Haley</a>&nbsp;in “Roots: The Next Generation” and a South African minister in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (“No, I am your father,” commonly misremembered as “Luke, I am your father”), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in Disney's animated “The Lion King” and announcing “This is CNN” during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the “Great American Documents” audiobook.“If you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the payment in these streets looks for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,” Samuel L. Jackson once said.Some of his other films include “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Greatest” (with Muhammad Ali), “Conan the Barbarian,” “Three Fugitives” and playing an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations — “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” In a rare romantic comedy, “Claudine,” Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958’s “Sunrise At Campobello” and would win his two Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” (1969) and “Fences” (1987). He also was nominated for “On Golden Pond” (2005) and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.”As a rising stage and television actor, he appeared in “As the World Turns” in 1965, one of the first Black actors to have such role on daytime TV. He performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in “Othello,” “Macbeth” and “King Lear” and in off-Broadway plays.Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.When Jones was 6, his mother took him to her parents' farm near Manistee, Michigan. His grandparents adopted the boy and raised him.“A world ended for me, the safe world of childhood,” Jones wrote in his autobiography, “Voices and Silences.” “The move from Mississippi to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter.”Too embarrassed to speak, he remained virtually mute for years, communicating with teachers and fellow students with handwritten notes. A sympathetic high school teacher, Donald Crouch, learned that the boy wrote poetry, and demanded that Jones read one of his poems aloud in class. He did so faultlessly.Teacher and student worked together to restore the boy’s normal speech. “I could not get enough of speaking, debating, orating — acting,” he recalled in his book.At the University of Michigan, he failed a pre-med exam and switched to drama, also playing four seasons of basketball. He served in the Army from 1953 to 1955.In New York, he moved in with his father and enrolled with the American Theater Wing program for young actors. Father and son waxed floors to support themselves while looking for acting jobs.True stardom came suddenly in 1970 with “The Great White Hope.” Howard Sackler’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play depicted the struggles of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, amid the racism of early 20th-century America. In 1972, Jones repeated his role in the movie version and was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor.Jones’ two wives were also actors. He married Julienne Marie Hendricks in 1967. After their divorce, he married Cecilia Hart, best known for her role as Stacey Erickson in the CBS police drama “Paris,” in 1982. (She died in 2016.) They had a son, Flynn Earl, born in 1983.In 2022, the Cort Theatre on Broadway&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-earl-jones-james-b2ede81ef88bedef4d17a8f08570b9dd">was renamed after Jones,</a>&nbsp;with a ceremony that included Norm Lewis singing “Go the Distance,” Brian Stokes Mitchell singing “Make Them Hear You” and words from Mayor Eric Adams, Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.“You can’t think of an artist that has served America more,” director Kenny Leon told the AP. “It’s like it seems like a small act, but it’s a huge action. It’s something we can look up and see that’s tangible.”Citing his stutter as one of the reasons he wasn’t a political activist, Jones nonetheless hoped his art could change minds.“I realized early on, from people like Athol Fugard, that you cannot change anybody’s mind, no matter what you do,” he told the AP. “As a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.”