At 4p.m. Saturday Hutchinson Fire Chief Steve Beer provided an update.

Shortly before 9:30 Saturday, fire crews were called to Steffens
Auto Parts, near Avenue E and Main Street,  on the report of a natural gas odor. Officials say that the initial units
to the scene witnessed the building exploding. 

Crews say that the occupants in the structure were out of
the building. 

The fire was being fed by a 10-inch natural gas line. Officials
say that the body of the fire is under control, but the street caught fire due to the gas leak.&nbsp; 

Hutchinson Fire Department crews were forced to take a
defensive stance and used unmanned water streams to fight the fire.&nbsp; 

Mayor Stacy Goss said that all the City of Hutchinson fire
crews are deployed along with crews from Reno County Fire District Number 3,
Buhler and South Hutchinson fire departments. 

The area between Avenue A and Frank Hart Crossing and Popular
Street and Adams Street are currently under an evacuation.&nbsp; 

There has been an evacuation and warming center set up at
the Salvation which is located at 700 North Walnut. 

Kansas Gas and Evergy have crews on the scene monitoring the
evacuated buildings. Kansas Gas released a statement to Hutch Post:

“Our crews have responded to 428 S. Main in Hutchinson,
Kansas and are working with the Hutchison Fire Department and local emergency
responders. More information will be released once officials have completed
their investigation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The primary concern of Kansas Gas Service is safety. As a
precautionary measure, the area around the location is being isolated and
secured.&nbsp;

Officials told member of the community, if you smell natural gas, leave the area immediately then
call 911 and our Emergency Line 888-482-4950. Do not use any electrical
equipment such as phones, garage doors, or light switches until you are a safe
distance away from the odor.”

Check the Post for additional information as it becomes available. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740255614106.jpeg" alt="Photo Courtesy Hutchinson Fire Department " />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Hutchinson Fire Department </figcaption>
 </figure>At 4p.m. Saturday Hutchinson Fire Chief Steve Beer provided an update.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHutchinsonFireDept%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0V9fN3uxRBABUbmwp4EuBNz4m369n4epbxmGBdcdyK3Lz85oheuEMzTfuRseBejMZl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="997" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Shortly before 9:30 Saturday, fire crews were called to Steffens
Auto Parts, near Avenue E and Main Street, on the report of a natural gas odor. Officials say that the initial units
to the scene witnessed the building exploding. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740258355524.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Crews say that the occupants in the structure were out of
the building. The fire was being fed by a 10-inch natural gas line. Officials
say that the body of the fire is under control, but the street caught fire due to the gas leak.&nbsp; Hutchinson Fire Department crews were forced to take a
defensive stance and used unmanned water streams to fight the fire.&nbsp; Mayor Stacy Goss said that all the City of Hutchinson fire
crews are deployed along with crews from Reno County Fire District Number 3,
Buhler and South Hutchinson fire departments. <div><iframe title="Mayor Fire Presser" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=s9ejx-1811a48-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>The area between Avenue A and Frank Hart Crossing and Popular
Street and Adams Street are currently under an evacuation.&nbsp; There has been an evacuation and warming center set up at
the Salvation which is located at 700 North Walnut. Kansas Gas and Evergy have crews on the scene monitoring the
evacuated buildings. Kansas Gas released a statement to Hutch Post:“Our crews have responded to 428 S. Main in Hutchinson,
Kansas and are working with the Hutchison Fire Department and local emergency
responders. More information will be released once officials have completed
their investigation.&nbsp;&nbsp;The primary concern of Kansas Gas Service is safety. As a
precautionary measure, the area around the location is being isolated and
secured.&nbsp;Officials told member of the community, if you smell natural gas, leave the area immediately then
call 911 and our Emergency Line 888-482-4950. Do not use any electrical
equipment such as phones, garage doors, or light switches until you are a safe
distance away from the odor.”Check the Post for additional information as it becomes available.

Fire evacuation order in Hutchinson after gas leak, building explosion

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market.

Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

Sales rose 2% compared with January last year, marking the fourth straight annual increase. The latest home sales, however, fell short of the 4.11 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.

“Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains a major challenge.”

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly fell to a 2-year low last September, but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year. That’s more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago.

Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. They accounted for 28% of all homes sold last month, matching the share in January 2024, but down from 31% in December. The annual share of first-time buyers fell last year to a record-low 24%. It’s been 40% historically.

Home shoppers who could afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay all-cash to sidestep financing altogether had more homes to choose from last month.

There were 1.18 million unsold homes at the end of last month, up 3.5% from December and up 16.8% from January last year, NAR said.

That translates to a 3.5-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.2-month pace in December and a 3-month pace at the end of January last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

One reason the inventory of homes for sale has been rising is properties are taking longer to sell.

Homes typically remained on the market for 41 days in January before selling — the longest since before the pandemic. In December, homes were typically on the market 35 days before they sold.

Despite the improved inventory, sellers still generally have the edge over buyers.

Some 15% of homes purchased last month sold for above their list price. And, on average, homes received 2.6 offers last month, Yun said.

Mortgage rates are not expected to come down significantly in the first half of the year, but slight dips could prompt some eager buyers to act, taking advantage of the growing number of homes on the market.”

Also make note of this, as I did in the Mortgage Rates story:&nbsp;However, as rates remain stubbornly stuck close to 7%, prospective homebuyers remain hesitant. The Mortgage Bankers Association released data&nbsp; showing that mortgage applications declined by 6.6% this week, falling to their lowest level of the year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714414768839.jpeg" alt="(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)" />
 <figcaption>(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY ALEX VEIGALOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market.Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.Sales rose 2% compared with January last year, marking the fourth straight annual increase. The latest home sales, however, fell short of the 4.11 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.“Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains a major challenge.”The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly fell to a 2-year low last September, but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year. That’s more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago.Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. They accounted for 28% of all homes sold last month, matching the share in January 2024, but down from 31% in December. The annual share of first-time buyers fell last year to a record-low 24%. It’s been 40% historically.Home shoppers who could afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay all-cash to sidestep financing altogether had more homes to choose from last month.There were 1.18 million unsold homes at the end of last month, up 3.5% from December and up 16.8% from January last year, NAR said.That translates to a 3.5-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.2-month pace in December and a 3-month pace at the end of January last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.One reason the inventory of homes for sale has been rising is properties are taking longer to sell.Homes typically remained on the market for 41 days in January before selling — the longest since before the pandemic. In December, homes were typically on the market 35 days before they sold.Despite the improved inventory, sellers still generally have the edge over buyers.Some 15% of homes purchased last month sold for above their list price. And, on average, homes received 2.6 offers last month, Yun said.Mortgage rates are not expected to come down significantly in the first half of the year, but slight dips could prompt some eager buyers to act, taking advantage of the growing number of homes on the market.”Also make note of this, as I did in the Mortgage Rates story:&nbsp;However, as rates remain stubbornly stuck close to 7%, prospective homebuyers remain hesitant. The Mortgage Bankers Association released data&nbsp; showing that mortgage applications declined by 6.6% this week, falling to their lowest level of the year.

January home sales fall as high mortgage rates freeze out would-be buyers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be looking at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-d0e1efce41bb42ba9cdf1f34dc3f7e5c">Fort Knox</a>, the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves, to make sure the gold is still there.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says there is an audit every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.”

The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the United States since 1937 and has become synonymous for secure and well protected. Along with protecting gold reserves, Fort Knox is currently also used as the Army's human resources command center, and it hosts the Army's largest annual training event each summer.

The Army post is about 35 miles south of Louisville and encompasses 109,000 acres in three Kentucky counties — Bullitt, Hardin, and Mead.

Camp Knox was established during World War I and became an artillery training center, according to the Army post's website. It was made a permanent installation in 1932 and has been known since then as Fort Knox. The first gold arrived at Fort Knox in 1937 with the 1st Cavalry Regiment called on to guard the shipment.

With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the Army created the Armored Force at Fort Knox, and thousands of soldiers were ordered there and introduced to the tank. For nearly 80 years, the post was known as the “Home of Cavalry and Armor.”

In 2005, the Army decided to move the Armor Center and School to Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Human Resource Command Center of Excellence was established at Fort Knox. In 2013, ROTC Cadet Summer Training was consolidated at Fort Knox. The post hosts the Army's largest annual training event each summer.

According to the U.S. Mint, current gold holdings at the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox are 147.3 million ounces. About half of the Treasury’s stored gold is kept at Fort Knox.

Has the gold ever been removed? The Mint says only very small quantities have been removed to test the purity of the gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the depository for many years. The gold's book value is $42.22 per ounce.

The depository is very secure. The actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault.

What is known publicly is that the facility was built in 1936 using 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel. The facility is heavily guarded and has broken its strict policy of not allowing visitors only three times.

Has anyone been allowed to see the gold reserves?

In 1974, the US Mint opened the vaults to a group of journalists and a congressional delegation so they could see the gold reserves. The Treasury secretary allowed the visit after persistent rumors that the gold had been removed. Until then, the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Since then, the vaults have been opened one other time: In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and congressional representatives. Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he would happily arrange an inspection for any senator who is interested in seeing the vaults.

The gold depository at Fort Knox has a reputation for being impenetrable, which has gained it a place in popular culture. As early as 1952, a Looney Tunes cartoon featured Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam digging for gold Fort Knox. Fort Knox has also been featured in the plot of movies such as the 1964 James Bond spy thriller “Goldfinger” and the 1981 comedy “Stripes,” which was partially filmed at the post.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740087191250.png" alt="President Trump on Air Force One: "We're going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there. If there gold isn't there, we're going to be very upset."" />
 <figcaption>President Trump on Air Force One: "We're going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there. If there gold isn't there, we're going to be very upset."</figcaption>
 </figure>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be looking at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-d0e1efce41bb42ba9cdf1f34dc3f7e5c">Fort Knox</a>, the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves, to make sure the gold is still there.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President Trump on Air Force One: &quot;We&#39;re going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there. If there gold isn&#39;t there, we&#39;re going to be very upset.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sujfQRLLDY">pic.twitter.com/sujfQRLLDY</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1892426998221279378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says there is an audit every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.”The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the United States since 1937 and has become synonymous for secure and well protected. Along with protecting gold reserves, Fort Knox is currently also used as the Army's human resources command center, and it hosts the Army's largest annual training event each summer.<h2>Fort Knox history and location</h2>The Army post is about 35 miles south of Louisville and encompasses 109,000 acres in three Kentucky counties — Bullitt, Hardin, and Mead.Camp Knox was established during World War I and became an artillery training center, according to the Army post's website. It was made a permanent installation in 1932 and has been known since then as Fort Knox. The first gold arrived at Fort Knox in 1937 with the 1st Cavalry Regiment called on to guard the shipment.With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the Army created the Armored Force at Fort Knox, and thousands of soldiers were ordered there and introduced to the tank. For nearly 80 years, the post was known as the “Home of Cavalry and Armor.”In 2005, the Army decided to move the Armor Center and School to Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Human Resource Command Center of Excellence was established at Fort Knox. In 2013, ROTC Cadet Summer Training was consolidated at Fort Knox. The post hosts the Army's largest annual training event each summer.<h2>How much gold is stored at Fort Knox</h2>According to the U.S. Mint, current gold holdings at the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox are 147.3 million ounces. About half of the Treasury’s stored gold is kept at Fort Knox.Has the gold ever been removed? The Mint says only very small quantities have been removed to test the purity of the gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the depository for many years. The gold's book value is $42.22 per ounce.<h2>Just how secure is Fort Knox</h2>The depository is very secure. The actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault.What is known publicly is that the facility was built in 1936 using 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel. The facility is heavily guarded and has broken its strict policy of not allowing visitors only three times.<h2>Has anyone been allowed to see the gold reserves?</h2>In 1974, the US Mint opened the vaults to a group of journalists and a congressional delegation so they could see the gold reserves. The Treasury secretary allowed the visit after persistent rumors that the gold had been removed. Until then, the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.Since then, the vaults have been opened one other time: In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and congressional representatives. Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he would happily arrange an inspection for any senator who is interested in seeing the vaults.<h2>Fort Knox in popular lexicon</h2>The gold depository at Fort Knox has a reputation for being impenetrable, which has gained it a place in popular culture. As early as 1952, a Looney Tunes cartoon featured Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam digging for gold Fort Knox. Fort Knox has also been featured in the plot of movies such as the 1964 James Bond spy thriller “Goldfinger” and the 1981 comedy “Stripes,” which was partially filmed at the post.

🎥Trump: We're going to check the Fort Knox gold depository

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

Many policies are symbolic, meant to reassure residents that the city isn’t taking part in immigration enforcement.

Even as the Trump administration criticizes state and local sanctuary policies as an impediment to its deportation aims, officials touting the policies are finding there isn’t much they can do to prevent immigration arrests.

Some states and counties are nonetheless defending their sanctuary policies as a way to slow arrests, especially for purely immigration-related offenses, and to assure residents that local leaders are not taking part in the Trump administration’s deportation plans.

Localities in Connecticut, Oregon and Washington joined a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfcityattorney.org/2025/02/07/san-francisco-leads-lawsuit-protecting-sanctuary-jurisdictions-from-illegal-federal-overreach/" target="_blank">February lawsuit</a>&nbsp;led by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California against a Trump administration executive order calling for defunding cities with sanctuary policies, calling the order “illegal and authoritarian.” California is also&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2024/12/sanctuary-cities-san-diego-letter/" target="_blank">preparing to defend</a>&nbsp;its state policies limiting cooperation with immigration authorities, based on a 2017 law that withstood a court challenge under the first Trump administration.

The laws under scrutiny generally limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The policies either prevent local officials from holding prisoners for immigration arrests or, alternatively, from notifying immigration authorities what time prisoners will be released, so federal agents can arrest them on immigration charges that could lead to deportation. There are generally exceptions for some serious crimes.

Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle — all high-profile sanctuary locations — are among the cities that have seen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/are-cities-ice-raids-are-taking-place-rcna189390" target="_blank">Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests</a>.

ICE can always find other ways to arrest a person, but it’s harder without local cooperation.

“You’re adding to the time and expense and resources ICE needs,” said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank devoted to immigration policy.

She noted a 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/california-trust-act-reduced-deportations" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggesting that deportations fell in California after a 2013 law limited cooperation with ICE for minor and immigration crimes, though they later rose again.

“There is suggestive evidence that sanctuary policies reduce deportations but many reasons to also be skeptical of big effects,” the report concluded.

Most deportation arrests happen when ICE agents get fingerprint records from jails, whether run by city governments or independently elected sheriffs as they are in many counties, and identify people subject to court deportation orders. All jails regardless of sanctuary policy send the fingerprints for federal background checks during the booking process.

Still, federal officials complain that sanctuary policies can force them to arrest people on the street where it’s more dangerous and time-consuming than a transfer of custody inside a jail.

That happened recently in heavily Democratic Tompkins County in upstate New York, where the county and the city of Ithaca reaffirmed their sanctuary policies after criticism by the Trump administration.

A man who had been held in the county’s jail since 2023 was released on a judge’s order in late January, before ICE agents could arrive to arrest him for deportation. Several agencies, including state police, later arrested him in a parking lot in a show of force, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://cnycentral.com/news/local/federal-government-challenges-ithacas-sanctuary-city-policy-with-arrest" target="_blank">local press accounts</a>.

The 27-year-old man, a citizen of Mexico, had been identified for deportation in early January because he had returned to the United States after being deported seven times in 2016. He pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer and a jail guard and was sentenced to time served.

After the ICE arrest, acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove criticized the county, writing in a Jan. 30&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/violent-illegal-alien-arrested-after-release-local-jail-despite-federal-arrest-warrant" target="_blank">statement</a>: “We will use every tool at our disposal to prevent sanctuary city policies from impeding and obstructing lawful federal operations designed to make America safe again.”

Tompkins County Attorney Maury Josephson, in a statement to Stateline, called Bove’s statement “false and offensive.” Josephson wrote that the sheriff, Derek Osborne, had notified ICE about the prisoner’s release and that federal agents “had every opportunity to come to the jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident.”

Many sanctuary policies are mostly symbolic, meant to assure residents that the city isn’t taking part in federal immigration enforcement. Many policies say city employees will not ask about immigration status when people seek services.

Some sanctuary policies can help indirectly fight deportations by providing legal help and advice for immigrants on how to respond to questions from federal agents, said Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, a supervisory policy and practice counsel for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“There have been some steps forward in creating an immigration public defender system, but it’s not available at the federal level yet,” Ibañez Whitlock said. That can make it tricky when an immigration prisoner is moved to another state for detention, and they could lose their legal representation, she said.

Sanctuary policies also aim to improve public safety by assuring immigrants it’s safe for them to report and help investigate crimes. Often the policies forbid asking questions about immigration status for people seeking services.

“For us it’s simple. We are striving to create a culture of trust and security within our communities so that our residents know that they can come to the county when they are in need or when they can be of help,” said Tony LoPresti, county counsel for Santa Clara County, California, during a news conference announcing the San Francisco lawsuit this month.

“That includes feeling safe coming to local law enforcement to report crimes or to participate in investigations without fearing that they or their loved ones face deportation,” LoPresti added.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740147958319.png" alt="U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a><h2>Many policies are symbolic, meant to reassure residents that the city isn’t taking part in immigration enforcement.</h2>Even as the Trump administration criticizes state and local sanctuary policies as an impediment to its deportation aims, officials touting the policies are finding there isn’t much they can do to prevent immigration arrests.Some states and counties are nonetheless defending their sanctuary policies as a way to slow arrests, especially for purely immigration-related offenses, and to assure residents that local leaders are not taking part in the Trump administration’s deportation plans.Localities in Connecticut, Oregon and Washington joined a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfcityattorney.org/2025/02/07/san-francisco-leads-lawsuit-protecting-sanctuary-jurisdictions-from-illegal-federal-overreach/" target="_blank">February lawsuit</a>&nbsp;led by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California against a Trump administration executive order calling for defunding cities with sanctuary policies, calling the order “illegal and authoritarian.” California is also&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2024/12/sanctuary-cities-san-diego-letter/" target="_blank">preparing to defend</a>&nbsp;its state policies limiting cooperation with immigration authorities, based on a 2017 law that withstood a court challenge under the first Trump administration.The laws under scrutiny generally limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The policies either prevent local officials from holding prisoners for immigration arrests or, alternatively, from notifying immigration authorities what time prisoners will be released, so federal agents can arrest them on immigration charges that could lead to deportation. There are generally exceptions for some serious crimes.Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle — all high-profile sanctuary locations — are among the cities that have seen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/are-cities-ice-raids-are-taking-place-rcna189390" target="_blank">Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests</a>.ICE can always find other ways to arrest a person, but it’s harder without local cooperation.“You’re adding to the time and expense and resources ICE needs,” said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank devoted to immigration policy.She noted a 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/california-trust-act-reduced-deportations" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggesting that deportations fell in California after a 2013 law limited cooperation with ICE for minor and immigration crimes, though they later rose again.“There is suggestive evidence that sanctuary policies reduce deportations but many reasons to also be skeptical of big effects,” the report concluded.Most deportation arrests happen when ICE agents get fingerprint records from jails, whether run by city governments or independently elected sheriffs as they are in many counties, and identify people subject to court deportation orders. All jails regardless of sanctuary policy send the fingerprints for federal background checks during the booking process.Still, federal officials complain that sanctuary policies can force them to arrest people on the street where it’s more dangerous and time-consuming than a transfer of custody inside a jail.That happened recently in heavily Democratic Tompkins County in upstate New York, where the county and the city of Ithaca reaffirmed their sanctuary policies after criticism by the Trump administration.A man who had been held in the county’s jail since 2023 was released on a judge’s order in late January, before ICE agents could arrive to arrest him for deportation. Several agencies, including state police, later arrested him in a parking lot in a show of force, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://cnycentral.com/news/local/federal-government-challenges-ithacas-sanctuary-city-policy-with-arrest" target="_blank">local press accounts</a>.The 27-year-old man, a citizen of Mexico, had been identified for deportation in early January because he had returned to the United States after being deported seven times in 2016. He pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer and a jail guard and was sentenced to time served.After the ICE arrest, acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove criticized the county, writing in a Jan. 30&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/violent-illegal-alien-arrested-after-release-local-jail-despite-federal-arrest-warrant" target="_blank">statement</a>: “We will use every tool at our disposal to prevent sanctuary city policies from impeding and obstructing lawful federal operations designed to make America safe again.”Tompkins County Attorney Maury Josephson, in a statement to Stateline, called Bove’s statement “false and offensive.” Josephson wrote that the sheriff, Derek Osborne, had notified ICE about the prisoner’s release and that federal agents “had every opportunity to come to the jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident.”Many sanctuary policies are mostly symbolic, meant to assure residents that the city isn’t taking part in federal immigration enforcement. Many policies say city employees will not ask about immigration status when people seek services.Some sanctuary policies can help indirectly fight deportations by providing legal help and advice for immigrants on how to respond to questions from federal agents, said Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, a supervisory policy and practice counsel for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.“There have been some steps forward in creating an immigration public defender system, but it’s not available at the federal level yet,” Ibañez Whitlock said. That can make it tricky when an immigration prisoner is moved to another state for detention, and they could lose their legal representation, she said.Sanctuary policies also aim to improve public safety by assuring immigrants it’s safe for them to report and help investigate crimes. Often the policies forbid asking questions about immigration status for people seeking services.“For us it’s simple. We are striving to create a culture of trust and security within our communities so that our residents know that they can come to the county when they are in need or when they can be of help,” said Tony LoPresti, county counsel for Santa Clara County, California, during a news conference announcing the San Francisco lawsuit this month.“That includes feeling safe coming to local law enforcement to report crimes or to participate in investigations without fearing that they or their loved ones face deportation,” LoPresti added.

Even sanctuary policies can’t stop ICE arrests

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

TOPEKA — An intense confrontation between a Republican and Democrat on the Kansas House floor Thursday during a gun debate forced the chamber into a two-hour recess as leadership worked to deescalate tensions.

Democrats accused&nbsp;Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, of trying to start a fight with Rep. Ford Carr, a Wichita Democrat, by launching obscenities at Carr. The confrontation took place at Carr’s desk on the House floor.

The incident happened during debate over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2104/" target="_blank">House Bill 2104,</a>&nbsp;which would require school districts to implement an NRA program known as Eddie Eagle in public elementary schools, starting in kindergarten, if the schools want to teach gun safety. It was among dozens of bills the House has debated this week ahead of a deadline to advance legislation.

Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, interrupted legislators debating the NRA curriculum bill and called for a point of order, citing “a need for decorum.” Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, then came to the front of the House chamber and asked for Hoheisel to be admonished.

“While I did not observe everything that occurred, I heard exactly what happened,” Carmichael said. “The member strolled through the Democratic seats using profanity, and in my view, from what I heard, was attempting to incite a fight. And I ask that the member be admonished never to do that again.”

In an interview, Carmichael said Hoheisel thumped a finger on Carr’s desk and repeatedly said, “That’s bulls***.”

After House Republican leadership recessed the House to break the tension, House Democrats banned reporters from a secret meeting at the Capitol to discuss the situation. Kansas Reflector obtained an audio recording of that meeting, in which members raise concerns about Hoheisel’s behavior and whether he was carrying a gun.

Hoheisel declined to comment for this story but disputed claims made by Democrats.

“I’m not going to dignify any of those false and outlandish allegations with a response,” Hoheisel said in a text message.

Carr didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment, but in the secret meeting, he joked about his willingness to get in a fight. Last month, he shoved another Democratic legislator to the ground during a bar fracas with a Wichita councilman. Democrats laughed at the reference during their secret meeting.

“I know that side of the aisle, and they constantly vote for gun rights,” Carr said. “I also know that some of them carry guns. I have one in my office. There’s a strong possibility that that gun will be on my person unless something is done, right?”

Carr continued: “He got up, he came over to me, and he made attacks. I can’t honestly see how someone of his stature would feel comfortable making those kind of attacks at me” — he paused for laughter — “unless, of course, he feels like he has some sort of an equalizer. So at this point, I feel like I need to equal and level the playing field.”

Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat who runs House Democratic caucus meetings, said in the caucus meeting: “I understand what you’re saying along those lines, but what we’re asking is that we deescalate what happened.”

House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, told his caucus: “Everyone needs to breathe.”

“Him coming up to you on the floor and saying that s*** is bull****, but we can’t stoop to the low level of Republicans,” Woodard said during the closed meeting of Democrats.

Several Democrats, including Rep. Heather Meyer, an Overland Park Democrat, said they didn’t feel safe on the House floor.

Meyer asked her fellow Democrats “to remember that some of us have extensive, long-term trauma from gun violence, and we need to be chill.”

“This kind of talk makes me nervous, makes me not want to go back on the floor today, makes me want to go the f*** home,” Meyer said. “I am done with gun violence, and I just need you guys to remember that. Because I’m sitting here listening to this conversation thinking if I even want to be here, because it’s f***ing scary, and I am tired of being put in the line of fire.”

When the House reconvened, with a larger than usual Capitol Police presence on the floor, Republican leadership canceled the scheduled votes on the Eddie Eagle bill, as well as a proposed constitutional amendment that would assert a God-given right to own guns, ammunition and firearm accessories.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, and Woodard issued a joint statement on the “events that transpired on the House floor,” but didn’t respond to a request to explain what happened.

“The House of Representatives remains focused on the 2025 legislative session and completing the work we have been sent here to do,” they said in the joint statement. “The legislative session is an immense undertaking that requires a unified effort. We appreciate the continued dedication of our House members to the people of Kansas.”

Carmichael, who said he declined to participate in the meeting of House Democrats because it wasn’t open to the press, said Republican leadership did the right thing in the moment by shutting down debate and skipping over the gun bills.

“In the longer term,” Carmichael said, “leadership is going to have to have long conversations with some of their members.”

“I do not feel safe on the floor under these circumstances,” Carmichael added. “This situation with immature hotheads with guns on the floor needs to end.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740238444068.png" alt=" Rep. Nick Hoheisel, R-Wichita, checks the voting board during an April 27, 2023, session of the House. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Rep. Nick Hoheisel, R-Wichita, checks the voting board during an April 27, 2023, session of the House. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — An intense confrontation between a Republican and Democrat on the Kansas House floor Thursday during a gun debate forced the chamber into a two-hour recess as leadership worked to deescalate tensions.Democrats accused&nbsp;Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, of trying to start a fight with Rep. Ford Carr, a Wichita Democrat, by launching obscenities at Carr. The confrontation took place at Carr’s desk on the House floor.The incident happened during debate over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2104/" target="_blank">House Bill 2104,</a>&nbsp;which would require school districts to implement an NRA program known as Eddie Eagle in public elementary schools, starting in kindergarten, if the schools want to teach gun safety. It was among dozens of bills the House has debated this week ahead of a deadline to advance legislation.Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, interrupted legislators debating the NRA curriculum bill and called for a point of order, citing “a need for decorum.” Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, then came to the front of the House chamber and asked for Hoheisel to be admonished.“While I did not observe everything that occurred, I heard exactly what happened,” Carmichael said. “The member strolled through the Democratic seats using profanity, and in my view, from what I heard, was attempting to incite a fight. And I ask that the member be admonished never to do that again.”In an interview, Carmichael said Hoheisel thumped a finger on Carr’s desk and repeatedly said, “That’s bulls***.”After House Republican leadership recessed the House to break the tension, House Democrats banned reporters from a secret meeting at the Capitol to discuss the situation. Kansas Reflector obtained an audio recording of that meeting, in which members raise concerns about Hoheisel’s behavior and whether he was carrying a gun.Hoheisel declined to comment for this story but disputed claims made by Democrats.“I’m not going to dignify any of those false and outlandish allegations with a response,” Hoheisel said in a text message.Carr didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment, but in the secret meeting, he joked about his willingness to get in a fight. Last month, he shoved another Democratic legislator to the ground during a bar fracas with a Wichita councilman. Democrats laughed at the reference during their secret meeting.“I know that side of the aisle, and they constantly vote for gun rights,” Carr said. “I also know that some of them carry guns. I have one in my office. There’s a strong possibility that that gun will be on my person unless something is done, right?”Carr continued: “He got up, he came over to me, and he made attacks. I can’t honestly see how someone of his stature would feel comfortable making those kind of attacks at me” — he paused for laughter — “unless, of course, he feels like he has some sort of an equalizer. So at this point, I feel like I need to equal and level the playing field.”Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat who runs House Democratic caucus meetings, said in the caucus meeting: “I understand what you’re saying along those lines, but what we’re asking is that we deescalate what happened.”House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, told his caucus: “Everyone needs to breathe.”“Him coming up to you on the floor and saying that s*** is bull****, but we can’t stoop to the low level of Republicans,” Woodard said during the closed meeting of Democrats.Several Democrats, including Rep. Heather Meyer, an Overland Park Democrat, said they didn’t feel safe on the House floor.Meyer asked her fellow Democrats “to remember that some of us have extensive, long-term trauma from gun violence, and we need to be chill.”“This kind of talk makes me nervous, makes me not want to go back on the floor today, makes me want to go the f*** home,” Meyer said. “I am done with gun violence, and I just need you guys to remember that. Because I’m sitting here listening to this conversation thinking if I even want to be here, because it’s f***ing scary, and I am tired of being put in the line of fire.”When the House reconvened, with a larger than usual Capitol Police presence on the floor, Republican leadership canceled the scheduled votes on the Eddie Eagle bill, as well as a proposed constitutional amendment that would assert a God-given right to own guns, ammunition and firearm accessories.House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, and Woodard issued a joint statement on the “events that transpired on the House floor,” but didn’t respond to a request to explain what happened.“The House of Representatives remains focused on the 2025 legislative session and completing the work we have been sent here to do,” they said in the joint statement. “The legislative session is an immense undertaking that requires a unified effort. We appreciate the continued dedication of our House members to the people of Kansas.”Carmichael, who said he declined to participate in the meeting of House Democrats because it wasn’t open to the press, said Republican leadership did the right thing in the moment by shutting down debate and skipping over the gun bills.“In the longer term,” Carmichael said, “leadership is going to have to have long conversations with some of their members.”“I do not feel safe on the floor under these circumstances,” Carmichael added. “This situation with immature hotheads with guns on the floor needs to end.”

‘Everyone needs to breathe’: Intense confrontation on Kansas House floor forces two-hour recess

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hamas">Hamas</a>&nbsp;freed all six hostages in the latest exchange Saturday, even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-17-2025-c20c9664938b267354c9ac4812621a1e">the fragile ceasefire deal</a>.

The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another abducted while visiting his family in southern Israel when militants stormed across the border in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered Israel’s nearly 16-month campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Two of the hostages had been held by Hamas for around a decade since they each entered Gaza on their own.

Five of the captives were handed over in staged ceremonies that the Red Cross and Israel have condemned in the past — brought out by masked, armed Hamas fighters in front of hundreds of Palestinians before being transferred to Red Cross vehicles.

In the central town of Nuseirat, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters on the stage. A beaming Shem Tov even kissed two militants next to him on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. Hamas has come under heavy criticism for such public displays, with Israel, the U.N. and the Red Cross saying they are cruel and do not respect the dignity of the hostages.

Watching the release, Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered when they saw him for the first time. Shem Tov’s grandmother ululated in joy, shrieking, “Omer, my joy! My life!” as she saw him.

The Israeli military said the final hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was released later Saturday. The Bedouin Israeli crossed on his own into Gaza in 2015 and had been held since. His family has told Israeli media Al-Sayed was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The latest releases, to be followed by the freeing of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, went ahead after tensions mounted over a grisly and heart-wrenching dispute triggered this week when Hamas initially handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-20-2025-4c2ffabae1771cff1a9542fddfaf7d07">an Israeli mother of two young boys</a>&nbsp;abducted by the militants.

The remains that Hamas transferred with her sons’ bodies on Thursday were later determined to be those of an unidentified Palestinian woman. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation,” while Hamas suggested it had been a mistake.

On Friday night, the small militant group believed to have been holding Bibas and her sons — the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades — handed over a second body. Bibas’ family said Israeli forensic authorities had confirmed the remains were hers.

“For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure,” the family said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740232713632.png" alt="Image Hostage and Missing Familes Forum" />
 <figcaption>Image Hostage and Missing Familes Forum</figcaption>
 </figure>TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hamas">Hamas</a>&nbsp;freed all six hostages in the latest exchange Saturday, even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-17-2025-c20c9664938b267354c9ac4812621a1e">the fragile ceasefire deal</a>.The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another abducted while visiting his family in southern Israel when militants stormed across the border in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered Israel’s nearly 16-month campaign in the Gaza Strip.Two of the hostages had been held by Hamas for around a decade since they each entered Gaza on their own.Five of the captives were handed over in staged ceremonies that the Red Cross and Israel have condemned in the past — brought out by masked, armed Hamas fighters in front of hundreds of Palestinians before being transferred to Red Cross vehicles.In the central town of Nuseirat, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters on the stage. A beaming Shem Tov even kissed two militants next to him on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. Hamas has come under heavy criticism for such public displays, with Israel, the U.N. and the Red Cross saying they are cruel and do not respect the dignity of the hostages.Watching the release, Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered when they saw him for the first time. Shem Tov’s grandmother ululated in joy, shrieking, “Omer, my joy! My life!” as she saw him.The Israeli military said the final hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was released later Saturday. The Bedouin Israeli crossed on his own into Gaza in 2015 and had been held since. His family has told Israeli media Al-Sayed was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740048973222.png" alt="Shiri Bibas photo Hostages and Missing Families Forum" />
 <figcaption>Shiri Bibas photo Hostages and Missing Families Forum</figcaption>
 </figure>The latest releases, to be followed by the freeing of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, went ahead after tensions mounted over a grisly and heart-wrenching dispute triggered this week when Hamas initially handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-20-2025-4c2ffabae1771cff1a9542fddfaf7d07">an Israeli mother of two young boys</a>&nbsp;abducted by the militants.The remains that Hamas transferred with her sons’ bodies on Thursday were later determined to be those of an unidentified Palestinian woman. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation,” while Hamas suggested it had been a mistake.On Friday night, the small militant group believed to have been holding Bibas and her sons — the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades — handed over a second body. Bibas’ family said Israeli forensic authorities had confirmed the remains were hers.“For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure,” the family said.

Hamas frees 6 more hostages in the latest exchange with Israel

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for an alleged violent crime.

Just after 3p.m. Feb. 20, police responded to the area of the 3400 Block of SE Indiana Avenue in Topeka for the report of a stabbing.

First responders located two individuals with non-life threatening injuries. These individuals were transported by ambulance to a local area hospital.

A short time later, an individual believed to be involved in the incident was located in the area. This individual, later identified as 58-year-old Bruce A. Bryant of Topeka was taken into custody and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with Detectives.&nbsp;

As a result of the investigation, Bryant was arrested and booked into theShawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Battery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740138279238.png" alt="Bryant photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Bryant photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for an alleged violent crime.Just after 3p.m. Feb. 20, police responded to the area of the 3400 Block of SE Indiana Avenue in Topeka for the report of a stabbing.First responders located two individuals with non-life threatening injuries. These individuals were transported by ambulance to a local area hospital.A short time later, an individual believed to be involved in the incident was located in the area. This individual, later identified as 58-year-old Bruce A. Bryant of Topeka was taken into custody and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with Detectives.&nbsp;As a result of the investigation, Bryant was arrested and booked into theShawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Battery.

Kansas man jailed for knife attack that hospitalized 2 victims

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MAE%20ANDERSON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners that rely on eggs for their products are facing sticker shock because the usually reliable staple is in short supply.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-nevada-strain-06ca2696a3477b7534cc4d6b3a5edfa8">Avian flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions</a>&nbsp;of chickens a month, causing U.S. egg prices to skyrocket.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egg-prices-record-bird-flu-a2394bdefc7bd0514d4f003cc5e8a908">The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities reached $4.95 in January</a>, eclipsing the previous record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the low of $2.04 that was recorded in August 2023. The Agriculture Department predicts prices will soar another 20% this year.

Most owners are taking the increase in stride, looking at it as just one of many hurdles they constantly face. But if the problem persists, they could be forced to raise prices or adjust their products.

Liz Berman is the owner and sole proprietor of The Sleepy Baker in Natick, Massachusetts. She specializes in custom, from-scratch cakes but also sells cupcakes, cookies, pies and other baked goods.

Eggs are just one of the baking ingredients experiencing price shocks. Items such as cocoa powder and butter have gone up as well. And price isn't the only issue.

“It’s not just the cost of eggs, right? It’s also just the availability,” she said. She prefers to buy medium-sized white shelled eggs, buying a box with 18 dozen eggs, but two weeks ago those were unavailable, so she had to buy brown eggs in individual cartons of 12.

“It sounds kind of silly, but when I I’m the sole proprietor and I have a huge volume of work, to have to take a dozen of eggs out of my walk-in at a time as opposed to a flat of eggs, it’s just it’s a pain,” she said.

She doesn't think prices will ease anytime soon. Cocoa powder prices have been elevated for years.

“I think ultimately I’m going to have to increase my prices, which is hard because that’s going to mean that there’s a category of customer that won’t order from me anymore,” she said.

In Princeton, New Jersey, John Nachlinger, owner of the Bad Cookie Company, is imposing a temporary 25 cent per cookie surcharge to help mitigate added costs.

“As cookies are already a tight-margin food, these increases have really hurt our bottom line,” Nachlinger said. He said he doesn't want to permanently raise prices or adjust the size of his cookies since he hopes the egg situation is temporary. “We want to bring value to our customers," he said.

At Daisies, a pasta restaurant in Chicago, chef/partner Joe Frillman and chef/partner Leigh Omilinsky haven't raised prices but are thinking of adjusting menu items.

Omilinsky said she is thinking of adding more vegan and egg-free deserts to the menu and has been working more with flax seeds. She said the shortage has made her more conscious of the ingredients she is using and wasting less.

“You know, if we need egg yolks we are absolutely saving those whites,” she said.

Meanwhile, Frillman said the restaurant has shifted to making pastas that use less eggs.

“We’ve just changed the shape of the noodle,” he said. “We use an extruder which is a piece of equipment that allows us to basically extrude pasta without eggs.”

Depending on how long the egg shortage lasts, they could adjust menu items too, he said.

“We have a pappardelle on our menu that’s been on since day one,” he said. “If this gets to the point where it’s just cost prohibitive, it’s very egg yolk heavy, we would then transfer to something like a spaghetti or a fettuccine that is a similar noodle that we can make without eggs.”

Meanwhile, Stephanie Maynard, co-owner of Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut, faces a different issue: skyrocketing demand.

The farm she owns with her husband produces beef, pork, poultry, eggs and vegetables. They have 950 laying hens, with 300 more coming in March. The winter is generally a quieter time as the farm prepares for busy spring and summer months, increasing the inventory on hand until it is ready to sell. But this year, they're rushing to increase egg production for customers at greenmarkets.

People who might normally buy eggs at supermarkets are turning to greenmarkets due to the shortages, and regular customers are increasing their orders just to make sure they have eggs, she said.

“We have developed a rapport with our customers. I know a lot of them by name and face,” she said. “And now you’re seeing people that you’ve never seen attend a market before. So I'm drawing a lot of new customers in to get eggs at the market.”

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739399659085.png" alt="" />
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 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MAE%20ANDERSON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners that rely on eggs for their products are facing sticker shock because the usually reliable staple is in short supply.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-nevada-strain-06ca2696a3477b7534cc4d6b3a5edfa8">Avian flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions</a>&nbsp;of chickens a month, causing U.S. egg prices to skyrocket.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egg-prices-record-bird-flu-a2394bdefc7bd0514d4f003cc5e8a908">The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities reached $4.95 in January</a>, eclipsing the previous record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the low of $2.04 that was recorded in August 2023. The Agriculture Department predicts prices will soar another 20% this year.Most owners are taking the increase in stride, looking at it as just one of many hurdles they constantly face. But if the problem persists, they could be forced to raise prices or adjust their products.Liz Berman is the owner and sole proprietor of The Sleepy Baker in Natick, Massachusetts. She specializes in custom, from-scratch cakes but also sells cupcakes, cookies, pies and other baked goods.Eggs are just one of the baking ingredients experiencing price shocks. Items such as cocoa powder and butter have gone up as well. And price isn't the only issue.“It’s not just the cost of eggs, right? It’s also just the availability,” she said. She prefers to buy medium-sized white shelled eggs, buying a box with 18 dozen eggs, but two weeks ago those were unavailable, so she had to buy brown eggs in individual cartons of 12.“It sounds kind of silly, but when I I’m the sole proprietor and I have a huge volume of work, to have to take a dozen of eggs out of my walk-in at a time as opposed to a flat of eggs, it’s just it’s a pain,” she said.She doesn't think prices will ease anytime soon. Cocoa powder prices have been elevated for years.“I think ultimately I’m going to have to increase my prices, which is hard because that’s going to mean that there’s a category of customer that won’t order from me anymore,” she said.In Princeton, New Jersey, John Nachlinger, owner of the Bad Cookie Company, is imposing a temporary 25 cent per cookie surcharge to help mitigate added costs.“As cookies are already a tight-margin food, these increases have really hurt our bottom line,” Nachlinger said. He said he doesn't want to permanently raise prices or adjust the size of his cookies since he hopes the egg situation is temporary. “We want to bring value to our customers," he said.At Daisies, a pasta restaurant in Chicago, chef/partner Joe Frillman and chef/partner Leigh Omilinsky haven't raised prices but are thinking of adjusting menu items.Omilinsky said she is thinking of adding more vegan and egg-free deserts to the menu and has been working more with flax seeds. She said the shortage has made her more conscious of the ingredients she is using and wasting less.“You know, if we need egg yolks we are absolutely saving those whites,” she said.Meanwhile, Frillman said the restaurant has shifted to making pastas that use less eggs.“We’ve just changed the shape of the noodle,” he said. “We use an extruder which is a piece of equipment that allows us to basically extrude pasta without eggs.”Depending on how long the egg shortage lasts, they could adjust menu items too, he said.“We have a pappardelle on our menu that’s been on since day one,” he said. “If this gets to the point where it’s just cost prohibitive, it’s very egg yolk heavy, we would then transfer to something like a spaghetti or a fettuccine that is a similar noodle that we can make without eggs.”Meanwhile, Stephanie Maynard, co-owner of Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut, faces a different issue: skyrocketing demand.The farm she owns with her husband produces beef, pork, poultry, eggs and vegetables. They have 950 laying hens, with 300 more coming in March. The winter is generally a quieter time as the farm prepares for busy spring and summer months, increasing the inventory on hand until it is ready to sell. But this year, they're rushing to increase egg production for customers at greenmarkets.People who might normally buy eggs at supermarkets are turning to greenmarkets due to the shortages, and regular customers are increasing their orders just to make sure they have eggs, she said.“We have developed a rapport with our customers. I know a lot of them by name and face,” she said. “And now you’re seeing people that you’ve never seen attend a market before. So I'm drawing a lot of new customers in to get eggs at the market.”

From farms to bakeries, egg shortages and price hikes are challenging small businesses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led by his defense secretary to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-trump-diversity-pentagon-list-602477b6e80641b53f4f9b640a14f4ce">rid the military of leaders who support diversity</a>&nbsp;and equity in the ranks.

The ouster of Brown, only the second Black general to serve as chairman, is sure to send shock waves through the Pentagon. His 16 months in the job had been consumed with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and the expanded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">conflict in the Middle East</a>.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump posted on social media.

Brown’s public support of Black Lives Matter after the police killing of George Floyd had made him fodder for the administration's wars against “wokeism” in the military. His ouster is the latest upheaval at the Pentagon, which plans to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-job-cuts-trump-doge-31e3ed62f5f35a5e5a4a07fd8708232f">cut 5,400 civilian probationary workers</a>&nbsp;starting next week and identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year to redirect those savings to fund Trump’s priorities.

Trump said he's nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next chairman. Caine is a career F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard, and was most recently the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his military biography.

Caine’s military service includes combat roles in Iraq, special operations postings and positions inside some of the Pentagon’s most classified special access programs.

However, he has not had key assignments identified in law as prerequisites for the job, including serving as either the vice chairman, a combatant commander or a service chief. That requirement could be waived if the “president determines such action is necessary in the national interest.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement praising both Caine and Brown, announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife.

Franchetti becomes the second top female military officer to be fired by the Trump administration. Trump fired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-alejandro-mayorkas-us-coast-guard-government-and-politics-8b589577fa03f04f3ce096e2bbf98928">Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan</a>&nbsp;just a day after he was sworn in.

A surface warfare officer, Franchetti has commanded at all levels, heading U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She was the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral, and she did multiple deployments, including as commander of a naval destroyer and two stints as aircraft carrier strike group commander.

Slife led Air Force Special Operations Command prior to becoming the service's vice chief of staff and had deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Trump has asserted his executive authority in a much stronger way in his second term, removing most officials from the Biden administration even though many of those positions are meant to carry over from one administration to the next.

The chairman role was established in 1949 as an adviser to the president and secretary of defense, as a way to filter all of the views of the service chiefs and more readily provide that information to the White House without the president having to reach out to each individual military branch, according to an Atlantic Council briefing written by retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro. The role has no actual command authority.

Trump acted despite support for Brown among key members of Congress and a seemingly friendly meeting with him in mid-December, when the two were seated next to each other for a time at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-navy-football-penny-hegseth-desantis-85da138b3ac130b211afc414bf43514a">Army-Navy football game</a>.

The firing follows days of speculation after a list of officers, including Brown, to be fired was circulated on Capitol Hill — but notably was not sent via any formal notification to either of the Republican chairmen of the House or Senate armed services committees.

Sen. Roger Wicker, GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, didn't mention Caine's name in a statement Friday.

“I thank Chairman Brown for his decades of honorable service to our nation,” Wicker said. “I am confident Secretary Hegseth and President Trump will select a qualified and capable successor for the critical position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Congressional Democratic leaders called out the firings as a direct attempt to politicize the military.

“A professional, apolitical military that is subordinate to the civilian government and supportive of the Constitution rather than a political party is essential to the survival of our democracy," Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement late Friday. “For the sake of our troops and the well-being of every American, elected leaders — especially Senate Republicans — must defend that enduring principle against corrosive attempts to remake the military into a partisan force.”

Brown’s future was called into question during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-hearing-senate-defense-pentagon-trump-37d0961eb63d824cae8d4478cb12e412">confirmation hearing for Hegseth</a>&nbsp;last month. Asked if he would fire Brown, Hegseth responded, “Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given.”

Hegseth had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e">previously taken aim at Brown</a>. “First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs,” he said flatly in a podcast in November. And in one of his books, he questioned whether Brown got the job because he was Black.

“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” Hegseth wrote.

As he walked into the Pentagon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-priorities-border-budget-3227111b703be8a90ad93da289784932">on his first day as defense chief</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 27, Hegseth was asked directly if he planned to fire Brown.

“I’m standing with him right now,” said Hegseth, patting Brown on the back. “Look forward to working with him.”

Brown, who spent Friday visiting troops at the U.S.-Mexico border, drew attention to himself for speaking out about the death of George Floyd in 2020. While he knew it was risky, he said, discussions with his wife and sons about the killing convinced him he needed to say something.

As protests roiled the nation, Brown posted a video message to the Air Force titled, “Here’s What I’m Thinking About.” He described the pressures that came with being one of the few Black men in his unit. He recalled pushing himself “to perform error-free” as a pilot and officer his whole life, but still facing bias. He said he’d been questioned about his credentials, even when he wore the same flight suit and wings as every other pilot.

Brown’s path to the chairmanship was troubled — he was among the more than 260 senior military officers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-military-promotion-tuberville-alabama-8269bbc6a8a7bbb0eabbbba6f1a27787">whose nominations were stalled for months</a>&nbsp;by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. But when the Senate vote was finally taken in September 2023, Brown easily was confirmed by a vote of 89-8.

It had been 30 years since Colin Powell became the first Black chairman, serving from 1989 to 1993. But while African Americans made up 17.2% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members, only 9% of officers were Black, according to a 2021 Defense Department report.

Brown’s service as chairman made history in that this was the first time that both the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman were Black.

However, he has not had key assignments identified in law as prerequisites for the job, including serving as either the vice chairman, as a combatant commander or a service chief. That requirement could be waived if the “president determines such action is necessary in the national interest.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738070098080.png" alt="File photo-Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his first day of work at the Pentagon.-courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo-Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his first day of work at the Pentagon.-courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led by his defense secretary to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-trump-diversity-pentagon-list-602477b6e80641b53f4f9b640a14f4ce">rid the military of leaders who support diversity</a>&nbsp;and equity in the ranks.The ouster of Brown, only the second Black general to serve as chairman, is sure to send shock waves through the Pentagon. His 16 months in the job had been consumed with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and the expanded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">conflict in the Middle East</a>.“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump posted on social media.Brown’s public support of Black Lives Matter after the police killing of George Floyd had made him fodder for the administration's wars against “wokeism” in the military. His ouster is the latest upheaval at the Pentagon, which plans to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-job-cuts-trump-doge-31e3ed62f5f35a5e5a4a07fd8708232f">cut 5,400 civilian probationary workers</a>&nbsp;starting next week and identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year to redirect those savings to fund Trump’s priorities.Trump said he's nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next chairman. Caine is a career F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard, and was most recently the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his military biography.Caine’s military service includes combat roles in Iraq, special operations postings and positions inside some of the Pentagon’s most classified special access programs.However, he has not had key assignments identified in law as prerequisites for the job, including serving as either the vice chairman, a combatant commander or a service chief. That requirement could be waived if the “president determines such action is necessary in the national interest.”<h2>More Pentagon firings</h2>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement praising both Caine and Brown, announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife.Franchetti becomes the second top female military officer to be fired by the Trump administration. Trump fired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-alejandro-mayorkas-us-coast-guard-government-and-politics-8b589577fa03f04f3ce096e2bbf98928">Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan</a>&nbsp;just a day after he was sworn in.A surface warfare officer, Franchetti has commanded at all levels, heading U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She was the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral, and she did multiple deployments, including as commander of a naval destroyer and two stints as aircraft carrier strike group commander.Slife led Air Force Special Operations Command prior to becoming the service's vice chief of staff and had deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan.Trump has asserted his executive authority in a much stronger way in his second term, removing most officials from the Biden administration even though many of those positions are meant to carry over from one administration to the next.The chairman role was established in 1949 as an adviser to the president and secretary of defense, as a way to filter all of the views of the service chiefs and more readily provide that information to the White House without the president having to reach out to each individual military branch, according to an Atlantic Council briefing written by retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro. The role has no actual command authority.Trump acted despite support for Brown among key members of Congress and a seemingly friendly meeting with him in mid-December, when the two were seated next to each other for a time at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-navy-football-penny-hegseth-desantis-85da138b3ac130b211afc414bf43514a">Army-Navy football game</a>.The firing follows days of speculation after a list of officers, including Brown, to be fired was circulated on Capitol Hill — but notably was not sent via any formal notification to either of the Republican chairmen of the House or Senate armed services committees.Sen. Roger Wicker, GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, didn't mention Caine's name in a statement Friday.“I thank Chairman Brown for his decades of honorable service to our nation,” Wicker said. “I am confident Secretary Hegseth and President Trump will select a qualified and capable successor for the critical position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”Congressional Democratic leaders called out the firings as a direct attempt to politicize the military.“A professional, apolitical military that is subordinate to the civilian government and supportive of the Constitution rather than a political party is essential to the survival of our democracy," Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement late Friday. “For the sake of our troops and the well-being of every American, elected leaders — especially Senate Republicans — must defend that enduring principle against corrosive attempts to remake the military into a partisan force.”<h2>Brown risked discussing race</h2>Brown’s future was called into question during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-hearing-senate-defense-pentagon-trump-37d0961eb63d824cae8d4478cb12e412">confirmation hearing for Hegseth</a>&nbsp;last month. Asked if he would fire Brown, Hegseth responded, “Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given.”Hegseth had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e">previously taken aim at Brown</a>. “First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs,” he said flatly in a podcast in November. And in one of his books, he questioned whether Brown got the job because he was Black.“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” Hegseth wrote.As he walked into the Pentagon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-priorities-border-budget-3227111b703be8a90ad93da289784932">on his first day as defense chief</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 27, Hegseth was asked directly if he planned to fire Brown.“I’m standing with him right now,” said Hegseth, patting Brown on the back. “Look forward to working with him.”Brown, who spent Friday visiting troops at the U.S.-Mexico border, drew attention to himself for speaking out about the death of George Floyd in 2020. While he knew it was risky, he said, discussions with his wife and sons about the killing convinced him he needed to say something.As protests roiled the nation, Brown posted a video message to the Air Force titled, “Here’s What I’m Thinking About.” He described the pressures that came with being one of the few Black men in his unit. He recalled pushing himself “to perform error-free” as a pilot and officer his whole life, but still facing bias. He said he’d been questioned about his credentials, even when he wore the same flight suit and wings as every other pilot.Brown’s path to the chairmanship was troubled — he was among the more than 260 senior military officers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-military-promotion-tuberville-alabama-8269bbc6a8a7bbb0eabbbba6f1a27787">whose nominations were stalled for months</a>&nbsp;by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. But when the Senate vote was finally taken in September 2023, Brown easily was confirmed by a vote of 89-8.It had been 30 years since Colin Powell became the first Black chairman, serving from 1989 to 1993. But while African Americans made up 17.2% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members, only 9% of officers were Black, according to a 2021 Defense Department report.Brown’s service as chairman made history in that this was the first time that both the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman were Black.--------------WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led by his defense secretary to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-trump-diversity-pentagon-list-602477b6e80641b53f4f9b640a14f4ce">rid the military of leaders who support diversity</a>&nbsp;and equity in the ranks.The ouster of Brown, only the second Black general to serve as chairman, is sure to send shock waves through the Pentagon. His 16 months in the job had been consumed with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and the expanded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">conflict in the Middle East</a>.“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump posted on social media.Brown’s public support of Black Lives Matter after the police killing of George Floyd had made him fodder for the administration's wars against “wokeism” in the military. His ouster is the latest upheaval at the Pentagon, which plans to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-job-cuts-trump-doge-31e3ed62f5f35a5e5a4a07fd8708232f">cut 5,400 civilian probationary workers</a>&nbsp;starting next week and identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year to redirect those savings to fund Trump’s priorities.Trump said he's nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to be the next chairman. Caine is a career F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard, and was most recently the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his military biography.Caine’s military service includes combat roles in Iraq, special operations postings and positions inside some of the Pentagon’s most classified special access programs.However, he has not had key assignments identified in law as prerequisites for the job, including serving as either the vice chairman, as a combatant commander or a service chief. That requirement could be waived if the “president determines such action is necessary in the national interest.”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement praising both Caine and Brown, announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife.Franchetti becomes the second top female military officer to be fired by the Trump administration. Trump fired&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-alejandro-mayorkas-us-coast-guard-government-and-politics-8b589577fa03f04f3ce096e2bbf98928">Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan</a>&nbsp;just a day after he was sworn in.A surface warfare officer, Franchetti has commanded at all levels, heading U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She was the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral, and she did multiple deployments, including as commander of a naval destroyer and two stints as aircraft carrier strike group commander.Slife led Air Force Special Operations Command prior to becoming the service's vice chief of staff and had deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan.Trump has asserted his executive authority in a much stronger way in his second term, removing most officials from the Biden administration even though many of those positions are meant to carry over from one administration to the next.The chairman role was established in 1949 as an adviser to the president and secretary of defense, as a way to filter all of the views of the service chiefs and more readily provide that information to the White House without the president having to reach out to each individual military branch, according to an Atlantic Council briefing written by retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro. The role has no actual command authority.Trump acted despite support for Brown among key members of Congress and a seemingly friendly meeting with him in mid-December, when the two were seated next to each other for a time at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-navy-football-penny-hegseth-desantis-85da138b3ac130b211afc414bf43514a">Army-Navy football game</a>.Sen. Roger Wicker, GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, didn't mention Caine's name in a statement Friday.“I thank Chairman Brown for his decades of honorable service to our nation,” Wicker said. “I am confident Secretary Hegseth and President Trump will select a qualified and capable successor for the critical position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”Brown’s future was called into question during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-hearing-senate-defense-pentagon-trump-37d0961eb63d824cae8d4478cb12e412">confirmation hearing for Hegseth</a>&nbsp;last month. Asked if he would fire Brown, Hegseth responded, “Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given.”Hegseth had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e">previously taken aim at Brown</a>. “First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs,” he said flatly in a podcast in November. And in one of his books, he questioned whether Brown got the job because he was Black.“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” Hegseth wrote.As he walked into the Pentagon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-priorities-border-budget-3227111b703be8a90ad93da289784932">on his first day as defense chief</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 27, Hegseth was asked directly if he planned to fire Brown.“I’m standing with him right now,” said Hegseth, patting Brown on the back. “Look forward to working with him.”Brown, who spent Friday visiting troops at the U.S.-Mexico border, drew attention to himself for speaking out about the death of George Floyd in 2020. While he knew it was risky, he said, discussions with his wife and sons about the killing convinced him he needed to say something.As protests roiled the nation, Brown posted a video message to the Air Force titled, “Here’s What I’m Thinking About.” He described the pressures that came with being one of the few Black men in his unit. He recalled pushing himself “to perform error-free” as a pilot and officer his whole life, but still facing bias. He said he’d been questioned about his credentials, even when he wore the same flight suit and wings as every other pilot.Brown’s path to the chairmanship was troubled — he was among the more than 260 senior military officers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-military-promotion-tuberville-alabama-8269bbc6a8a7bbb0eabbbba6f1a27787">whose nominations were stalled for months</a>&nbsp;by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. But when the Senate vote was finally taken in September 2023, Brown easily was confirmed by a vote of 89-8.It had been 30 years since Colin Powell became the first Black chairman, serving from 1989 to 1993. But while African Americans made up 17.2% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members, only 9% of officers were Black, according to a 2021 Defense Department report.Brown’s service as chairman made history in that this was the first time that both the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman were Black.

Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and two other military officers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo., police officer who ran an anti-crime charity has been convicted in federal court of a scheme in which he spent more than $200,000 in donations for his own personal expenses.

Aaron Wayne McKie, 47, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20, of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. McKie worked as a police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for 24 years, assigned as a police officer to the Crime Free Multi-Housing section from 2002 through 2023.

McKie served from 2009 to 2023 as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. (MACF), a non-profit organization that claimed to provide training to persons in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs. He was an officer of the charity for three years prior, from 2006 to 2009.

Evidence produced during the trial indicated that McKie devised a scheme to defraud MACF and its donors that began in July 2009 and lasted until October 2023. Individuals and businesses contributed $387,620 to MACF, not including in-kind donations. McKie spent at least $200,060 for his own personal purposes.

The biggest source of MACF funds was an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament.” Individuals and businesses donated both money and in-kind donations, such as food and beverages, to MACF via the golf tournament. At least 121 donors have been identified.

From 2009 to 2023, the flyers soliciting donations and players for the tournament claimed the funds raised would enable MACF to provide free seminars to owners of rental properties and train police officers. In reality, those claims were false. The Kansas City Police Department paid the salaries and expenses of Crime Free Multi-Housing unit officers who may have provided training to landlords; McKie used the majority of MACF funds for personal spending; and the IRS had revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status in 2010.

Under federal statutes, McKie is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts on which he was convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for nine hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 10.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714219569463.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo., police officer who ran an anti-crime charity has been convicted in federal court of a scheme in which he spent more than $200,000 in donations for his own personal expenses.Aaron Wayne McKie, 47, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20, of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. McKie worked as a police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for 24 years, assigned as a police officer to the Crime Free Multi-Housing section from 2002 through 2023.McKie served from 2009 to 2023 as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. (MACF), a non-profit organization that claimed to provide training to persons in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs. He was an officer of the charity for three years prior, from 2006 to 2009.Evidence produced during the trial indicated that McKie devised a scheme to defraud MACF and its donors that began in July 2009 and lasted until October 2023. Individuals and businesses contributed $387,620 to MACF, not including in-kind donations. McKie spent at least $200,060 for his own personal purposes.The biggest source of MACF funds was an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament.” Individuals and businesses donated both money and in-kind donations, such as food and beverages, to MACF via the golf tournament. At least 121 donors have been identified.From 2009 to 2023, the flyers soliciting donations and players for the tournament claimed the funds raised would enable MACF to provide free seminars to owners of rental properties and train police officers. In reality, those claims were false. The Kansas City Police Department paid the salaries and expenses of Crime Free Multi-Housing unit officers who may have provided training to landlords; McKie used the majority of MACF funds for personal spending; and the IRS had revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status in 2010.Under federal statutes, McKie is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts on which he was convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for nine hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 10.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Jury: Former KCPD officer guilty in $200K charity fraud scheme

WASHINGTON —For the second time within 48 hours, the U.S. conducted a Bomber Task Force Mission in the Middle East on Thursday, demonstrating force projection capabilities and partner nation integration in the region, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

Two B-52s from RAF Fairford, U.K., flew across Europe and six partner countries in CENTCOM's area of responsibility during their mission, which included aerial refueling and training missions at ranges. 

Additionally, one partner nation provided fighter escorts for the bombers throughout the mission.

U.S. forces conducted a similar Bomber Task Force Mission in the Middle East on Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740081202044.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —For the second time within 48 hours, the U.S. conducted a Bomber Task Force Mission in the Middle East on Thursday, demonstrating force projection capabilities and partner nation integration in the region, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.Two B-52s from RAF Fairford, U.K., flew across Europe and six partner countries in CENTCOM's area of responsibility during their mission, which included aerial refueling and training missions at ranges. Additionally, one partner nation provided fighter escorts for the bombers throughout the mission.U.S. forces conducted a similar Bomber Task Force Mission in the Middle East on Monday.

Show of force: Second U.S. bomber task force mission this week

SILVERTON, Colo. (AP) — A snowboarder was killed in an avalanche in the mountains of southwestern Colorado on Thursday, the fourth person to die in an avalanche in the U.S. West this week after a string of winter storms.

The snowboarder was caught in the debris of the avalanche in the backcountry near Silverton but a man who was skiing with the snowboarder escaped the snow slide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. Staff from a nearby backcountry hut noticed the avalanche, alerted rescuers and helped the skier dig the victim out of the debris, it said.

Three people died in avalanches Monday — one person near Lake Tahoe in California and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-bend-oregon-cascades-snowmobile-backcountry-skiers-1ac75611c4efd8e68d50d2551d129fb2">two backcountry skiers</a>&nbsp;in Oregon's Cascade Mountains.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740194627568.png" alt="Photo DeAnne Gallegos/Silverton Medical Rescue" />
 <figcaption>Photo DeAnne Gallegos/Silverton Medical Rescue</figcaption>
 </figure>SILVERTON, Colo. (AP) — A snowboarder was killed in an avalanche in the mountains of southwestern Colorado on Thursday, the fourth person to die in an avalanche in the U.S. West this week after a string of winter storms.The snowboarder was caught in the debris of the avalanche in the backcountry near Silverton but a man who was skiing with the snowboarder escaped the snow slide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. Staff from a nearby backcountry hut noticed the avalanche, alerted rescuers and helped the skier dig the victim out of the debris, it said.Three people died in avalanches Monday — one person near Lake Tahoe in California and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-bend-oregon-cascades-snowmobile-backcountry-skiers-1ac75611c4efd8e68d50d2551d129fb2">two backcountry skiers</a>&nbsp;in Oregon's Cascade Mountains.