SHAWNEE COUNTY —A family avoided injured after a fire at a Kansas home.

Just after 10 a.m.Thursday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 1508 SW Ward Pkwy, according to spokesperson Rosie Nichols. Crews found a two-story house with smoke and flames and extinguished the fire. All residents were able to escape before fire crews arrived.

The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical, having originated in the kitchen. The estimated loss associated with the fire is approximately $275,000, with $225,000 associated with structural damage and $50,000 associated with content loss. There were no injuries.

The home did not have working smoke detectors where the fire originated, according to Nichols.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740086018934.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —A family avoided injured after a fire at a Kansas home.Just after 10 a.m.Thursday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 1508 SW Ward Pkwy, according to spokesperson Rosie Nichols. Crews found a two-story house with smoke and flames and extinguished the fire. All residents were able to escape before fire crews arrived.The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical, having originated in the kitchen. The estimated loss associated with the fire is approximately $275,000, with $225,000 associated with structural damage and $50,000 associated with content loss. There were no injuries.The home did not have working smoke detectors where the fire originated, according to Nichols.

$275,000 damage after fire at Kansas home

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-20-2025-4c2ffabae1771cff1a9542fddfaf7d07">found to not be that of an Israeli mother</a>&nbsp;of two young boys, as the militants had promised.

The incident has thrown the future of the fragile ceasefire into question. Six more living hostages are scheduled to be released Saturday as part of the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war.

Hamas militants turned over four bodies Thursday as part of the deal. They were supposed to have been those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, and of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israeli authorities said that while the remains of the two boys and of Lifshitz were positively identified, the fourth body was found to not be that of Shiri Bibas, or of any other Israeli hostage held in Gaza.

“We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said. “The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge.”

Netanyahu said the fourth body was that of a woman from Gaza. Hamas has not responded to Israel’s announcement about the identity of the remains.

The revelation of the body’s identity was a shocking twist in the saga surrounding the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-bodies-bibas-1d8718176c8d2564cf23c3e77f09ad72">Bibas family</a>, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

During the ceasefire, which began in January, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Thursday’s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.

The Israeli army said Thursday that the fourth body released by Hamas was an “anonymous, unidentified body.” It said the Bibas family had been notified, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and father of the two boys, who had been taken captive separately from his wife and children and was released early this month as part of the ceasefire deal.

Hamas has claimed Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her sons were killed in Israeli airstrikes. But Israel said the testing had found the two boys and Lifshitz were killed by their captors.

U.S. envoy Adam Boehler described the release of the wrong body as “horrific” and a “clear violation” of the ceasefire.

“If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,” Boehler, who serves as the U.S. envoy for hostages, told CNN.

It was unclear how the incident might affect the next scheduled swap of hostages for prisoners, set for Saturday. Hamas has said it will also release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase of the ceasefire. It is also unclear whether the truce will be extended beyond the end of the current phase, which expires in early March.

In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions struck three parked, empty buses in central Israel overnight.

There were no injuries and no claim of responsibility. But the Israeli military said in response it was beefing up its forces in the West Bank, raising the likelihood of further escalation in the area. Israel has been carrying out a broad military offensive in the occupied territory since the ceasefire took effect.

If the current phase of the ceasefire goes according to plan with the release of six hostages on Saturday and four more bodies next week, Hamas will be left with about 60 hostages, about half — all men — believed to still be alive.

Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-15-2025-1cf8b3cb7622489c368c610f85e51e35">full backing of the Trump administration</a>, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">goals widely seen as mutually exclusive</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gaza-plan-palestinians-israel-3f12eb51869da2221afbb22b0bcf47ba">Trump’s proposal</a>&nbsp;to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.

Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume.

Israel’s military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The offensive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-war-aftermath-destruction-4c148d498f3d67a5d6de2107b6a1c966">destroyed vast areas of Gaza</a>, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza’s population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-reconstruction-trump-d6a6ff45583b7959403a8615469866d5">no way of rebuilding</a>.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother, the Israeli military said early Friday.

Hamas militants had turned over four bodies Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

The remains of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-bodies-bibas-1d8718176c8d2564cf23c3e77f09ad72">Ariel and Kfir Bibas</a>&nbsp;were identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the families were notified, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. It said the boys were killed in captivity in November 2023.

But the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas, nor any other hostage, the military said.

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” the Israeli military said in a statement early Friday. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”

Hamas did not immediately respond to Israel’s announcement that the body was not of the boys’ mother.

The announcement from the Israeli military comes as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began Jan. 19 remains shaky. A series of explosions Thursday on three parked buses rattled central Israel. The Israeli military said early Friday it had imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement and sealed off parts of in the West Bank amid its ongoing security operations there.

A statement on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would “carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism” in the West Bank, raising the specter of a further escalation there.

The handover of four bodies to Israel during the day Thursday had set off a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay respect to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional nighttime vigil.

Many people wiped away tears and softly sang the national anthem as the caravan wound through southern Israel — a stark contrast to the celebratory&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-hostages-ceasefire-709efbcf93714a562640133d836bb31c">return of 24 living hostages</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war.

The handover was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity.

Hamas has said that all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Lifshitz was killed in captivity by the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Militants who handed over the bodies displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including one depicting Netanyahu as a vampire. On each coffin, a photo of one of the hostages was stapled to the side.

Large numbers of masked and armed militants looked on as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces. The military later held a small funeral ceremony, at the request of the families, before transferring the bodies to a laboratory in Israel for formal identification using DNA.

In Tel Aviv where the bodies were transported, a double rainbow unfolded across the sky just before sunset. Thousands of people gathered at the city’s Hostage Square and recited traditional mourning prayers. Some held orange balloons, in honor of the Bibas boys, and the crowd swelled after sundown as musicians performed subdued ballads, matching the nation's grief.

"Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”

Lifshitz's family said after the handover that his remains had been officially identified. His son, Yizhar, told an Israeli TV station that it had brought some closure to the family. He said they did not yet know the cause of death.

“On a certain level, it closes the small chance that we had thought about," he said. "It is also closure that he will be buried back on the kibbutz. It’s a difficult day.”

The four bodies were the first of eight hostages that Israel believes are dead and to be returned during the current phase of the ceasefire.

Kfir Bibas was a red-headed infant with a toothless smile when militants stormed the family’s home on Oct. 7, 2023. His brother, Ariel, was 4. Video from that day showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the boys as militants led them into Gaza.

Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and released this month.

Relatives in Israel have clung to hope,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-hostages-gaza-kfir-bibas-birthday-490c428ef168655c9028dd612a15a35a">marking the boys' birthdays</a>. The Bibas family said Wednesday it would wait for “identification procedures” before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.

A cousin of Shiri Bibas who lives in Buenos Aires, told the local Radio Con Vos station she has been reliving the trauma of the abduction. Romina Miasnik said she hoped her loved ones “can become a symbol of something new, of coexistence, of hatred no longer having a place.”

Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange — a reference to the two boys' hair color — and a popular children’s song was written in their honor.

Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved, who was freed early in the war as an apparent humanitarian gesture.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/children-hostages-israel-palestinians-gaza-orphan-c8e9f6dd703a9c14161eeb6ca9e25417">including about 30 children</a>, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

More than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hostages-hamas-ceasefire-gaza-bc81ab899aed78a90a5ff42088b0f79d">half the hostages</a>, and most of the women and children, have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and have recovered dozens of bodies of people killed in the initial attack or who died in captivity.

It's not clear if the ceasefire will last

Hamas is set to free six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-prisoner-release-hamas-ceasefire-hostage-3a20774bb4b519e852273ec559687b3b">hundreds of Palestinian prisoners</a>, and says it will release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase. That will leave the militants with about 60 hostages, all men and about half believed to be dead.

Hamas has said it won't release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-15-2025-1cf8b3cb7622489c368c610f85e51e35">full backing of the Trump administration</a>, says he's committed to destroying Hamas' military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">goals widely seen as mutually exclusive</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gaza-plan-palestinians-israel-3f12eb51869da2221afbb22b0bcf47ba">Trump's proposal</a>&nbsp;to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.

Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume with the goal of annihilating the group or forcibly transferring Gaza's population.

During the ceasefire, Israel has also been conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-gaza-militants-displaced-2fb430ce6eeeff40b416df566712eb99">broad offensive</a>&nbsp;against Palestinian militants in the West Bank, and in a sign that the region remains on edge,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-bus-explosions-palestinians-gaza-4a13242cfd220ebdbedf1f0f0a389834">a series of explosions</a>&nbsp;ripped through three empty busses in central Israel late Thursday in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported.

Israel's military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The offensive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-war-aftermath-destruction-4c148d498f3d67a5d6de2107b6a1c966">destroyed vast areas of Gaza</a>, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza's population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-reconstruction-trump-d6a6ff45583b7959403a8615469866d5">no way of rebuilding</a>.

<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>JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-20-2025-4c2ffabae1771cff1a9542fddfaf7d07">found to not be that of an Israeli mother</a>&nbsp;of two young boys, as the militants had promised.The incident has thrown the future of the fragile ceasefire into question. Six more living hostages are scheduled to be released Saturday as part of the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war.Hamas militants turned over four bodies Thursday as part of the deal. They were supposed to have been those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, and of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.Israeli authorities said that while the remains of the two boys and of Lifshitz were positively identified, the fourth body was found to not be that of Shiri Bibas, or of any other Israeli hostage held in Gaza.“We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said. “The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge.”Netanyahu said the fourth body was that of a woman from Gaza. Hamas has not responded to Israel’s announcement about the identity of the remains.The revelation of the body’s identity was a shocking twist in the saga surrounding the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-bodies-bibas-1d8718176c8d2564cf23c3e77f09ad72">Bibas family</a>, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.During the ceasefire, which began in January, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Thursday’s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.The Israeli army said Thursday that the fourth body released by Hamas was an “anonymous, unidentified body.” It said the Bibas family had been notified, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and father of the two boys, who had been taken captive separately from his wife and children and was released early this month as part of the ceasefire deal.Hamas has claimed Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her sons were killed in Israeli airstrikes. But Israel said the testing had found the two boys and Lifshitz were killed by their captors.U.S. envoy Adam Boehler described the release of the wrong body as “horrific” and a “clear violation” of the ceasefire.“If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,” Boehler, who serves as the U.S. envoy for hostages, told CNN.It was unclear how the incident might affect the next scheduled swap of hostages for prisoners, set for Saturday. Hamas has said it will also release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase of the ceasefire. It is also unclear whether the truce will be extended beyond the end of the current phase, which expires in early March.In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions struck three parked, empty buses in central Israel overnight.There were no injuries and no claim of responsibility. But the Israeli military said in response it was beefing up its forces in the West Bank, raising the likelihood of further escalation in the area. Israel has been carrying out a broad military offensive in the occupied territory since the ceasefire took effect.If the current phase of the ceasefire goes according to plan with the release of six hostages on Saturday and four more bodies next week, Hamas will be left with about 60 hostages, about half — all men — believed to still be alive.Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-15-2025-1cf8b3cb7622489c368c610f85e51e35">full backing of the Trump administration</a>, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">goals widely seen as mutually exclusive</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gaza-plan-palestinians-israel-3f12eb51869da2221afbb22b0bcf47ba">Trump’s proposal</a>&nbsp;to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume.Israel’s military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.The offensive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-war-aftermath-destruction-4c148d498f3d67a5d6de2107b6a1c966">destroyed vast areas of Gaza</a>, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza’s population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-reconstruction-trump-d6a6ff45583b7959403a8615469866d5">no way of rebuilding</a>.TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother, the Israeli military said early Friday.Hamas militants had turned over four bodies Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.The remains of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-bodies-bibas-1d8718176c8d2564cf23c3e77f09ad72">Ariel and Kfir Bibas</a>&nbsp;were identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the families were notified, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. It said the boys were killed in captivity in November 2023.But the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas, nor any other hostage, the military said.“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” the Israeli military said in a statement early Friday. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”Hamas did not immediately respond to Israel’s announcement that the body was not of the boys’ mother.The announcement from the Israeli military comes as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began Jan. 19 remains shaky. A series of explosions Thursday on three parked buses rattled central Israel. The Israeli military said early Friday it had imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement and sealed off parts of in the West Bank amid its ongoing security operations there.A statement on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would “carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism” in the West Bank, raising the specter of a further escalation there.The handover of four bodies to Israel during the day Thursday had set off a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay respect to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional nighttime vigil.Many people wiped away tears and softly sang the national anthem as the caravan wound through southern Israel — a stark contrast to the celebratory&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-hostages-ceasefire-709efbcf93714a562640133d836bb31c">return of 24 living hostages</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war.The handover was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity.Hamas has said that all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Lifshitz was killed in captivity by the Islamic Jihad militant group.Militants who handed over the bodies displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including one depicting Netanyahu as a vampire. On each coffin, a photo of one of the hostages was stapled to the side.Large numbers of masked and armed militants looked on as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces. The military later held a small funeral ceremony, at the request of the families, before transferring the bodies to a laboratory in Israel for formal identification using DNA.In Tel Aviv where the bodies were transported, a double rainbow unfolded across the sky just before sunset. Thousands of people gathered at the city’s Hostage Square and recited traditional mourning prayers. Some held orange balloons, in honor of the Bibas boys, and the crowd swelled after sundown as musicians performed subdued ballads, matching the nation's grief."Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”Lifshitz's family said after the handover that his remains had been officially identified. His son, Yizhar, told an Israeli TV station that it had brought some closure to the family. He said they did not yet know the cause of death.“On a certain level, it closes the small chance that we had thought about," he said. "It is also closure that he will be buried back on the kibbutz. It’s a difficult day.”The four bodies were the first of eight hostages that Israel believes are dead and to be returned during the current phase of the ceasefire.<h2>Infant was the youngest taken hostage</h2>Kfir Bibas was a red-headed infant with a toothless smile when militants stormed the family’s home on Oct. 7, 2023. His brother, Ariel, was 4. Video from that day showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the boys as militants led them into Gaza.Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and released this month.Relatives in Israel have clung to hope,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-hostages-gaza-kfir-bibas-birthday-490c428ef168655c9028dd612a15a35a">marking the boys' birthdays</a>. The Bibas family said Wednesday it would wait for “identification procedures” before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.A cousin of Shiri Bibas who lives in Buenos Aires, told the local Radio Con Vos station she has been reliving the trauma of the abduction. Romina Miasnik said she hoped her loved ones “can become a symbol of something new, of coexistence, of hatred no longer having a place.”Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange — a reference to the two boys' hair color — and a popular children’s song was written in their honor.Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved, who was freed early in the war as an apparent humanitarian gesture.Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/children-hostages-israel-palestinians-gaza-orphan-c8e9f6dd703a9c14161eeb6ca9e25417">including about 30 children</a>, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.More than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hostages-hamas-ceasefire-gaza-bc81ab899aed78a90a5ff42088b0f79d">half the hostages</a>, and most of the women and children, have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and have recovered dozens of bodies of people killed in the initial attack or who died in captivity.<h2>It's not clear if the ceasefire will last</h2>Hamas is set to free six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-prisoner-release-hamas-ceasefire-hostage-3a20774bb4b519e852273ec559687b3b">hundreds of Palestinian prisoners</a>, and says it will release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase. That will leave the militants with about 60 hostages, all men and about half believed to be dead.Hamas has said it won't release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-15-2025-1cf8b3cb7622489c368c610f85e51e35">full backing of the Trump administration</a>, says he's committed to destroying Hamas' military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-hostages-endgame-0b4720545d294b4eb25eb97055c238eb">goals widely seen as mutually exclusive</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gaza-plan-palestinians-israel-3f12eb51869da2221afbb22b0bcf47ba">Trump's proposal</a>&nbsp;to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume with the goal of annihilating the group or forcibly transferring Gaza's population.During the ceasefire, Israel has also been conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-gaza-militants-displaced-2fb430ce6eeeff40b416df566712eb99">broad offensive</a>&nbsp;against Palestinian militants in the West Bank, and in a sign that the region remains on edge,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-bus-explosions-palestinians-gaza-4a13242cfd220ebdbedf1f0f0a389834">a series of explosions</a>&nbsp;ripped through three empty busses in central Israel late Thursday in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported.Israel's military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.The offensive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-war-aftermath-destruction-4c148d498f3d67a5d6de2107b6a1c966">destroyed vast areas of Gaza</a>, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza's population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-reconstruction-trump-d6a6ff45583b7959403a8615469866d5">no way of rebuilding</a>.

Israel: Child hostages identified but body Hamas released not the mother

LINN COUNTY—Authorities are investigating a small plane mishap that occurred just after noon Thursday in Linn County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1968 Cessna&nbsp; 177A piloted by Matthew Gregersen&nbsp;Evans, 42, Indianapolis, Indiana, made an emergency landing three quarters of a mile southeast of the intersection of County Road 1650 and County Road 1095 in a field.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The pilot told the patrol that the aircraft fuel line froze and forced him to bring the plane down in the field.&nbsp; Evans was not injured. The FAA and NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740158064470.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>LINN COUNTY—Authorities are investigating a small plane mishap that occurred just after noon Thursday in Linn County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1968 Cessna&nbsp; 177A piloted by Matthew Gregersen&nbsp;Evans, 42, Indianapolis, Indiana, made an emergency landing three quarters of a mile southeast of the intersection of County Road 1650 and County Road 1095 in a field.&nbsp;&nbsp;The pilot told the patrol that the aircraft fuel line froze and forced him to bring the plane down in the field.&nbsp; Evans was not injured. The FAA and NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.&nbsp;

Pilot of small plane made emergency landing in Kansas field

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump marked Black History Month at the White House on Thursday, preserving a tradition by holding a reception at the same time that his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-executive-order-diversity-834a241a60ee92722ef2443b62572540">executive order</a>&nbsp;ending the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion programs has disrupted its observance elsewhere.

The ceremony comes as Trump has called DEI programs “discrimination” and pushed to eradicate diversity programs from the government,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-executive-order-diversity-834a241a60ee92722ef2443b62572540">directed that DEI workers eventually be laid off</a>&nbsp;and exerted similar pressure on the private sector to shift to an exclusive focus on merit.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-executive-orders-dei-7ef0bf4ce1d465f6b61f3fcfde544593">sweeping effort</a>&nbsp;has sown discord and confusion across federal agencies, which have variously interpreted the order to limit how they can&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-dei-tuskegee-airmen-women-war-history-88a92c8485281d7c088c5eafe5dbf002">acknowledge race in history and culture</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gender-ideology-sex-pronouns-order-transgender-2d7e54837f5d0651ed0cefa5ea0d6301">report demographic data on race and gender</a>.

Trump was joined by golf legend Tiger Woods as he addressed hundreds of guests in a reception in the East Room.

“Welcome to the White House. And we proudly celebrate Black History Month," Trump said.

The president went on and added: “Today, we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people.”

Joining Trump were Black political figures and activists who have been his vocal supporters. Invited guests, according to a White House official, included Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; Republican Rep. John James of Michigan; Alveda King, a niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; Herschel Walker, the football legend who is Trump’s choice as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas; and prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, whom&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-politics-tn-state-wire-4672b3b09a3f127b11af92e0681dd6df">he pardoned</a>&nbsp;in 2020.

Johnson had spent more than two decades serving life without parole for a nonviolent drug offense before Trump granted her clemency.

On Thursday, Trump called her out by name in his remarks and said he’s going to bring her into his administration.

“She’s going to be my pardon czar,” he said.

It’s not clear what the role would entail.

Other invited guests included figures from sports and entertainment, including former ESPN host Sage Steele; former NFL player Jack Brewer; and rap stars Kodak Black, Lil Boosie and Rod Wave, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In the wake of his executive order, the Defense Department issued guidance declaring “identity months dead” and said that working hours would no longer be used to mark cultural awareness months such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

That seemed to clash with a National Black History Month proclamation signed the same day by Trump, which called for “public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”

While the White House has issued its position, agencies of the government have discretion on whether to continue to recognize Black History Month, according to the official.

On Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department “will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances.” And in a diplomatic cable, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agency’s removal of DEI policies would dovetail with “eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad.”

The administration has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-critical-race-theory-colleges-diversity-db8317ad37931558dd5a396cf5ab3d42">issued a deadline to schools</a>&nbsp;and universities to eliminate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-critical-race-theory-antisemitism-college-protests-18136b8c8f5adb9c75c47907e020268a">diversity initiatives</a>&nbsp;or risk losing federal money. Major corporations have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-race-gender-ethnicity-diversity-equity-inclusion-companies-policies-8b22129bab630e62be36aa447a2bd47b">backtracked on DEI</a>&nbsp;policies in hiring, promotion and workplace culture in recent months, with many citing potential legal challenges from the administration.

Black History Month has been recognized by every U.S. president since 1976, including Trump during his first term.

“Black History is American history. And similar to the story of our nation, it is a story of strength, resilience, and dogged perseverance,” said CJ Pearson, a national co-chair of the Republican National Committee's youth advisory council. Pearson, who is Black, has been an outspoken defender of Trump against Black civic leaders, civil rights advocates and Democrats who lambast the president as racist.

“President Trump’s anti-DEI policies aren’t promoting racism but what they are doing is manifesting the dream of the great Martin Luther King, Jr.: a nation where one isn’t judged by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character,” said Pearson, who will attend the White House event.

Other Black Republicans aren't so sanguine about the administration's current course or what it portends for the GOP's nascent inroads with Black voters or other communities of color.

“Trump can build upon the coalition he pulled together in November with Blacks and Asians and Hispanics and young folks,” said Raynard Jackson, a Republican strategist. “But if they leave it the way it stands right now, Trump is going to destroy the very coalition he so marvelously brought to the table in November.”

To Jackson, DEI is a catch-all for liberal policies that are “unrecognizable” from the original intent of civil rights laws meant to promote the social and economic progress of Black Americans. But in removing and denigrating the policies, Jackson said, the White House risked being labeled as discriminatory by offering no alternative framework for how disadvantaged communities can get ahead.

“How do you have diversity without it being a mandated bean-counting situation?” Jackson asked. "They’ve done a masterful job at telling me what they’re against. I’m waiting to hear what they’re for.”

During the 2024 campaign, Trump tried to reach Black voters through in-person events in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. His campaign courted Black celebrities and media personalities to boost his message. Trump's Black conservative allies, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., conducted roundtables at Black barbershops and bus tours through majority-Black cities.

But Trump also frequently denigrated Black communities in his pitch and made claims that pitted voters of color against immigrants, who he said were taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”

The efforts to boost support among Black voters seemed to have some success. He won a larger share of Black voters than he did in 2020, particularly among young Black men, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters in the 2024 election.

Overall, about 16% of Black voters supported Trump in November, while about 8 in 10 voted for Democrat Kamala Harris. But that represented an improvement for Trump from 2020, when only 8% of Black voters backed him and about 9 in 10 went for Democrat Joe Biden.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740087842234.png" alt="Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump marked Black History Month at the White House on Thursday, preserving a tradition by holding a reception at the same time that his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-executive-order-diversity-834a241a60ee92722ef2443b62572540">executive order</a>&nbsp;ending the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion programs has disrupted its observance elsewhere.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> brings <a href="https://twitter.com/TigerWoods?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TigerWoods</a> on stage at a reception honoring National Black History Month 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/3mln2t1Z1t">pic.twitter.com/3mln2t1Z1t</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1892683370699612633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tiger Woods at White House Black History Month Reception <a href="https://t.co/hv69IQGkaq">pic.twitter.com/hv69IQGkaq</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1892684928489320924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The ceremony comes as Trump has called DEI programs “discrimination” and pushed to eradicate diversity programs from the government,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-executive-order-diversity-834a241a60ee92722ef2443b62572540">directed that DEI workers eventually be laid off</a>&nbsp;and exerted similar pressure on the private sector to shift to an exclusive focus on merit.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-executive-orders-dei-7ef0bf4ce1d465f6b61f3fcfde544593">sweeping effort</a>&nbsp;has sown discord and confusion across federal agencies, which have variously interpreted the order to limit how they can&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-dei-tuskegee-airmen-women-war-history-88a92c8485281d7c088c5eafe5dbf002">acknowledge race in history and culture</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gender-ideology-sex-pronouns-order-transgender-2d7e54837f5d0651ed0cefa5ea0d6301">report demographic data on race and gender</a>.Trump was joined by golf legend Tiger Woods as he addressed hundreds of guests in a reception in the East Room.“Welcome to the White House. And we proudly celebrate Black History Month," Trump said.The president went on and added: “Today, we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people.”Joining Trump were Black political figures and activists who have been his vocal supporters. Invited guests, according to a White House official, included Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; Republican Rep. John James of Michigan; Alveda King, a niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; Herschel Walker, the football legend who is Trump’s choice as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas; and prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, whom&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-politics-tn-state-wire-4672b3b09a3f127b11af92e0681dd6df">he pardoned</a>&nbsp;in 2020.Johnson had spent more than two decades serving life without parole for a nonviolent drug offense before Trump granted her clemency.On Thursday, Trump called her out by name in his remarks and said he’s going to bring her into his administration.“She’s going to be my pardon czar,” he said.It’s not clear what the role would entail.Other invited guests included figures from sports and entertainment, including former ESPN host Sage Steele; former NFL player Jack Brewer; and rap stars Kodak Black, Lil Boosie and Rod Wave, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.In the wake of his executive order, the Defense Department issued guidance declaring “identity months dead” and said that working hours would no longer be used to mark cultural awareness months such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month.That seemed to clash with a National Black History Month proclamation signed the same day by Trump, which called for “public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”While the White House has issued its position, agencies of the government have discretion on whether to continue to recognize Black History Month, according to the official.On Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department “will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances.” And in a diplomatic cable, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agency’s removal of DEI policies would dovetail with “eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad.”The administration has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-critical-race-theory-colleges-diversity-db8317ad37931558dd5a396cf5ab3d42">issued a deadline to schools</a>&nbsp;and universities to eliminate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-critical-race-theory-antisemitism-college-protests-18136b8c8f5adb9c75c47907e020268a">diversity initiatives</a>&nbsp;or risk losing federal money. Major corporations have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dei-trump-race-gender-ethnicity-diversity-equity-inclusion-companies-policies-8b22129bab630e62be36aa447a2bd47b">backtracked on DEI</a>&nbsp;policies in hiring, promotion and workplace culture in recent months, with many citing potential legal challenges from the administration.Black History Month has been recognized by every U.S. president since 1976, including Trump during his first term.“Black History is American history. And similar to the story of our nation, it is a story of strength, resilience, and dogged perseverance,” said CJ Pearson, a national co-chair of the Republican National Committee's youth advisory council. Pearson, who is Black, has been an outspoken defender of Trump against Black civic leaders, civil rights advocates and Democrats who lambast the president as racist.“President Trump’s anti-DEI policies aren’t promoting racism but what they are doing is manifesting the dream of the great Martin Luther King, Jr.: a nation where one isn’t judged by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character,” said Pearson, who will attend the White House event.Other Black Republicans aren't so sanguine about the administration's current course or what it portends for the GOP's nascent inroads with Black voters or other communities of color.“Trump can build upon the coalition he pulled together in November with Blacks and Asians and Hispanics and young folks,” said Raynard Jackson, a Republican strategist. “But if they leave it the way it stands right now, Trump is going to destroy the very coalition he so marvelously brought to the table in November.”To Jackson, DEI is a catch-all for liberal policies that are “unrecognizable” from the original intent of civil rights laws meant to promote the social and economic progress of Black Americans. But in removing and denigrating the policies, Jackson said, the White House risked being labeled as discriminatory by offering no alternative framework for how disadvantaged communities can get ahead.“How do you have diversity without it being a mandated bean-counting situation?” Jackson asked. "They’ve done a masterful job at telling me what they’re against. I’m waiting to hear what they’re for.”During the 2024 campaign, Trump tried to reach Black voters through in-person events in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. His campaign courted Black celebrities and media personalities to boost his message. Trump's Black conservative allies, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., conducted roundtables at Black barbershops and bus tours through majority-Black cities.But Trump also frequently denigrated Black communities in his pitch and made claims that pitted voters of color against immigrants, who he said were taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”The efforts to boost support among Black voters seemed to have some success. He won a larger share of Black voters than he did in 2020, particularly among young Black men, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters in the 2024 election.Overall, about 16% of Black voters supported Trump in November, while about 8 in 10 voted for Democrat Kamala Harris. But that represented an improvement for Trump from 2020, when only 8% of Black voters backed him and about 9 in 10 went for Democrat Joe Biden.

🎥Trump holds Black History Month event with Tiger Woods

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has allowed President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-firings-layoffs-federal-government-workers-musk-d33cdd7872d64d2bdd8fe70c28652654">mass firings of federal workers</a>&nbsp;to move forward.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided Thursday he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law.

Cooper acknowledged that the Republican president's second term “has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.”

But Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, wrote that judges are “duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent — no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people.”

The ruling comes as thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door during in the first month of Trump’s second administration.

The administration argued in court the unions failed to show that they were facing the kind of irreparable, immediate harm that would justify an emergency order stopping layoffs.

The unions, representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers, maintain that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-buyouts-to-all-federal-employees-f67f5751a0fd5ad8471806a5a1067b5e">efforts to slash the federal workforce</a>&nbsp;conflicts with Congress’ power to shape the size and direction of agencies through funding decisions, as well as laws detailing how such layoffs must be carried out.

The president of the National Treasury Employees’ Union, Doreen Greenwald, said that Cooper’s decision was a temporary setback and that “federal employees will get their day in court to challenge the unlawful mass firings and other attacks on their jobs, their agencies, and their service to the country.”

The lawsuit is among more than 80 challenging a range of actions Trump has undertaken with his blitz of executive orders. Unions also filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-employees-firing-lawsuit-trump-probation-unions-4a9384c21e408df85ca17dfac5b9dc93">a separate suit</a>&nbsp;challenging mass firings in California this week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740091744250.png" alt="Photo from the protest last week by members of the American Federation of Government Employees&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Photo from the protest last week by members of the American Federation of Government Employees&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has allowed President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-firings-layoffs-federal-government-workers-musk-d33cdd7872d64d2bdd8fe70c28652654">mass firings of federal workers</a>&nbsp;to move forward.U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided Thursday he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law.Cooper acknowledged that the Republican president's second term “has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.”But Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, wrote that judges are “duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent — no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people.”The ruling comes as thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door during in the first month of Trump’s second administration.The administration argued in court the unions failed to show that they were facing the kind of irreparable, immediate harm that would justify an emergency order stopping layoffs.The unions, representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers, maintain that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-buyouts-to-all-federal-employees-f67f5751a0fd5ad8471806a5a1067b5e">efforts to slash the federal workforce</a>&nbsp;conflicts with Congress’ power to shape the size and direction of agencies through funding decisions, as well as laws detailing how such layoffs must be carried out.The president of the National Treasury Employees’ Union, Doreen Greenwald, said that Cooper’s decision was a temporary setback and that “federal employees will get their day in court to challenge the unlawful mass firings and other attacks on their jobs, their agencies, and their service to the country.”The lawsuit is among more than 80 challenging a range of actions Trump has undertaken with his blitz of executive orders. Unions also filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-employees-firing-lawsuit-trump-probation-unions-4a9384c21e408df85ca17dfac5b9dc93">a separate suit</a>&nbsp;challenging mass firings in California this week.

Judge allows mass firings of federal workers to move forward

WASHINGTON — A Kansas man pleaded guilty Thursday to operating an internet-based platform that generated false doctors’ orders to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs of more than $1 billion, according to the United State's Department of Justice.

According to court documents, Gregory Schreck, 50, of Johnson County, admitted that he and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to provide their personally identifiable information and agree to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces, pain creams, and other items through misleading mailers, television advertisements, and calls from offshore call centers. Schreck and his co-conspirators owned, controlled, and operated DMERx, an internet-based platform that generated false and fraudulent doctors’ orders for orthotic braces, pain creams, and other items for these beneficiaries. 

Schreck, a vice president of the company that operated DMERx, admitted that he offered to connect pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and marketers with telemedicine companies that would accept illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors’ orders that were transmitted using the DMERx platform. Schreck and his co-conspirators received payments for coordinating these illegal kickback transactions and referring the completed doctors’ orders to the DME suppliers, pharmacies, and telemarketers that paid for them. 

The fraudulent doctors’ orders generated by DMERx falsely represented that a doctor had examined and treated the Medicare beneficiaries when, in reality, purported telemedicine companies paid doctors to sign the orders without regard to medical necessity and based only on a brief telephone call with the beneficiary, or sometimes no interaction with the beneficiary at all. The DME suppliers and pharmacies that paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for these doctors’ orders generated through DMERx billed Medicare and other insurers more than $1&nbsp;billion. Medicare and the insurers paid more than $360 million based on these false and fraudulent claims.

Schreck pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Isaac Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck of the FBI Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)’s Southeast Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Sargenski of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office made the announcement.

HHS-OIG, FBI, VA-OIG, and DCIS are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Jennifer E. Burns of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Andrea Savdie and Shane Butland assisted in the prosecution.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/http:%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov%2Fcriminal-fraud%2Fhealth-care-fraud-unit%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/010001952556bac1-bbef654d-6126-45be-b254-d9c5ecc3e9dd-000000/Dd8w0yEPttRwjnPB8hceih8qcjmM1DnXMyUcGv7hZEM=392">www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit</a>.

WASHINGTON — A Kansas man pleaded guilty Thursday to operating an internet-based platform that generated false doctors’ orders to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs of more than $1 billion, according to the United State's Department of Justice.According to court documents, Gregory Schreck, 50, of Johnson County, admitted that he and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to provide their personally identifiable information and agree to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces, pain creams, and other items through misleading mailers, television advertisements, and calls from offshore call centers. Schreck and his co-conspirators owned, controlled, and operated DMERx, an internet-based platform that generated false and fraudulent doctors’ orders for orthotic braces, pain creams, and other items for these beneficiaries. Schreck, a vice president of the company that operated DMERx, admitted that he offered to connect pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and marketers with telemedicine companies that would accept illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors’ orders that were transmitted using the DMERx platform. Schreck and his co-conspirators received payments for coordinating these illegal kickback transactions and referring the completed doctors’ orders to the DME suppliers, pharmacies, and telemarketers that paid for them. The fraudulent doctors’ orders generated by DMERx falsely represented that a doctor had examined and treated the Medicare beneficiaries when, in reality, purported telemedicine companies paid doctors to sign the orders without regard to medical necessity and based only on a brief telephone call with the beneficiary, or sometimes no interaction with the beneficiary at all. The DME suppliers and pharmacies that paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for these doctors’ orders generated through DMERx billed Medicare and other insurers more than $1&nbsp;billion. Medicare and the insurers paid more than $360 million based on these false and fraudulent claims.Schreck pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Isaac Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck of the FBI Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)’s Southeast Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Sargenski of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office made the announcement.HHS-OIG, FBI, VA-OIG, and DCIS are investigating the case.Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Jennifer E. Burns of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Andrea Savdie and Shane Butland assisted in the prosecution.The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/http:%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov%2Fcriminal-fraud%2Fhealth-care-fraud-unit%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/010001952556bac1-bbef654d-6126-45be-b254-d9c5ecc3e9dd-000000/Dd8w0yEPttRwjnPB8hceih8qcjmM1DnXMyUcGv7hZEM=392">www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit</a>.

Kan. man admits role in billion dollar healthcare fraud scheme

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-kash-patel-61610c5384536667eb112734465b0a19">Kash Patel</a>&nbsp;as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump's bidding and go after the Republican president's adversaries.

“I cannot imagine a worse choice," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority.

 Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.

A Trump loyalist who has fiercely criticized the agency, Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-justice-department-jan-6-ff003e46ea48c4e8be710d1ba2eb2d02">highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents</a>&nbsp;who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Patel has spoken of his desire to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-patel-fisa-russia-2d215ded96ad8a08689b6f7f0b2d49ec">implement major changes</a>&nbsp;at the FBI, including a reduced footprint at headquarters in Washington and a renewed emphasis on the bureau's traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering and national security work that has come to define its mandate over the past two decades. But he also echoed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/kash-patel-is-pushing-conspiracies-and-his-brand-hes-poised-to-help-lead-a-trump-administration/">Trump's desire for retribution</a>. Patel raised alarm among Democrats for saying before he was nominated that he would “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the federal government and the media.

Republicans angry over what they see as law enforcement bias against conservatives during the Democratic Biden administration, as well as criminal investigations into Trump, have rallied behind Patel as the right person for the job.

“Mr. Patel wants to make the FBI accountable once again -– get back the reputation that the FBI has had historically for law enforcement,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said before Patel was confirmed. “He wants to hold the FBI accountable to Congress, to the president and, most importantly, to the people they serve — the American taxpayer.”

Democrats complained about Patel's lack of management experience compared with previous FBI directors and they highlighted incendiary past statements that they said called his judgment into question.

“I am absolutely sure of this one thing: this vote will haunt anyone who votes for him. They will rue the day they did it,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.

He added: “To my Republican colleagues, think about what you will tell your constituents” and family “about why you became voted for this person who will so completely and utterly disgrace this office and do such grave damage to our nation’s justice system.”

About a half-dozen Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered outside FBI headquarters earlier Thursday in a last-ditch plea to derail his confirmation.

“This is someone we cannot trust,” said Sen. Adam Schiff of California. “This is someone who lacks the character to do this job, someone who lacks the integrity to do this job. We know that, our Republican colleagues know that."

<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/kash-patels-podcast-persona-staunch-trump-defender-and-fierce-critic-of-the-fbi-he-could-soon-lead/">Patel's eyebrow-raising remarks</a>&nbsp;on hundreds of podcasts and in other interviews over the past four years include referring to law enforcement officials who investigated Trump as “criminal gangsters," saying some Jan. 6 rioters were “political prisoners” and proposing to shut down the FBI headquarters and turning it into a museum for the so-called deep state.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-patel-senate-f3465219e265df1598e15da3ad0e8a07">At his Senate hearing in January</a>, Patel said Democrats were taking some of his comments out of context or misunderstanding the broader point that he was trying to make. Patel has also denied the idea that a list in book he authored of government officials who he said were part of a “deep state” amounted to an “enemies list,” calling that a “total mischaracterization.”

FBI directors are given 10-year terms as a way to insulate them from political influence and keep them from becoming beholden to a particular president or administration. Patel was selected in November to replace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-wray-fbi-farewell-trump-patel-partisanship-afe159a6e112e68dd5319ceac905d517">Christopher Wray</a>, who was picked by Trump in 2017 and served for more than seven years but who repeatedly angered the president and was seen by him as insufficiently loyal. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wray-fbi-director-resign-trump-patel-ca7553c92819b5487ce12de252a5a543">resigned</a>&nbsp;before Trump took office.

Since Wray's resignation, the FBI has been led by interim leaders, who have clashed with the Justice Department over its demands for details about the agents who investigated the Capitol riot — a move seen as a possible prelude to broader firings. Patel denied having any knowledge of discussions about potential firings, but a letter from Durbin last week that cited information that he said had come from insiders suggested that Patel may have been covertly involved in that process.

Trump has said that he expects some of those agents will be fired.

Patel is a former federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor. He attracted Trump’s attention during the president's first term when, as a staffer on the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/af8b27485d7a42ad86b8bf7ad1d554bb">Patel helped write a memo with pointed criticism of the FBI’s investigation</a>&nbsp;into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Patel later joined Trump’s administration, both as a counterterrorism official at the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the defense secretary.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737910381416.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and Patel during a December meeting -courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and Patel during a December meeting -courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-kash-patel-61610c5384536667eb112734465b0a19">Kash Patel</a>&nbsp;as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump's bidding and go after the Republican president's adversaries.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740068029916.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran met with Patel on Jan. 17-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran met with Patel on Jan. 17-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>“I cannot imagine a worse choice," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority. Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740079258648.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, upper right) during the vote count Thursday afternoon-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, upper right) during the vote count Thursday afternoon-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>A Trump loyalist who has fiercely criticized the agency, Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-justice-department-jan-6-ff003e46ea48c4e8be710d1ba2eb2d02">highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents</a>&nbsp;who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740079232134.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (center) casting his vote for Patel-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (center) casting his vote for Patel-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">U.S. Senate CONFIRMS Kash Patel to be FBI Director, 51-49. <a href="https://t.co/xB2nrm8obk">pic.twitter.com/xB2nrm8obk</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1892657932623327599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Patel has spoken of his desire to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-patel-fisa-russia-2d215ded96ad8a08689b6f7f0b2d49ec">implement major changes</a>&nbsp;at the FBI, including a reduced footprint at headquarters in Washington and a renewed emphasis on the bureau's traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering and national security work that has come to define its mandate over the past two decades. But he also echoed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/kash-patel-is-pushing-conspiracies-and-his-brand-hes-poised-to-help-lead-a-trump-administration/">Trump's desire for retribution</a>. Patel raised alarm among Democrats for saying before he was nominated that he would “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the federal government and the media.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">CONFIRMED 🇺🇸 Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/Kash_Patel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kash_Patel</a> on his confirmation as FBI Director. Kash is committed to transparency and fair application of justice — something Americans should expect from law enforcement agencies. We must end the weaponization of government and return the FBI…&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1892657258481229855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Republicans angry over what they see as law enforcement bias against conservatives during the Democratic Biden administration, as well as criminal investigations into Trump, have rallied behind Patel as the right person for the job.“Mr. Patel wants to make the FBI accountable once again -– get back the reputation that the FBI has had historically for law enforcement,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said before Patel was confirmed. “He wants to hold the FBI accountable to Congress, to the president and, most importantly, to the people they serve — the American taxpayer.”Democrats complained about Patel's lack of management experience compared with previous FBI directors and they highlighted incendiary past statements that they said called his judgment into question.“I am absolutely sure of this one thing: this vote will haunt anyone who votes for him. They will rue the day they did it,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.He added: “To my Republican colleagues, think about what you will tell your constituents” and family “about why you became voted for this person who will so completely and utterly disgrace this office and do such grave damage to our nation’s justice system.”About a half-dozen Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered outside FBI headquarters earlier Thursday in a last-ditch plea to derail his confirmation.“This is someone we cannot trust,” said Sen. Adam Schiff of California. “This is someone who lacks the character to do this job, someone who lacks the integrity to do this job. We know that, our Republican colleagues know that."<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/kash-patels-podcast-persona-staunch-trump-defender-and-fierce-critic-of-the-fbi-he-could-soon-lead/">Patel's eyebrow-raising remarks</a>&nbsp;on hundreds of podcasts and in other interviews over the past four years include referring to law enforcement officials who investigated Trump as “criminal gangsters," saying some Jan. 6 rioters were “political prisoners” and proposing to shut down the FBI headquarters and turning it into a museum for the so-called deep state.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-patel-senate-f3465219e265df1598e15da3ad0e8a07">At his Senate hearing in January</a>, Patel said Democrats were taking some of his comments out of context or misunderstanding the broader point that he was trying to make. Patel has also denied the idea that a list in book he authored of government officials who he said were part of a “deep state” amounted to an “enemies list,” calling that a “total mischaracterization.”FBI directors are given 10-year terms as a way to insulate them from political influence and keep them from becoming beholden to a particular president or administration. Patel was selected in November to replace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-wray-fbi-farewell-trump-patel-partisanship-afe159a6e112e68dd5319ceac905d517">Christopher Wray</a>, who was picked by Trump in 2017 and served for more than seven years but who repeatedly angered the president and was seen by him as insufficiently loyal. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wray-fbi-director-resign-trump-patel-ca7553c92819b5487ce12de252a5a543">resigned</a>&nbsp;before Trump took office.Since Wray's resignation, the FBI has been led by interim leaders, who have clashed with the Justice Department over its demands for details about the agents who investigated the Capitol riot — a move seen as a possible prelude to broader firings. Patel denied having any knowledge of discussions about potential firings, but a letter from Durbin last week that cited information that he said had come from insiders suggested that Patel may have been covertly involved in that process.Trump has said that he expects some of those agents will be fired.Patel is a former federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor. He attracted Trump’s attention during the president's first term when, as a staffer on the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/af8b27485d7a42ad86b8bf7ad1d554bb">Patel helped write a memo with pointed criticism of the FBI’s investigation</a>&nbsp;into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.Patel later joined Trump’s administration, both as a counterterrorism official at the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the defense secretary.

Moran, Marshall vote yes as Senate confirms Patel as FBI director

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former Oklahoma Gov. David Boren, who became one of the nation's youngest governors in the 1970s at age 33 and later helped shape national intelligence as a U.S. senator, has died. He was 83.

Boren, who went on to serve as president of the University of Oklahoma after retiring from politics, died early Thursday at his home near Newcastle, said Bob Burke, a longtime family friend. He said Boren's death was the result of complications from diabetes.

The son of a Democratic congressman, Boren quickly followed in his father's footsteps into elected office and oversaw a dramatic downsizing of government in Oklahoma, where over decades in legislative corridors and university offices he became one of the state's most influential figures. His son, Dan Boren, also served four terms as an Oklahoma congressman.

In 2019, David Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-a6900eea27124e9ebe5bc23cd4ad1656">cut ties with the university</a>&nbsp;he had led for 24 years amid a probe into allegations that he had sexually harassed male subordinates. Boren denied wrongdoing and the allegations never resulted in charges or civil litigation.

“Today, I join Oklahomans in mourning the loss of former Governor David Boren, who dedicated his life to serving our state," said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who ordered flags on state property to be flown at half-staff until his funeral. “His love of Oklahoma was evident in everything he did.”

Boren served in the U.S. Senate between 1979 and 1994 and was the longest-serving chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He became president of Oklahoma's largest public university after leaving the Senate and held the position until stepping down in 2018.

“He saw public service as a noble calling and dedicated his life to it,” Dan Boren said in a statement. "The countless heartwarming stories I hear almost daily from people across this state who he helped are reminders of his remarkable life.”

A year after leaving the University of Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/628538cca4f74df5b755927956a3bd8e">a former student alleged he was touched</a>&nbsp;and kissed inappropriately by Boren on several occasions about a decade earlier, allegations that Boren repeatedly denied.

An investigation into Boren’s alleged misconduct&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-8a9ca5652f8d43788ff663e2f36d4e02">by the Jones Day law firm</a>, which ended when Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-49a8fca716714b628f20c009d1952980">severed ties to the university</a>&nbsp;in 2019, was never publicly released. The allegations against Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/18d6c8ab6a444af28274ede2a6d4a41d">tarnished his reputation</a>&nbsp;and led him to withdraw from public life.

Boren served four terms in the Oklahoma House before being elected governor at the age of 33 in 1974, which at the time made him the youngest governor in the country. He ran a reformist campaign that became known as the “Boren Broom Brigade” to demonstrate his pledge to “sweep out the old guard.”

While in the U.S. Senate, Boren forged close relationships with the leaders of the nation's intelligence community, including former CIA Director George Tenet, whom Boren tapped as the Intelligence Committee's chief of staff prior to Tenet's appointment as CIA director.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Boren was having breakfast with Tenet at a Washington hotel when Tenet, then CIA director, learned that an aircraft had flown into the World Trade Center tower in New York City. Boren later recalled that neither he nor Tenet was “totally shocked” by the terrorist attack because the two men had spoken frequently about the possibility of international terrorists launching an attack in the U.S.

In the Senate, Boren also helped build bipartisan support to oppose South Africa's oppressive racial apartheid regime ahead of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. Shortly after his release, Mandela traveled to the U.S. and appeared as a guest on an ABC News town hall moderated by Ted Koppel. Boren was in the audience and Mandela led a standing ovation after Boren summed up the evils of apartheid and called for its end.

“He has said all the things that are required to be said in regards to the problems of South Africa,” Mandela said.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Boren also said he was heavily involved with helping influence U.S. policy in Central America, particularly in Nicaragua, during conflict in that country between the right-wing Contras and the leftist Sandinistas, working as an “informal emissary” for former President George H.W. Bush.

“The fact that I was in a different party — and the fact that we trusted each other -- was a big benefit,” Boren told The Oklahoman in 1994.

David Lyle Boren was born on April 21, 1941, in Washington, the son of U.S. Rep. Lyle Hagler Boren and the former Christine McKown. He was married twice, to the late Janna Little Robbins and then to Molly Shi Boren, a former judge, English teacher and president emeritus of the Oklahoma Arts Institute.

Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cc475d3a46ff4206b368770c9cffc7df">suffered from a minor stroke</a>&nbsp;at a statue dedication ceremony in April 2018 and was hospitalized for several days. Boren also underwent heart bypass surgery in March 2017.

Boren is survived by two children, including Dan Boren, the former Oklahoma congressman who is currently secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation.

Retired Associated Press journalist Tim Talley was the principal writer of this obituary.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former Oklahoma Gov. David Boren, who became one of the nation's youngest governors in the 1970s at age 33 and later helped shape national intelligence as a U.S. senator, has died. He was 83.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">The University of Oklahoma is saddened to share the passing of David L. Boren, whose life’s work was rooted in his commitment to the people of Oklahoma and his belief in the power of education to change lives. <a href="https://t.co/dOWh6sb9jE">pic.twitter.com/dOWh6sb9jE</a>&mdash; University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) <a href="https://twitter.com/UofOklahoma/status/1892577069827051826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Boren, who went on to serve as president of the University of Oklahoma after retiring from politics, died early Thursday at his home near Newcastle, said Bob Burke, a longtime family friend. He said Boren's death was the result of complications from diabetes.The son of a Democratic congressman, Boren quickly followed in his father's footsteps into elected office and oversaw a dramatic downsizing of government in Oklahoma, where over decades in legislative corridors and university offices he became one of the state's most influential figures. His son, Dan Boren, also served four terms as an Oklahoma congressman.In 2019, David Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-a6900eea27124e9ebe5bc23cd4ad1656">cut ties with the university</a>&nbsp;he had led for 24 years amid a probe into allegations that he had sexually harassed male subordinates. Boren denied wrongdoing and the allegations never resulted in charges or civil litigation.“Today, I join Oklahomans in mourning the loss of former Governor David Boren, who dedicated his life to serving our state," said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who ordered flags on state property to be flown at half-staff until his funeral. “His love of Oklahoma was evident in everything he did.”Boren served in the U.S. Senate between 1979 and 1994 and was the longest-serving chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He became president of Oklahoma's largest public university after leaving the Senate and held the position until stepping down in 2018.“He saw public service as a noble calling and dedicated his life to it,” Dan Boren said in a statement. "The countless heartwarming stories I hear almost daily from people across this state who he helped are reminders of his remarkable life.”A year after leaving the University of Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/628538cca4f74df5b755927956a3bd8e">a former student alleged he was touched</a>&nbsp;and kissed inappropriately by Boren on several occasions about a decade earlier, allegations that Boren repeatedly denied.An investigation into Boren’s alleged misconduct&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-8a9ca5652f8d43788ff663e2f36d4e02">by the Jones Day law firm</a>, which ended when Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-49a8fca716714b628f20c009d1952980">severed ties to the university</a>&nbsp;in 2019, was never publicly released. The allegations against Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/18d6c8ab6a444af28274ede2a6d4a41d">tarnished his reputation</a>&nbsp;and led him to withdraw from public life.Boren served four terms in the Oklahoma House before being elected governor at the age of 33 in 1974, which at the time made him the youngest governor in the country. He ran a reformist campaign that became known as the “Boren Broom Brigade” to demonstrate his pledge to “sweep out the old guard.”While in the U.S. Senate, Boren forged close relationships with the leaders of the nation's intelligence community, including former CIA Director George Tenet, whom Boren tapped as the Intelligence Committee's chief of staff prior to Tenet's appointment as CIA director.On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Boren was having breakfast with Tenet at a Washington hotel when Tenet, then CIA director, learned that an aircraft had flown into the World Trade Center tower in New York City. Boren later recalled that neither he nor Tenet was “totally shocked” by the terrorist attack because the two men had spoken frequently about the possibility of international terrorists launching an attack in the U.S.In the Senate, Boren also helped build bipartisan support to oppose South Africa's oppressive racial apartheid regime ahead of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. Shortly after his release, Mandela traveled to the U.S. and appeared as a guest on an ABC News town hall moderated by Ted Koppel. Boren was in the audience and Mandela led a standing ovation after Boren summed up the evils of apartheid and called for its end.“He has said all the things that are required to be said in regards to the problems of South Africa,” Mandela said.During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Boren also said he was heavily involved with helping influence U.S. policy in Central America, particularly in Nicaragua, during conflict in that country between the right-wing Contras and the leftist Sandinistas, working as an “informal emissary” for former President George H.W. Bush.“The fact that I was in a different party — and the fact that we trusted each other -- was a big benefit,” Boren told The Oklahoman in 1994.David Lyle Boren was born on April 21, 1941, in Washington, the son of U.S. Rep. Lyle Hagler Boren and the former Christine McKown. He was married twice, to the late Janna Little Robbins and then to Molly Shi Boren, a former judge, English teacher and president emeritus of the Oklahoma Arts Institute.Boren&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cc475d3a46ff4206b368770c9cffc7df">suffered from a minor stroke</a>&nbsp;at a statue dedication ceremony in April 2018 and was hospitalized for several days. Boren also underwent heart bypass surgery in March 2017.Boren is survived by two children, including Dan Boren, the former Oklahoma congressman who is currently secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation.___Retired Associated Press journalist Tim Talley was the principal writer of this obituary.

David Boren, former Oklahoma governor, US senator and university president has died

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said that he likes the idea of giving some of the savings from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk’s</a>&nbsp;Department of Government Efficiency back to U.S. citizens as a kind of dividend.

He said at an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday that the administration is considering a concept in which 20% of the savings produced by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-firings-layoffs-federal-government-workers-musk-d33cdd7872d64d2bdd8fe70c28652654">DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts</a>&nbsp;goes to American citizens and another 20% goes to paying down the national debt.

Trump also said the potential for dividend payments would incentivize people to report wasteful spending.

“They’ll be reporting it themselves,” Trump said. “They participate in the process of saving us money.”

Later, as he flew back to Washington aboard Air Force One, he was asked by a reporter about the plan floated by Musk.

“I love it,” the Republican president told reporters on the plane.

A day earlier, Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891967592048611532?s=46" target="_blank">wrote on his social media platform</a>&nbsp;that he “will check with the President” in response to a suggestion that Trump and Musk should announce a ”DOGE Dividend” that would send a refund to taxpayers from part of the savings created by DOGE. Its efforts have already led to thousands of federal government employees being fired or laid off.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said that he likes the idea of giving some of the savings from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk’s</a>&nbsp;Department of Government Efficiency back to U.S. citizens as a kind of dividend.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President Trump: &quot;There&#39;s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to the American citizens and 20% goes to paying down debt, because the numbers are incredible Elon.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/hlaP6g5Qw0">pic.twitter.com/hlaP6g5Qw0</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1892359932910993799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>He said at an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday that the administration is considering a concept in which 20% of the savings produced by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-firings-layoffs-federal-government-workers-musk-d33cdd7872d64d2bdd8fe70c28652654">DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts</a>&nbsp;goes to American citizens and another 20% goes to paying down the national debt.Trump also said the potential for dividend payments would incentivize people to report wasteful spending.“They’ll be reporting it themselves,” Trump said. “They participate in the process of saving us money.”Later, as he flew back to Washington aboard Air Force One, he was asked by a reporter about the plan floated by Musk.“I love it,” the Republican president told reporters on the plane.A day earlier, Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891967592048611532?s=46" target="_blank">wrote on his social media platform</a>&nbsp;that he “will check with the President” in response to a suggestion that Trump and Musk should announce a ”DOGE Dividend” that would send a refund to taxpayers from part of the savings created by DOGE. Its efforts have already led to thousands of federal government employees being fired or laid off.

🎥Trump backs idea to send some DOGE savings to you

Chamber sends Senate a bill allowing 20-year-olds to enter police academy

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</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 — Rep. Brad Barrett’s sense of potential lethal ramifications of high-speed pursuits by law enforcement officers was drawn from service as a Shawnee County district attorney investigator and a Coffey County sheriff’s deputy.

Barrett, an Osage City Republican, brought that experience to the Kansas House where he urged peers to support&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/supp_note_hb2177_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2177</a>. It would stiffen criminal penalties for motorists repeatedly convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude authorities.

“This is dangerous,” he said. “When people are fleeing law enforcement, they’re driving a couple thousand pound missile full of fuel. We need to hold them accountable for their actions.”

Kansas Highway Patrol Col. Eric Smith and Coffey County Undersheriff Eric Smith — no relation — had testified to a House committee in support of the bill. Both said the state would be justified to enact progressively severe punitive measures for those who continued to attempt or commit an aggravated form of fleeing and eluding.

“Increased penalties for prior convictions discourage violators from committing the same offense,” the KHP colonel said.

He said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documented 525 fatalities in 2021 that occurred during police pursuits in the United States.

On Thursday, the House responded by voting 94-28 to send the bill to the Kansas Senate.

The legislation would raise a third or subsequent conviction for skirting a road block, avoiding tire deflation devices or intentionally causing property damage during a law enforcement chase from a level 9 felony to a level 5 felony. The bill also would dictate that a person convicted a third or subsequent time of driving the wrong way into an opposing lane of traffic and forcing a motorist to take evasive action or colliding with a vehicle, would face a level 4 felony rather than a level 9 felony.

Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, D-Topeka, asked during floor debate on the bill Wednesday for evidence demonstrating that modifying the sentencing grid so more people went to prison compelled anyone to avoid entering into chases with law enforcement.

“There’s no evidence that raising the penalty on fleeing and eluding will have any deterrent effect at all,” Schlingensiepen said.

Emily Brandt, who represents the legislative committee of the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense, said the bill was unnecessary because fleeing-and-eluding recidivists were punished when judges who factored criminal history into sentencing decisions.

She said elevating the third offense to a level 4 or level 5 felony would punish someone as seriously as if the crime in question was aggravated battery, involuntary manslaughter or sexual exploitation of a child. Individuals with a third such person felony could be sentenced to more than decade in prison, she said.

“This bill would punish people who committed no harm to another as severely as people who committed a murder or caused great bodily harm,” Brandt said. “If passed, this bill would have a significant fiscal impact on the state of Kansas, mostly because of much longer prison stays for committing these crimes, but also because of increased defense costs for higher severity level crimes.”

A House majority also sent the Senate — on a vote of 97-24 — a bill to lower the minimum age for persons applying for certification as a law enforcement officer to 20 years of age from the current standard of 21. While law enforcement training could take place, supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/supp_note_hb2164_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2164</a>&nbsp;indicated individuals would need to be 21 to be assigned duties as a part-time or full-time officer.

“This bill would help with recruitment and retention for Kansas law enforcement departments to help address shortages,” said Rep. Kevin Schwertfeger, R-Turon.

Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan, who made officer recruiting a top priority since selected chief in 2022, said one barrier to attracting candidates for careers in law enforcement was the state mandate they had to be 21 years of age prior to applying for a state law enforcement certification.

He said the department implemented an “early onboarding process” to streamline recruitment. The House bill would allow the department to formally bring 20-year-olds into the process while they awaited a law enforcement academy start date. The objective would be for applicants to complete a six-month training program before turning 21, he said.

“Increasing the pool of potential applicants will help us fill critical vacancies and enhance public safety for all Kansans by ensuring that we have well-training, capable officers protecting our communities,” Sullivan said.

Overland Park Police Chief Doreen Jokerst, who entered a Colorado police academy at age 20, said the reform would reflect her belief that “responsible and capable individuals exist” within the lower age group. Opening training academies to Kansas applicants earlier would support law enforcement agencies working to attract promising candidates, she said.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Republican who served as chairman of the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, said he wasn’t convinced lowering the age was sound public policy. He said there could be problems if 20-year-old trainees were given gun and badge before they were equipped to handle the job.

“I urge the House to move very slowly on this request because I think we’re going to make mistakes,” Carmichael said. “We’re going to have people without the maturity out there as police officers.”

Ottawa GOP Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, vice chair of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, said legislative heartburn on the bill didn’t make sense.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740069726626.png" alt="File photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>File photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Chamber sends Senate a bill allowing 20-year-olds to enter police academy</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</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 — Rep. Brad Barrett’s sense of potential lethal ramifications of high-speed pursuits by law enforcement officers was drawn from service as a Shawnee County district attorney investigator and a Coffey County sheriff’s deputy.Barrett, an Osage City Republican, brought that experience to the Kansas House where he urged peers to support&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/supp_note_hb2177_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2177</a>. It would stiffen criminal penalties for motorists repeatedly convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude authorities.“This is dangerous,” he said. “When people are fleeing law enforcement, they’re driving a couple thousand pound missile full of fuel. We need to hold them accountable for their actions.”Kansas Highway Patrol Col. Eric Smith and Coffey County Undersheriff Eric Smith — no relation — had testified to a House committee in support of the bill. Both said the state would be justified to enact progressively severe punitive measures for those who continued to attempt or commit an aggravated form of fleeing and eluding.“Increased penalties for prior convictions discourage violators from committing the same offense,” the KHP colonel said.He said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documented 525 fatalities in 2021 that occurred during police pursuits in the United States.On Thursday, the House responded by voting 94-28 to send the bill to the Kansas Senate.The legislation would raise a third or subsequent conviction for skirting a road block, avoiding tire deflation devices or intentionally causing property damage during a law enforcement chase from a level 9 felony to a level 5 felony. The bill also would dictate that a person convicted a third or subsequent time of driving the wrong way into an opposing lane of traffic and forcing a motorist to take evasive action or colliding with a vehicle, would face a level 4 felony rather than a level 9 felony.<h2>Not so fast</h2>Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, D-Topeka, asked during floor debate on the bill Wednesday for evidence demonstrating that modifying the sentencing grid so more people went to prison compelled anyone to avoid entering into chases with law enforcement.“There’s no evidence that raising the penalty on fleeing and eluding will have any deterrent effect at all,” Schlingensiepen said.Emily Brandt, who represents the legislative committee of the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense, said the bill was unnecessary because fleeing-and-eluding recidivists were punished when judges who factored criminal history into sentencing decisions.She said elevating the third offense to a level 4 or level 5 felony would punish someone as seriously as if the crime in question was aggravated battery, involuntary manslaughter or sexual exploitation of a child. Individuals with a third such person felony could be sentenced to more than decade in prison, she said.“This bill would punish people who committed no harm to another as severely as people who committed a murder or caused great bodily harm,” Brandt said. “If passed, this bill would have a significant fiscal impact on the state of Kansas, mostly because of much longer prison stays for committing these crimes, but also because of increased defense costs for higher severity level crimes.”<h2>Police academy: Age 20</h2>A House majority also sent the Senate — on a vote of 97-24 — a bill to lower the minimum age for persons applying for certification as a law enforcement officer to 20 years of age from the current standard of 21. While law enforcement training could take place, supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/supp_note_hb2164_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2164</a>&nbsp;indicated individuals would need to be 21 to be assigned duties as a part-time or full-time officer.“This bill would help with recruitment and retention for Kansas law enforcement departments to help address shortages,” said Rep. Kevin Schwertfeger, R-Turon.Wichita Police Chief Joseph Sullivan, who made officer recruiting a top priority since selected chief in 2022, said one barrier to attracting candidates for careers in law enforcement was the state mandate they had to be 21 years of age prior to applying for a state law enforcement certification.He said the department implemented an “early onboarding process” to streamline recruitment. The House bill would allow the department to formally bring 20-year-olds into the process while they awaited a law enforcement academy start date. The objective would be for applicants to complete a six-month training program before turning 21, he said.“Increasing the pool of potential applicants will help us fill critical vacancies and enhance public safety for all Kansans by ensuring that we have well-training, capable officers protecting our communities,” Sullivan said.<h2>What’s the hang-up?</h2>Overland Park Police Chief Doreen Jokerst, who entered a Colorado police academy at age 20, said the reform would reflect her belief that “responsible and capable individuals exist” within the lower age group. Opening training academies to Kansas applicants earlier would support law enforcement agencies working to attract promising candidates, she said.Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Republican who served as chairman of the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, said he wasn’t convinced lowering the age was sound public policy. He said there could be problems if 20-year-old trainees were given gun and badge before they were equipped to handle the job.“I urge the House to move very slowly on this request because I think we’re going to make mistakes,” Carmichael said. “We’re going to have people without the maturity out there as police officers.”Ottawa GOP Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, vice chair of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, said legislative heartburn on the bill didn’t make sense.

Kan. House agrees to stiffen penalty for recidivist offenders in high-speed police chases

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">Sen. Mitch McConnell</a>&nbsp;announced on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.

McConnell, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-united-states-senate-new-york-city-mitch-mcconnell-41f4326218e7c2d8439ca02d09c6683b">longest-serving Senate party leader</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he addressed colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740070424167.png" alt="Mitch McConnell spoke about his decision on the Senate Floor Thursday morning just moments after voting to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Mitch McConnell spoke about his decision on the Senate Floor Thursday morning just moments after voting to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell">Sen. Mitch McConnell</a>&nbsp;announced on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Sen. Mitch McConnell (<a href="https://twitter.com/SenMcConnell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenMcConnell</a>): &quot;Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate...Representing our Commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/b33cR7I36e">pic.twitter.com/b33cR7I36e</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1892621015370399750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>McConnell, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-united-states-senate-new-york-city-mitch-mcconnell-41f4326218e7c2d8439ca02d09c6683b">longest-serving Senate party leader</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he addressed colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said, as aides lined the back chamber and several senators listened from seats. “Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-presidential-election-trump-harris-ed91f084599d0f25b00f44bb71620528">a conservative Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and steered the Senate through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2d9e099660064f2b8a8fc2237b4e7e4e">tax cuts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-trial-0d0916330d20cc139c64f73af5ef4647">presidential impeachment trials</a>&nbsp;and fierce political fights.McConnell, first elected in 1984, intends to serve the remainder of his term ending in January 2027. The Kentuckian has dealt with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcconnell-senate-fall-republican-8d58004d3f14c1995d83c11319d77d72">a series of medical episodes</a>&nbsp;in recent years, including injuries sustained from falls and times when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-gop-leader-mcconnell-health-freeze-up-c5b43745251daa0bb63636ceff4edce2">his face briefly froze</a>&nbsp;while he was speaking.The senator delivered his speech in a chamber the famously taciturn McConnell revered as a young intern long before joining its back benches as a freshman lawmaker in the mid-1980s. His dramatic announcement comes almost a year after his decision to relinquish&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-senate-republican-leader-stepping-down-ba478d570a4561aa7baf91a204d7e366">his leadership post</a>&nbsp;after the November 2024 election.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-leader-thune-cornyn-scott-mcconnell-trump-c3c1c451a420729136ae641a14d9d5d6">South Dakota Sen. John Thune</a>, a top McConnell deputy, replaced him as majority leader.McConnell's looming departure reflects the changing dynamics of the Trump-led GOP. He's seen his power diminish on a parallel track with both his health and his relationship with Trump, who once praised him as an ally but has taken to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/trump-slams-mcconnell-for-rfk-jr-vote-calling-him-bitter-and-questioning-his-childhood-polio-bcf92bb6f7a54c71b81ba861d4180575">criticizing him in caustic terms</a>.In Kentucky, McConnell's departure will mark the loss of a powerful advocate and will set off a competitive GOP primary next year for what will now be an open Senate seat. Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, seen as a rising star in his party for winning statewide office in Republican territory, has said he has no interest in the Senate, though he is widely viewed as a contender for higher office.McConnell, a diehard adherent to Ronald Reagan’s brand of traditional conservatism and muscular foreign policy, increasingly found himself out of step with a GOP shifting toward the fiery, often isolationist populism espoused by Trump.McConnell still champions providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid to fend off Russia’s invasion, even as Trump ratchets up criticism of the country and its leader,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kellogg-zelenskyy-437f4c8fa4531059007dd3ab00c23458">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>. The senator plans to make it clear Thursday that national defense remains at the forefront of his agenda.“Thanks to Ronald Reagan’s determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate,” McConnell said in his prepared remarks. "But since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to."McConnell and Trump were partners during Trump's first term, but the relationship was severed after McConnell blamed Trump for “disgraceful” acts in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack by his supporters</a>. A momentary thaw in 2024 when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-endorsement-donald-trump-super-tuesday-422a2ec6f19917b46804b4cf6ee40371">McConnell endorsed Trump</a>&nbsp;didn't last.Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-mitch-mcconnell-polio-rfk-vaccines-06a03dd5ca2024317f01e1c4f5171678">Trump referred to McConnell</a>&nbsp;as a "very bitter guy” after McConnell, who battled polio as a child, opposed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as the nation’s top health official. McConnell referred to Trump as a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist” in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcconnell-trump-biography-election-0a861001d95287e689336504abc2281f">a biography of the senator</a>&nbsp;by The Associated Press' deputy Washington bureau chief, Michael Tackett.Before their falling out, Trump and McConnell pushed through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/6a409d3266be46dcaa2f1267fd947a12">a tax overhaul</a>&nbsp;largely focused on reductions for businesses and higher-earning taxpayers. They joined forces to reshape the Supreme Court when Trump nominated three justices and McConnell guided them to Senate confirmation, tilting the high court to the right.McConnell set a new precedent for hardball partisan tactics in 2016 by refusing to even give a hearing to Democratic President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-6fe101b4bef54f989d939bccc81873fc">Barack Obama’s pick of Merrick Garland</a>&nbsp;to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Putting the brakes on the Senate's “advise and consent” role for judicial nominees, McConnell said the vacancy should be filled by the next president so voters could have their say.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f5a557876d5546cca4ebd53b4860e2ed">Trump filled the vacancy</a>&nbsp;once he took office, and McConnell later called the stonewalling of Garland's nomination his “most consequential” achievement.Later, when liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died weeks before the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden, McConnell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-ruth-bader-ginsburg-amy-coney-barrett-82a02a618343c98b80ca2b6bf9eafe07">rushed Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation</a>&nbsp;through the Senate, waving off allegations of hypocrisy.McConnell also guided the Senate — and Trump — through two impeachment trials that ended in acquittals.In the second impeachment, weeks after the deadly Capitol attack by a mob hoping to overturn Trump’s 2020 reelection defeat, McConnell joined all but seven Republicans in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-riots-trials-impeachments-b245b52fd7d4a079ae199c954baba452">voting to acquit</a>. McConnell said he believed Trump couldn’t be convicted because he’d already left office, but the senator also condemned Trump as “practically and morally responsible” for the insurrection.McConnell over the years swung back and forth from majority to minority leader, depending on which party held power. He defended President George W. Bush’s handling of the Iraq war and failed to block Obama’s health care overhaul.McConnell, the longest-serving senator ever from Kentucky, ensured that the Bluegrass State received plenty of federal funding. Back home he was a key architect in his party's rise to power in a state long dominated by Democrats.He is married to Elaine Chao, and they have long been a power couple in Washington. In his prepared remarks Thursday, the senator referred to her as his “ultimate teammate and confidante.” Chao was labor secretary for Bush and transportation secretary during Trump's first term, though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/national-security-michael-pence-01e30bccef96ccd73fe642f8f96f8519">she resigned</a>&nbsp;after the Capitol insurrection, saying it had “deeply troubled” her.McConnell's parting words reflected his devotion to the Senate and his disdain for his detractors.“The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence," he said. "And, to the disappointment of my critics, I’m still here on the job.”___Schreiner reported from Louisville, Ky.