WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls.

The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps.

The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people.

Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump's election as a reason for the recruiting rebound. But the enlistment increases began long before last November, and officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives.

The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall.

As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did.

The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service.

"Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals," Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March.

He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors "remains healthy" but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem.

The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses.

While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022.

That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments.

The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses.

The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members.

Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to reenlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year.

When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that "your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine."

"That's your bonus, right?" he said. "There's no dollar amount that goes with that."

The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armor and artillery jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734556522043.png" alt="Photo AP" />
 <figcaption>Photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>By LOLITA C. BALDOR&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls.The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps.The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1738854959688.png" alt="File Photos U.S. Northern Command" />
 <figcaption>File Photos U.S. Northern Command</figcaption>
 </figure>Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year.President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump's election as a reason for the recruiting rebound. But the enlistment increases began long before last November, and officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives.The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall.As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did.The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service."Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals," Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March.He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors "remains healthy" but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem.The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses.While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022.That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments.The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses.The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members.Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to reenlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year.When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that "your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine.""That's your bonus, right?" he said. "There's no dollar amount that goes with that."The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armor and artillery jobs.

 US military spent $6 billion in the past 3 years to recruit and retain troops

The Missouri General Assembly seems likely to return next Monday to decide whether pay up to half the possible $3 billion projected cost for stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

The last time Missouri was in danger of losing an NFL franchise, deep disagreements between the governor and lawmakers over whether the state should pay for a new stadium led to litigation and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article49229835.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">threat of a constitutional showdown.</a>

It was 10 years ago when then-Gov. Jay Nixon and the legislature quarreled over&nbsp;a $1 billion plan to build a new St. Louis stadium for the Rams.&nbsp;

Expecting GOP resistance, Nixon, a Democrat, came up with a strategy that didn’t involve the legislature. That sparked a group of legislators to file a lawsuit to block Nixon’s plan and threaten to refuse to allocate money the governor committed to the stadium when the General&nbsp;Assembly reconvened in January 2016.&nbsp;

But that looming clash fizzled when&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2016-01-04/its-official-the-st-louis-rams-want-to-move-to-los-angeles" target="_blank">Rams announced an intention to move to Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;two days before the 2016 session began. NFL owners&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462848857/nfl-votes-to-move-rams-to-los-angeles-with-option-for-chargers-to-join-them" target="_blank">overwhelmingly agreed to let them do it</a>&nbsp;soon after.&nbsp;

A decade later, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing a plan for the state to pay up to half the costs of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs.&nbsp;

Both teams have expressed interest in leaving Missouri when the lease on their current stadiums expire in 2030, and Kansas lawmakers have put a deal on the table that would use state incentives to pay for up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums.

Kehoe has one advantage Nixon didn’t — a legislature dominated by his own party. But while the governor successfully convinced the Missouri House to sign off on a stadium funding plan earlier this month in the final days of the session, the Senate was in no mood to play ball.&nbsp;

House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, alerted his colleagues on Friday that the governor is expected to call the legislature back into session as early as next week to debate stadium funding. The governor may also include a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/20/missouri-special-session-may-provide-new-life-for-500-million-budget-bill/">$500 million construction package on the special session agenda</a>, a move seen as vital to winning over support in the Senate for any stadium plan.&nbsp;

But with partisan tensions running high after a tumultuous end to the regular legislative session, and serious heartburn among Republicans over the idea of spending hundreds of millions to subsidize sports franchises, the outcome is anything but certain.&nbsp;

“I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said in a recent interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksgf.com/episode/nick-reed-05-20-25-session-recap-with-rep-darin-chappell/" target="_blank">KSGF</a>. “… But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling. And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”

Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, said state funding for stadiums is “an easy demagogue topic.” But losing the teams to Kansas, she contends, would cost much more than the proposal put forth by the governor.&nbsp;

“My personal belief is both the direct and indirect dollars accruing to Missouri businesses from the Chiefs and Royals being located here far exceeds what they are asking,” she wrote on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10236461280174694&amp;id=1312548800&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=g7soDX6nEvZ4rUCO" target="_blank">social media</a>. “I also believe if they left the state it would tear out the heart of Missouri, leaving two big concrete structures as a forever reminder of what might have been.”

The Chiefs and the Royals face a deadline at the end of June on whether they will accept the offer from Kansas.

The proposal floated by Kehoe and set to be debated next week would pay up to half the cost — estimated to be up to $3 billion — as well as up to $50 million in tax credits for any direct investments made by the teams.&nbsp;

The stadium plan&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/15/stadium-funding-gun-rights-law-among-casualties-of-missouri-senate-breakdown/">died in the regular session</a>&nbsp;when the Senate twice used a rare procedural rule to end debate on controversial bills on abortion and paid sick leave.&nbsp;The move infuriated Democrats, who vowed the Senate will not function normally until they feel they can trust the GOP to work towards compromise.

There is also lingering bipartisan anger over the projects that were lost when the House sunk a capital improvements bill. The $513 million would have paid for projects at eight hospitals around the state, supported a new nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri to make cancer treatments and a new mental health hospital in Kansas City.

The rollout of Kehoe’s plan didn’t help soothe the tensions.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained that the governor kept the legislature in the dark on stadium funding plans, then demanded it sign off on the proposal with little debate and no details on the cost.

The lack of legislative involvement echoes 2015, when lawmakers took umbrage at Nixon’s efforts to work around them by trying to use existing incentive programs to help fund a new St. Louis stadium. &nbsp;Republicans and Democrats demanded Nixon either submit a proposal to the legislature or put it on the ballot for a vote.&nbsp;

&nbsp;“We will not stand idly by as the people of this state are committed to millions of dollars in debt without proper legislative approval or a public vote,” a group of House members said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/14/missouri-house-speaker-letter-blasts-state-money-for-stadium/73914594/" target="_blank">a letter to Nixon at the time</a>.

Lawmakers will get their wish this time around to have a say on whether Missouri taxpayers should help subsidize Kansas City stadiums.&nbsp;

Kehoe is optimistic, arguing that keeping the teams in Missouri&nbsp;“is a critical piece of economic development. And I’d like to see us make sure we can solidify our offer with legislative approval.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748263709817.png" alt="GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is pictured on Sat. Feb. 8 (Anna Spoerre/The Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is pictured on Sat. Feb. 8 (Anna Spoerre/The Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The Missouri General Assembly seems likely to return next Monday to decide whether pay up to half the possible $3 billion projected cost for stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>The last time Missouri was in danger of losing an NFL franchise, deep disagreements between the governor and lawmakers over whether the state should pay for a new stadium led to litigation and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article49229835.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">threat of a constitutional showdown.</a>It was 10 years ago when then-Gov. Jay Nixon and the legislature quarreled over&nbsp;a $1 billion plan to build a new St. Louis stadium for the Rams.&nbsp;Expecting GOP resistance, Nixon, a Democrat, came up with a strategy that didn’t involve the legislature. That sparked a group of legislators to file a lawsuit to block Nixon’s plan and threaten to refuse to allocate money the governor committed to the stadium when the General&nbsp;Assembly reconvened in January 2016.&nbsp;But that looming clash fizzled when&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2016-01-04/its-official-the-st-louis-rams-want-to-move-to-los-angeles" target="_blank">Rams announced an intention to move to Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;two days before the 2016 session began. NFL owners&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462848857/nfl-votes-to-move-rams-to-los-angeles-with-option-for-chargers-to-join-them" target="_blank">overwhelmingly agreed to let them do it</a>&nbsp;soon after.&nbsp;A decade later, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing a plan for the state to pay up to half the costs of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs.&nbsp;Both teams have expressed interest in leaving Missouri when the lease on their current stadiums expire in 2030, and Kansas lawmakers have put a deal on the table that would use state incentives to pay for up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums.Kehoe has one advantage Nixon didn’t — a legislature dominated by his own party. But while the governor successfully convinced the Missouri House to sign off on a stadium funding plan earlier this month in the final days of the session, the Senate was in no mood to play ball.&nbsp;House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, alerted his colleagues on Friday that the governor is expected to call the legislature back into session as early as next week to debate stadium funding. The governor may also include a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/20/missouri-special-session-may-provide-new-life-for-500-million-budget-bill/">$500 million construction package on the special session agenda</a>, a move seen as vital to winning over support in the Senate for any stadium plan.&nbsp;But with partisan tensions running high after a tumultuous end to the regular legislative session, and serious heartburn among Republicans over the idea of spending hundreds of millions to subsidize sports franchises, the outcome is anything but certain.&nbsp;“I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said in a recent interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksgf.com/episode/nick-reed-05-20-25-session-recap-with-rep-darin-chappell/" target="_blank">KSGF</a>. “… But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling. And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, said state funding for stadiums is “an easy demagogue topic.” But losing the teams to Kansas, she contends, would cost much more than the proposal put forth by the governor.&nbsp;“My personal belief is both the direct and indirect dollars accruing to Missouri businesses from the Chiefs and Royals being located here far exceeds what they are asking,” she wrote on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10236461280174694&amp;id=1312548800&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=g7soDX6nEvZ4rUCO" target="_blank">social media</a>. “I also believe if they left the state it would tear out the heart of Missouri, leaving two big concrete structures as a forever reminder of what might have been.”The Chiefs and the Royals face a deadline at the end of June on whether they will accept the offer from Kansas.The proposal floated by Kehoe and set to be debated next week would pay up to half the cost — estimated to be up to $3 billion — as well as up to $50 million in tax credits for any direct investments made by the teams.&nbsp;The stadium plan&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/15/stadium-funding-gun-rights-law-among-casualties-of-missouri-senate-breakdown/">died in the regular session</a>&nbsp;when the Senate twice used a rare procedural rule to end debate on controversial bills on abortion and paid sick leave.&nbsp;The move infuriated Democrats, who vowed the Senate will not function normally until they feel they can trust the GOP to work towards compromise.There is also lingering bipartisan anger over the projects that were lost when the House sunk a capital improvements bill. The $513 million would have paid for projects at eight hospitals around the state, supported a new nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri to make cancer treatments and a new mental health hospital in Kansas City.The rollout of Kehoe’s plan didn’t help soothe the tensions.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained that the governor kept the legislature in the dark on stadium funding plans, then demanded it sign off on the proposal with little debate and no details on the cost.The lack of legislative involvement echoes 2015, when lawmakers took umbrage at Nixon’s efforts to work around them by trying to use existing incentive programs to help fund a new St. Louis stadium. &nbsp;Republicans and Democrats demanded Nixon either submit a proposal to the legislature or put it on the ballot for a vote.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We will not stand idly by as the people of this state are committed to millions of dollars in debt without proper legislative approval or a public vote,” a group of House members said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/14/missouri-house-speaker-letter-blasts-state-money-for-stadium/73914594/" target="_blank">a letter to Nixon at the time</a>.Lawmakers will get their wish this time around to have a say on whether Missouri taxpayers should help subsidize Kansas City stadiums.&nbsp;Kehoe is optimistic, arguing that keeping the teams in Missouri&nbsp;“is a critical piece of economic development. And I’d like to see us make sure we can solidify our offer with legislative approval.”

A decade after losing an NFL team, Missouri lawmakers set to debate stadium funding plan

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> salute as The Star-Spangled Banner is played at Arlington National Cemetery <a href="https://t.co/NVetqZxCyr">pic.twitter.com/NVetqZxCyr</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927025135065702443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/YLyDQyQdXM">pic.twitter.com/YLyDQyQdXM</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1927027306377187555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> arrive at Arlington National Cemetery 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/OLzMz3yRAR">pic.twitter.com/OLzMz3yRAR</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1927027406709137553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> arrives at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a>. <a href="https://t.co/QxZtoOizEW">pic.twitter.com/QxZtoOizEW</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927024701437616232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecVetAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecVetAffairs</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNIGabbard</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@epaleezeldin</a> — all military veterans — arrive at Arlington National Cemetery alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryTurner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryTurner</a>, who served the military in special projects, including by helping transition veterans into civilian life. <a href="https://t.co/pogzdKrbQp">pic.twitter.com/pogzdKrbQp</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927023666518171789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥.Memorial Day ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman's paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/television-domestic-news-domestic-news-general-news-de4d0d70dd0a4bda8d0e29e2e9a97a59">cultural phenomenon</a>, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.

Robertson's family announced in December on their Unashamed With the Robertson Family podcast that the patriarch of the clan had Alzheimer’s disease. The statement on social media from Robertson's daughter-in-law didn't mention how he died.

“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus. We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKorieRobertson/">Korie Robertson</a>&nbsp;wrote.

Phil Robertson skyrocketed to fame in the early 2010s when the A&amp;E network created a reality show, presented like a sitcom. It followed the adventures of Robertson, his three sons — including Willie, who runs the family's Duck Commander company, their wives and a host of other relatives and friends.

Phil Robertson and his boys were immediately recognizable by their long beards and their conservative, Christian and family-oriented beliefs.

That got Robertson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-television-arts-and-entertainment-d9d9ee438c724ffea6d1f786c687a2ea">into trouble, too.</a>&nbsp;He told a magazine reporter in 2013 that gay people are sinners and African Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws.

A&amp;E suspended him from Duck Dynasty but reversed course in a few weeks after a backlash that included Sarah Palin.

At the time, Robertson's family called his comments coarse, but said his beliefs were grounded in the Bible and he “is a Godly man.” They also said that “as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.”

Robertson was born in north Louisiana and spent his life in the woods and lakes that make up the region called Sportsman's Paradise.

Robertson played football at Louisiana Tech and taught school. He also loved to hunt and created a duck call in the early 1970s that he said replicated the exact sound of a duck.

The calls were the centerpiece of the Duck Commander business Robertson would grow into a multimillion-dollar enterprise before A&amp;E came calling.

The family just didn't sell outdoor and hunting gear, but a lifestyle.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748225264063.png" alt="File photo Robertson from a campaign rally in 2020 image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo Robertson from a campaign rally in 2020 image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman's paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/television-domestic-news-domestic-news-general-news-de4d0d70dd0a4bda8d0e29e2e9a97a59">cultural phenomenon</a>, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.Robertson's family announced in December on their Unashamed With the Robertson Family podcast that the patriarch of the clan had Alzheimer’s disease. The statement on social media from Robertson's daughter-in-law didn't mention how he died.“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus. We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKorieRobertson/">Korie Robertson</a>&nbsp;wrote.Phil Robertson skyrocketed to fame in the early 2010s when the A&amp;E network created a reality show, presented like a sitcom. It followed the adventures of Robertson, his three sons — including Willie, who runs the family's Duck Commander company, their wives and a host of other relatives and friends.Phil Robertson and his boys were immediately recognizable by their long beards and their conservative, Christian and family-oriented beliefs.That got Robertson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-television-arts-and-entertainment-d9d9ee438c724ffea6d1f786c687a2ea">into trouble, too.</a>&nbsp;He told a magazine reporter in 2013 that gay people are sinners and African Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws.A&amp;E suspended him from Duck Dynasty but reversed course in a few weeks after a backlash that included Sarah Palin.At the time, Robertson's family called his comments coarse, but said his beliefs were grounded in the Bible and he “is a Godly man.” They also said that “as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.”Robertson was born in north Louisiana and spent his life in the woods and lakes that make up the region called Sportsman's Paradise.Robertson played football at Louisiana Tech and taught school. He also loved to hunt and created a duck call in the early 1970s that he said replicated the exact sound of a duck.The calls were the centerpiece of the Duck Commander business Robertson would grow into a multimillion-dollar enterprise before A&amp;E came calling.The family just didn't sell outdoor and hunting gear, but a lifestyle.

Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson dies at 79

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/john-hanna">JOHN HANNA</a> Associated Press

Four of the six Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa and four in Minnesota will shut down in a year, the Midwestern affiliate operating them said Friday, blaming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/family-planning-trump-grants-9767fee833444c7eb5e60de1e4a5d680">a freeze in federal funds,</a>&nbsp;budget cuts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-cuts-medicaid-congress-senate-trump-bill-2825f8fa0e96a00cf72a6de6a5a88a25">proposed in Congress</a>&nbsp;and state restrictions on abortion.

The clinics closing in Iowa include the only Planned Parenthood facility in the state that provides abortion procedures, in Ames, home to Iowa State University. Services will be shifted and the organization will still offer medication abortions in Des Moines and medication and medical abortion services in Iowa City.

Two of the clinics being shut down by Planned Parenthood North Central States are in the Minneapolis area, in Apple Valley and Richfield. The others are in central Minnesota in Alexandria and Bemidji. Of the four, the Richfield clinic provides abortion procedures.

The Planned Parenthood affiliate said it would lay off 66 employees and ask 37 additional employees to move to different clinics. The organization also said it plans to keep investing in telemedicine services and sees 20,000 patients a year virtually. The affiliate serves five states — Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues,” Ruth Richardson, the affiliate’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Of the remaining 15 clinics operated by Planned Parenthood North Central States, six will provide abortion procedures — five of them in Minnesota, including three in the Minneapolis area. The other clinic is in Omaha, Nebraska.

The affiliate said that in April, President Donald Trump’s administration froze $2.8 million in federal funds for Minnesota to provide birth control and other services, such as cervical cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

While federal funds can’t be used for most abortions, abortion opponents have long argued that Planned Parenthood affiliates should not receive any taxpayer dollars, saying the money still indirectly underwrites abortion services.

Planned Parenthood North Central States also cited proposed cuts in Medicaid, which provides health coverage for low-income Americans, as well as a Trump administration proposal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-agencies-cuts-70ae99161321f0b779e2e56d8d2db304">to eliminate funding</a>&nbsp;for teenage pregnancy prevention programs.

In addition, Republican-led Iowa last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-abortion-ban-bd8a959fd64fef5914459e9ea4a64294">banned most abortions</a>&nbsp;after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, causing the number performed there to drop 60% in the first six months the law was in effect and dramatically increasing the number of patients traveling to Minnesota and Nebraska.

After the closings, Planned Parenthood North Central States will operate 10 brick-and-mortar clinics in Minnesota, two in Iowa, two in Nebraska, and one in South Dakota. It operates none in North Dakota, though its Moorhead, Minnesota, clinic is across the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota.

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/john-hanna">JOHN HANNA</a> Associated PressFour of the six Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa and four in Minnesota will shut down in a year, the Midwestern affiliate operating them said Friday, blaming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/family-planning-trump-grants-9767fee833444c7eb5e60de1e4a5d680">a freeze in federal funds,</a>&nbsp;budget cuts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-cuts-medicaid-congress-senate-trump-bill-2825f8fa0e96a00cf72a6de6a5a88a25">proposed in Congress</a>&nbsp;and state restrictions on abortion.The clinics closing in Iowa include the only Planned Parenthood facility in the state that provides abortion procedures, in Ames, home to Iowa State University. Services will be shifted and the organization will still offer medication abortions in Des Moines and medication and medical abortion services in Iowa City.Two of the clinics being shut down by Planned Parenthood North Central States are in the Minneapolis area, in Apple Valley and Richfield. The others are in central Minnesota in Alexandria and Bemidji. Of the four, the Richfield clinic provides abortion procedures.The Planned Parenthood affiliate said it would lay off 66 employees and ask 37 additional employees to move to different clinics. The organization also said it plans to keep investing in telemedicine services and sees 20,000 patients a year virtually. The affiliate serves five states — Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues,” Ruth Richardson, the affiliate’s president and CEO, said in a statement.Of the remaining 15 clinics operated by Planned Parenthood North Central States, six will provide abortion procedures — five of them in Minnesota, including three in the Minneapolis area. The other clinic is in Omaha, Nebraska.The affiliate said that in April, President Donald Trump’s administration froze $2.8 million in federal funds for Minnesota to provide birth control and other services, such as cervical cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.While federal funds can’t be used for most abortions, abortion opponents have long argued that Planned Parenthood affiliates should not receive any taxpayer dollars, saying the money still indirectly underwrites abortion services.Planned Parenthood North Central States also cited proposed cuts in Medicaid, which provides health coverage for low-income Americans, as well as a Trump administration proposal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-agencies-cuts-70ae99161321f0b779e2e56d8d2db304">to eliminate funding</a>&nbsp;for teenage pregnancy prevention programs.In addition, Republican-led Iowa last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-abortion-ban-bd8a959fd64fef5914459e9ea4a64294">banned most abortions</a>&nbsp;after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, causing the number performed there to drop 60% in the first six months the law was in effect and dramatically increasing the number of patients traveling to Minnesota and Nebraska.After the closings, Planned Parenthood North Central States will operate 10 brick-and-mortar clinics in Minnesota, two in Iowa, two in Nebraska, and one in South Dakota. It operates none in North Dakota, though its Moorhead, Minnesota, clinic is across the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota.—-

Planned Parenthood affiliate plans to close 8 Midwest area clinics

KANSAS CITY —Detectives are investigating another Memorial Day weekend homicide in Kansas City.

Just after 9:30p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to the 5500 block of Troost Avenue on a reported shooting, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp; Alayna Gonzalez.

When officers arrived on scene, they immediately canvassed the area for victims. The responding officers determined the shooting occurred in the parking lot of a nearby business. A private vehicle transported three victims to a local hospital suffering from gunshot trauma believed to be related to this incident. 

One adult male and one adult female victim were both suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot injuries. An additional victim, later identified as 34-year-old&nbsp;&nbsp;Zavion N. Horn was&nbsp;also transported by private vehicle to the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Horn was&nbsp; pronounced deceased at the hospital.

Preliminary investigation indicates that an interaction took place between an adult male suspect and a victim in the parking lot of a nearby business. That interaction escalated to gunfire and subsequently resulted in three individuals being struck. The suspect left the area on foot in an unknown direction. Police released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748174504011.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Detectives are investigating another Memorial Day weekend homicide in Kansas City.Just after 9:30p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to the 5500 block of Troost Avenue on a reported shooting, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp; Alayna Gonzalez.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748174558410.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>When officers arrived on scene, they immediately canvassed the area for victims. The responding officers determined the shooting occurred in the parking lot of a nearby business. A private vehicle transported three victims to a local hospital suffering from gunshot trauma believed to be related to this incident. One adult male and one adult female victim were both suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot injuries. An additional victim, later identified as 34-year-old&nbsp;&nbsp;Zavion N. Horn was&nbsp;also transported by private vehicle to the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Horn was&nbsp; pronounced deceased at the hospital.Preliminary investigation indicates that an interaction took place between an adult male suspect and a victim in the parking lot of a nearby business. That interaction escalated to gunfire and subsequently resulted in three individuals being struck. The suspect left the area on foot in an unknown direction. Police released no additional details.

1 dead, 3 wounded after Kansas City parking lot shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) —President Donald Trump made it clear he is losing patience with Vladimir Putin, leveling some of his sharpest criticism at the Russian leader as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-dbefc3d0a83826c865908aa29dd40f93">Moscow pounded Kyiv</a>&nbsp;and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for a third straight night.

“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday night.

Trump said Putin is “needlessly killing a lot of people,” pointing out that “missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”

The attack was the largest aerial assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to Ukrainian officials. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured.

The U.S. president warned that if Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine, it will “lead to the downfall of Russia!” But Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, saying that he is “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”

“Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump wrote on social media.

The president has increasingly voiced irritation at Putin and the inability to resolve the now three-year-old war, which Trump promised he would promptly end as he campaigned to return to the White House.

He had long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin and repeatedly stressed that Russia is more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal.

But last month, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” assaulting Ukraine after Russia launched another deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, and he has repeatedly expressed his frustration that the war in Ukraine is continuing.

“I’m not happy with what Putin’s doing. He’s killing a lot of people. And I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump told reporters earlier Sunday as he departed northern New Jersey, where he spent most of the weekend. “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don’t like it at all. ”

A peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-peace-talks-prisoner-swap-f3ef84975c61cf7e1efe22e86fedbf5c">remains elusive</a>. Trump and Putin spoke on the phone this past week, and Trump announced after the call that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire talks. That conversation occurred after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey for the first face-to-face talks since 2022. But on Thursday, the Kremlin said no direct talks were scheduled.

WASHINGTON (AP) —President Donald Trump made it clear he is losing patience with Vladimir Putin, leveling some of his sharpest criticism at the Russian leader as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-dbefc3d0a83826c865908aa29dd40f93">Moscow pounded Kyiv</a>&nbsp;and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for a third straight night.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">&quot;I&#39;m not happy with what Putin&#39;s doing. He&#39;s killing a lot of people. I don&#39;t know what the hell happened to Putin... I don&#39;t like what Putin is doing, not even a little bit. He&#39;s killing people. Something happened to this guy. And I don&#39;t like it.&quot; -- President Trump <a href="https://t.co/KWZK1Xq6Wo">pic.twitter.com/KWZK1Xq6Wo</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1926771596439519717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/qjmxgOb4Mt">pic.twitter.com/qjmxgOb4Mt</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1926803020370579753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday night.Trump said Putin is “needlessly killing a lot of people,” pointing out that “missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”The attack was the largest aerial assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to Ukrainian officials. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured.The U.S. president warned that if Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine, it will “lead to the downfall of Russia!” But Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, saying that he is “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”“Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump wrote on social media.The president has increasingly voiced irritation at Putin and the inability to resolve the now three-year-old war, which Trump promised he would promptly end as he campaigned to return to the White House.He had long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin and repeatedly stressed that Russia is more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal.But last month, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” assaulting Ukraine after Russia launched another deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, and he has repeatedly expressed his frustration that the war in Ukraine is continuing.“I’m not happy with what Putin’s doing. He’s killing a lot of people. And I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump told reporters earlier Sunday as he departed northern New Jersey, where he spent most of the weekend. “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don’t like it at all. ”A peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-peace-talks-prisoner-swap-f3ef84975c61cf7e1efe22e86fedbf5c">remains elusive</a>. Trump and Putin spoke on the phone this past week, and Trump announced after the call that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire talks. That conversation occurred after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey for the first face-to-face talks since 2022. But on Thursday, the Kremlin said no direct talks were scheduled.

🎥Trump makes wild new statement on Russian leader Vladimir Putin

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an arrest in&nbsp;

Just before 11:30 a.m. May 23,&nbsp; sheriff's deputies served a search warrant in rural Garden City, Missouri, according to a media release from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

The warrant was granted after an investigation into the theft of a vehicle on May 5. As a result, 39-year-old Jessie Fletcher of Garden City, Missouri, was arrested.

Fletcher is now charged with 1st Degree Tampering of a Vehicle (Class D Felony) and four counts of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (Class C Felony).She’s currently being held at the Cass County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.&nbsp; Garden City is approximately 45 minutes southeast of Kansas City.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747996439662.png" alt="Fletcher photo Cass County" />
 <figcaption>Fletcher photo Cass County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY&nbsp; —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an arrest in&nbsp;Just before 11:30 a.m. May 23,&nbsp; sheriff's deputies served a search warrant in rural Garden City, Missouri, according to a media release from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.The warrant was granted after an investigation into the theft of a vehicle on May 5. As a result, 39-year-old Jessie Fletcher of Garden City, Missouri, was arrested.Fletcher is now charged with 1st Degree Tampering of a Vehicle (Class D Felony) and four counts of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (Class C Felony).She’s currently being held at the Cass County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.&nbsp; Garden City is approximately 45 minutes southeast of Kansas City.

Woman jailed for vehicle theft in rural Kansas City suburb

WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred early Sunday in Wichita.

The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Naomi Oglesby, a resident of Wichita. At the time of the incident, she was pregnant, according to Office Rick Pena. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, she was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m. &nbsp;

Doctors were able to deliver her infant, who is currently receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital.&nbsp; The suspect in this case has been taken into custody on a requested charge of first-degree murder. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748212324516.png" alt="Police near the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police near the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred early Sunday in Wichita.The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Naomi Oglesby, a resident of Wichita. At the time of the incident, she was pregnant, according to Office Rick Pena. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, she was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m. &nbsp;Doctors were able to deliver her infant, who is currently receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital.&nbsp; The suspect in this case has been taken into custody on a requested charge of first-degree murder. &nbsp;

Police: Baby delivered after pregnant Kan. woman killed in shooting

&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Nebraska man on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.

Just before 2:30p.m. May 23, a sheriff's deputy&nbsp;conducted a traffic stop on a Subaru Forester for a traffic infraction on U.S. 75 Highway near 126th&nbsp;Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

&nbsp; After the traffic stop was completed, the driver, Michael Glebavicius, 55, of Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested following a search of the vehicle. During the search, methamphetamine, marijuana and numerous items of drug paraphernalia were located.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Glebavicius was&nbsp;booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal carrying of a weapon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747947275336.png" alt="Glebavicius" />
 <figcaption>Glebavicius</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Nebraska man on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.Just before 2:30p.m. May 23, a sheriff's deputy&nbsp;conducted a traffic stop on a Subaru Forester for a traffic infraction on U.S. 75 Highway near 126th&nbsp;Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.&nbsp; After the traffic stop was completed, the driver, Michael Glebavicius, 55, of Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested following a search of the vehicle. During the search, methamphetamine, marijuana and numerous items of drug paraphernalia were located.&nbsp;&nbsp;Glebavicius was&nbsp;booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal carrying of a weapon.

Sheriff: Man jailed for weapons violation, transporting meth in Kansas

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-95f1c23b38700f5ca41f337cc130e766">mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and rising prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-affordability-home-prices-real-estate-f17aa54776a04e4622d0c5afa9f09ff8">discouraged prospective homebuyers</a>&nbsp;during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

Existing home sales dropped 0.5% last month, from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The sales decline marks the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009 in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. March’s sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.

Sales fell 2% compared with April last year. The latest home sales fell slightly short of the 4.10 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 22nd consecutive month, although at the slowest rate since July 2023. The national median sales price rose 1.8% in April from a year earlier to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April.

“The affordability condition is clearly hurting the market, particularly higher mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

For the past three years, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes have been at about 75% of what they were before the pandemic. The market slump began in early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Homes sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, which it set in mid-January, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The average rate’s low point so far was five weeks ago, when it briefly dropped to 6.62%.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-ff8d703da59633be0cdd3b7fe04c65b2">This week, it averaged 6.86%,</a>&nbsp;its highest level since mid-February.

Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in March and April, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.62% to 6.83%.

High mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have frozen out many would-be homebuyers struggling to find a home they can afford.

Homeownership is out of reach for many Americans after years of surging home prices. The median U.S. home sales price has jumped 53% over the past six years.

Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates are benefiting from more homes on the market when compared with recent years.

There were 1.45 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 9% increase from March, and 20.8% higher than April last year, NAR said. That’s the most homes on the market since September 2020, but it’s still well below the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the pandemic.

The latest unsold inventory snapshot translates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.5-month pace at the end of April last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

One reason the inventory of homes for sale has been rising is that properties are taking longer to sell. Homes typically remained on the market for 29 days last month before selling, up from 26 days in April last year, NAR said.

The wider selection of homes on the market likely helped boost sales among first-time homebuyers. They accounted for 34% of sales last month, the highest level since July 2020, but that is still down from the historical norm of 40%.

Home shoppers who can afford to sidestep mortgage rates and pay all cash for a home accounted for 25% of sales last month, down from 28% a year earlier. Investors, who account for many all-cash purchases, made up 15% of homes sold last month, down from 16% a year earlier, NAR said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659001075252.jpeg" alt="Photo AP" />
 <figcaption>Photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>By ALEX VEIGA Associated PressSales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-95f1c23b38700f5ca41f337cc130e766">mortgage rates</a>&nbsp;and rising prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-affordability-home-prices-real-estate-f17aa54776a04e4622d0c5afa9f09ff8">discouraged prospective homebuyers</a>&nbsp;during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.Existing home sales dropped 0.5% last month, from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The sales decline marks the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009 in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. March’s sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.Sales fell 2% compared with April last year. The latest home sales fell slightly short of the 4.10 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 22nd consecutive month, although at the slowest rate since July 2023. The national median sales price rose 1.8% in April from a year earlier to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April.“The affordability condition is clearly hurting the market, particularly higher mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.For the past three years, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes have been at about 75% of what they were before the pandemic. The market slump began in early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Homes sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, which it set in mid-January, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The average rate’s low point so far was five weeks ago, when it briefly dropped to 6.62%.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-ff8d703da59633be0cdd3b7fe04c65b2">This week, it averaged 6.86%,</a>&nbsp;its highest level since mid-February.Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in March and April, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.62% to 6.83%.High mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have frozen out many would-be homebuyers struggling to find a home they can afford.Homeownership is out of reach for many Americans after years of surging home prices. The median U.S. home sales price has jumped 53% over the past six years.Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates are benefiting from more homes on the market when compared with recent years.There were 1.45 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 9% increase from March, and 20.8% higher than April last year, NAR said. That’s the most homes on the market since September 2020, but it’s still well below the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the pandemic.The latest unsold inventory snapshot translates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.5-month pace at the end of April last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.One reason the inventory of homes for sale has been rising is that properties are taking longer to sell. Homes typically remained on the market for 29 days last month before selling, up from 26 days in April last year, NAR said.The wider selection of homes on the market likely helped boost sales among first-time homebuyers. They accounted for 34% of sales last month, the highest level since July 2020, but that is still down from the historical norm of 40%.Home shoppers who can afford to sidestep mortgage rates and pay all cash for a home accounted for 25% of sales last month, down from 28% a year earlier. Investors, who account for many all-cash purchases, made up 15% of homes sold last month, down from 16% a year earlier, NAR said.

Home sales slowest in over a dozen years

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>

The massive tax and spending bill passed by U.S. House Republicans would likely result in 3.2 million people losing food assistance benefits, and saddle states with around $14 billion a year in costs, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Democrats have argued the bill, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">the House passed</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025145" target="_blank">215-214</a>&nbsp;early Thursday without any Democrats in support, would cut programs for the needy to fund tax breaks for high earners.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-05/Klobuchar-Craig-Letter-SNAP_5-22-25.pdf" target="_blank">CBO document, issued late Thursday,&nbsp;</a>responded to a request to the office from the top Democrats on the Senate and House Agriculture committees, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig, both of Minnesota, and somewhat bolsters that claim. The panels oversee federal food aid programs.

“This report is truly devastating,” Craig said in a Friday statement to States Newsroom. “As a mother and someone who at times relied on food assistance as a child, these numbers are heartbreaking. It is infuriating that Republicans in Congress are willing to make our children go hungry so they can give tax breaks to the already rich.”

A provision in the bill to tighten work requirements, including by excluding single parents of children older than 6 and by raising the age of adults to whom the work requirements apply, of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would result in 3.2 million people losing access to the program in an average month, the CBO report said.

Of those, 1.4 million would be people who currently have a state waiver from work requirements that would be disallowed under the bill and 800,000 would be adults who live with children 7 or older, the report said.

In a Friday statement, Ben Nichols, a spokesman for the House Agriculture Committee led by Pennsylvania Republican Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, said the proposed change would be more fair to the people SNAP is supposed to help and noted the program is the only state-administered entitlement program that is paid fully by the federal government.

“No one who is able-bodied and working, volunteering, or training for 20 hours a week will lose benefits,” Nichols wrote.

Republicans want to use the legislative package to extend the 2017 tax law and its cuts, increase spending on border security and defense by hundreds of billions of dollars, overhaul American energy production, restructure higher education aid and cut spending.

The cost-share changes, which would require states for the first time to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits, would also limit participation and add a massive line item to state budgets, according to the CBO.

Starting in 2028, states would be responsible for paying 5% to 25% of SNAP benefits, with a state’s share rising with its payment error rate. The federal government currently pays for all SNAP benefits.

Under the House bill, which will likely undergo substantial changes as the Senate considers it in the coming weeks, states collectively would be responsible for just less than $100 billion from 2028 to 2034, about $14 billion per year.

States would respond in a variety of ways, CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote, including potentially dropping out of the program.

“CBO expects that some states would maintain current benefits and eligibility and others would modify benefits or eligibility or possibly leave the program altogether because of the increased costs,” he wrote.

The office took a “probabilistic approach to account for a range of possible outcomes” to determine what the effect on households would be and estimated that 1.3 million people would lose benefits because of state responses to the new cost-share.

Nichols, with the House Agriculture Committee, disputed the CBO’s estimate regarding the cost share change. The lowest state cost-share of 5% would be available for states with error rates below 6%. Every state has hit that mark at some point in the last decade, he said.

With that favorable of a cost-share, the Republican committee members did not believe states would drop out of the program, he added.

“We reject the hypothetical assumption that some states may not chip into 5 percent of a supplemental nutrition program,” Nichols wrote. “Every state is capable of paying for a portion SNAP… Federal policy should encourage states to administer the SNAP program more efficiently and effectively, and this bill does just that.”&nbsp;

CBO’s forecasters determined the impacts of the work requirements and cost-share provisions separately, meaning some people potentially losing benefits could have been counted in both categories.

The House vote Thursday sent the measure to the Senate, where the debate over SNAP benefits may fall along similar party lines.

Republicans who hold control in that chamber are planning to employ the budget reconciliation process, which allows them to skirt the Senate’s usual 60-vote requirement for legislation.

During the House Agriculture Committee’s debate over its portion of the legislation, Republicans on the panel said the work requirement and state cost-share measures were needed reforms to SNAP that would protect the program for those it was meant to serve, while limiting the costs associated with benefits to adults who were able and unwilling to work or in the country illegally.

In a Friday statement, Sara Lasure, a spokeswoman for Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, also said the panel would seek reforms to the program but did not offer specifics.

“The Senate Agriculture Committee is in the process of crafting its budget reconciliation package and will work as good stewards of taxpayer dollars to make commonsense reforms to SNAP that encourage employment,” she wrote in an email.

Klobuchar, in a statement after House passage Thursday, blasted the House bill and indicated she would oppose efforts to cut SNAP benefits.

“House Republicans are pulling the rug out from under millions of families by taking away federal assistance to put food on the table,” she said. “They’re doing that even as President Trump’s tariff taxes raise food prices by more than $200 for the average family, all to fund more tax breaks for the wealthy. That’s so very wrong —and we will fight against it in the Senate.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689674819900.png" alt="Photo USDA" />
 <figcaption>Photo USDA</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>The massive tax and spending bill passed by U.S. House Republicans would likely result in 3.2 million people losing food assistance benefits, and saddle states with around $14 billion a year in costs, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.Democrats have argued the bill, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">the House passed</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025145" target="_blank">215-214</a>&nbsp;early Thursday without any Democrats in support, would cut programs for the needy to fund tax breaks for high earners.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-05/Klobuchar-Craig-Letter-SNAP_5-22-25.pdf" target="_blank">CBO document, issued late Thursday,&nbsp;</a>responded to a request to the office from the top Democrats on the Senate and House Agriculture committees, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig, both of Minnesota, and somewhat bolsters that claim. The panels oversee federal food aid programs.“This report is truly devastating,” Craig said in a Friday statement to States Newsroom. “As a mother and someone who at times relied on food assistance as a child, these numbers are heartbreaking. It is infuriating that Republicans in Congress are willing to make our children go hungry so they can give tax breaks to the already rich.”A provision in the bill to tighten work requirements, including by excluding single parents of children older than 6 and by raising the age of adults to whom the work requirements apply, of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would result in 3.2 million people losing access to the program in an average month, the CBO report said.Of those, 1.4 million would be people who currently have a state waiver from work requirements that would be disallowed under the bill and 800,000 would be adults who live with children 7 or older, the report said.In a Friday statement, Ben Nichols, a spokesman for the House Agriculture Committee led by Pennsylvania Republican Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, said the proposed change would be more fair to the people SNAP is supposed to help and noted the program is the only state-administered entitlement program that is paid fully by the federal government.“No one who is able-bodied and working, volunteering, or training for 20 hours a week will lose benefits,” Nichols wrote.Republicans want to use the legislative package to extend the 2017 tax law and its cuts, increase spending on border security and defense by hundreds of billions of dollars, overhaul American energy production, restructure higher education aid and cut spending.<h2>Toll on states</h2>The cost-share changes, which would require states for the first time to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits, would also limit participation and add a massive line item to state budgets, according to the CBO.Starting in 2028, states would be responsible for paying 5% to 25% of SNAP benefits, with a state’s share rising with its payment error rate. The federal government currently pays for all SNAP benefits.Under the House bill, which will likely undergo substantial changes as the Senate considers it in the coming weeks, states collectively would be responsible for just less than $100 billion from 2028 to 2034, about $14 billion per year.States would respond in a variety of ways, CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote, including potentially dropping out of the program.“CBO expects that some states would maintain current benefits and eligibility and others would modify benefits or eligibility or possibly leave the program altogether because of the increased costs,” he wrote.The office took a “probabilistic approach to account for a range of possible outcomes” to determine what the effect on households would be and estimated that 1.3 million people would lose benefits because of state responses to the new cost-share.Nichols, with the House Agriculture Committee, disputed the CBO’s estimate regarding the cost share change. The lowest state cost-share of 5% would be available for states with error rates below 6%. Every state has hit that mark at some point in the last decade, he said.With that favorable of a cost-share, the Republican committee members did not believe states would drop out of the program, he added.“We reject the hypothetical assumption that some states may not chip into 5 percent of a supplemental nutrition program,” Nichols wrote. “Every state is capable of paying for a portion SNAP… Federal policy should encourage states to administer the SNAP program more efficiently and effectively, and this bill does just that.”&nbsp;CBO’s forecasters determined the impacts of the work requirements and cost-share provisions separately, meaning some people potentially losing benefits could have been counted in both categories.<h2>Move to the Senate</h2>The House vote Thursday sent the measure to the Senate, where the debate over SNAP benefits may fall along similar party lines.Republicans who hold control in that chamber are planning to employ the budget reconciliation process, which allows them to skirt the Senate’s usual 60-vote requirement for legislation.During the House Agriculture Committee’s debate over its portion of the legislation, Republicans on the panel said the work requirement and state cost-share measures were needed reforms to SNAP that would protect the program for those it was meant to serve, while limiting the costs associated with benefits to adults who were able and unwilling to work or in the country illegally.In a Friday statement, Sara Lasure, a spokeswoman for Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, also said the panel would seek reforms to the program but did not offer specifics.“The Senate Agriculture Committee is in the process of crafting its budget reconciliation package and will work as good stewards of taxpayer dollars to make commonsense reforms to SNAP that encourage employment,” she wrote in an email.Klobuchar, in a statement after House passage Thursday, blasted the House bill and indicated she would oppose efforts to cut SNAP benefits.“House Republicans are pulling the rug out from under millions of families by taking away federal assistance to put food on the table,” she said. “They’re doing that even as President Trump’s tariff taxes raise food prices by more than $200 for the average family, all to fund more tax breaks for the wealthy. That’s so very wrong —and we will fight against it in the Senate.”

More than 3 million would lose SNAP benefits under GOP bill, nonpartisan report says

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement&nbsp; investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 30-year-old&nbsp;Levon J. Quinn, according to&nbsp;KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Just after 4p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to Westport and Broadway on a reported accident. The call was updated to a shooting.

First responders located a Quinn in a vehicle near 43rd and Broadway unresponsive and suffering from gunshot trauma. EMS responded and transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Preliminary information indicates an argument took place inside of a business. The argument continued as both Quinn and an adult male suspect walked outside of the business. The argument then escalated to gunfire. 

Quinn left the area in a vehicle before coming to a stop near 43rd and Broadway. Initial responding officers located a man at Westport and Broadway that had been involved in an accident when the victim was driving out of the area and subsequently struck his vehicle.

&nbsp;This incident is being investigated as a homicide. Just before 9p.m. Friday police reported they had taken a suspect into custody.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748052749455.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement&nbsp; investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 30-year-old&nbsp;Levon J. Quinn, according to&nbsp;KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.Just after 4p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to Westport and Broadway on a reported accident. The call was updated to a shooting.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748052715240.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>First responders located a Quinn in a vehicle near 43rd and Broadway unresponsive and suffering from gunshot trauma. EMS responded and transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.Preliminary information indicates an argument took place inside of a business. The argument continued as both Quinn and an adult male suspect walked outside of the business. The argument then escalated to gunfire. Quinn left the area in a vehicle before coming to a stop near 43rd and Broadway. Initial responding officers located a man at Westport and Broadway that had been involved in an accident when the victim was driving out of the area and subsequently struck his vehicle.&nbsp;This incident is being investigated as a homicide. Just before 9p.m. Friday police reported they had taken a suspect into custody.&nbsp;

Police ID KC homicide victim involved in car crash after shooting

The new complex will enable physicians and researchers to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center broke ground on the future site of a new complex Friday that will bring research and patient care into one complex for the first time in KU Cancer Center’s history.

The new building realizes a long-time vision of KU Cancer Center’s leadership to bring together the entire cancer community — from physician-scientists to researchers to physicians and clinical staff — side by side in one complex.

“Today marks a pivotal moment in&nbsp;our efforts to&nbsp;address one of the greatest health challenges of our time: cancer,” said Roy Jensen, M.D., vice chancellor and director of KU Cancer Center. “This new center will unite researchers, clinicians&nbsp;and&nbsp;patients&nbsp;side-by-side&nbsp;in one&nbsp;facility, supporting&nbsp;the&nbsp;real-time collaborations&nbsp;that&nbsp;are&nbsp;essential for groundbreaking discoveries. We intend to create a global destination for patient care and research.”

The groundbreaking, which was followed by a celebratory event at KU Medical Center, was attended by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and a host of other dignitaries.

The new facility, which will be located on the 39th and Rainbow campus in Kansas City, will enable the whole patient experience — from nutrition and social workers to pathology and imaging, and everything in-between — to happen in one place. It also will give patients access to groundbreaking clinical trials and therapies developed on site. Physicians and researchers will be able to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.

In 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/">The University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>&nbsp;was designated as a “Comprehensive” cancer center by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cancer.gov/">National Cancer Institute</a>&nbsp;(NCI). This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the NCI and is the gold standard for cancer centers.

“We knew that (the comprehensive designation) wasn’t the culmination of our work,” said Douglas A. Girod, M.D., chancellor of the University of Kansas. “Rather, it was an important milestone along the way to our next goal – which was to develop the facilities necessary to bring clinical and research capabilities together in the same place to provide better patient care and facilitate the development of new treatments and cures.”

The new complex will support cellular therapy, which&nbsp;uses the body’s own cells to fight each person’s individual cancer with fewer side effects than traditional treatments. It will also house a cellular therapeutics Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory that will expedite CAR T-cell therapy, a novel treatment that uses genetically re-engineered immune cells known as T-cells to find and destroy cancer. By bringing a cellular therapeutics GMP laboratory in-house, the costs and wait time for the creation of these specialized cells will be reduced. &nbsp;KU Cancer Center is the only cancer center in the region offering all seven FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies.

The complex is funded by multiple sources, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive/ku-cancer-center-receives-100-million-gift.html">a $100 million lead gift from the Sunderland Foundation</a>, the largest ever received by the University of Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran secured federal funding and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly supported the appropriation of state funds. Other funding came from private foundations and donors.

“All recovery from this dreaded disease starts with the power of hope.,” Moran said. “Today we celebrate hope.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748124360509.png" alt="Rendering of the new KU Cancer Center complex, to be located in Kansas City." />
 <figcaption>Rendering of the new KU Cancer Center complex, to be located in Kansas City.</figcaption>
 </figure>The new complex will enable physicians and researchers to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.By Kristi BirchThe University of Kansas Cancer Center broke ground on the future site of a new complex Friday that will bring research and patient care into one complex for the first time in KU Cancer Center’s history.The new building realizes a long-time vision of KU Cancer Center’s leadership to bring together the entire cancer community — from physician-scientists to researchers to physicians and clinical staff — side by side in one complex.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748124412477.png" alt="KU Chancellor Douglas A Girod, M.D., and KU Cancer Center Vice Chancellor and Director Roy Jensen, M.D., participate in the groundbreaking for a new cancer center building on May 23, 2025." />
 <figcaption>KU Chancellor Douglas A Girod, M.D., and KU Cancer Center Vice Chancellor and Director Roy Jensen, M.D., participate in the groundbreaking for a new cancer center building on May 23, 2025.</figcaption>
 </figure>“Today marks a pivotal moment in&nbsp;our efforts to&nbsp;address one of the greatest health challenges of our time: cancer,” said Roy Jensen, M.D., vice chancellor and director of KU Cancer Center. “This new center will unite researchers, clinicians&nbsp;and&nbsp;patients&nbsp;side-by-side&nbsp;in one&nbsp;facility, supporting&nbsp;the&nbsp;real-time collaborations&nbsp;that&nbsp;are&nbsp;essential for groundbreaking discoveries. We intend to create a global destination for patient care and research.”The groundbreaking, which was followed by a celebratory event at KU Medical Center, was attended by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and a host of other dignitaries.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I joined <a href="https://twitter.com/KUMedCenter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KUMedCenter</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/KUHospital?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KUHospital</a> yesterday to break ground on its new world-class cancer center. The cutting-edge research conducted at KU has already saved so many lives. This new building means researchers and clinicians will be able to do more — and they’ll do it faster. <a href="https://t.co/lRS0vU1tfB">pic.twitter.com/lRS0vU1tfB</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1926326101585830187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The new facility, which will be located on the 39th and Rainbow campus in Kansas City, will enable the whole patient experience — from nutrition and social workers to pathology and imaging, and everything in-between — to happen in one place. It also will give patients access to groundbreaking clinical trials and therapies developed on site. Physicians and researchers will be able to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.In 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/">The University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>&nbsp;was designated as a “Comprehensive” cancer center by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cancer.gov/">National Cancer Institute</a>&nbsp;(NCI). This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the NCI and is the gold standard for cancer centers.“We knew that (the comprehensive designation) wasn’t the culmination of our work,” said Douglas A. Girod, M.D., chancellor of the University of Kansas. “Rather, it was an important milestone along the way to our next goal – which was to develop the facilities necessary to bring clinical and research capabilities together in the same place to provide better patient care and facilitate the development of new treatments and cures.”The new complex will support cellular therapy, which&nbsp;uses the body’s own cells to fight each person’s individual cancer with fewer side effects than traditional treatments. It will also house a cellular therapeutics Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory that will expedite CAR T-cell therapy, a novel treatment that uses genetically re-engineered immune cells known as T-cells to find and destroy cancer. By bringing a cellular therapeutics GMP laboratory in-house, the costs and wait time for the creation of these specialized cells will be reduced. &nbsp;KU Cancer Center is the only cancer center in the region offering all seven FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies.The complex is funded by multiple sources, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive/ku-cancer-center-receives-100-million-gift.html">a $100 million lead gift from the Sunderland Foundation</a>, the largest ever received by the University of Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran secured federal funding and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly supported the appropriation of state funds. Other funding came from private foundations and donors.“All recovery from this dreaded disease starts with the power of hope.,” Moran said. “Today we celebrate hope.”

KU Cancer Center breaks ground for new complex

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just past 3 a.m., a few hours before the House vote on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-5-23-2025">President Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;top priority in Congress, his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-breaks-bill-medicaid-80b5781377bcd0870a1dccb3c7b8dc05">“big, beautiful bill.”</a>&nbsp;House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;was rushing through the Capitol halls with his security guards and aides in tow. For a moment, he paused.

Would you like to see&nbsp;<a href="https://chaplain.house.gov/religion/prayer_room.html" target="_blank">the prayer room</a>? he asked an Associated Press reporter.

The question was in response to another question about his leadership style: whether his religion, his Christian faith, had been guiding him through the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-trump-f2c60ae5c7c1313de69446f9ac7176e6">tumultuous process</a>.

“This is like a cathedral at night,” he said, walking toward an almost-hidden door. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the Capitol.”

He punched in the key code and stepped inside.

The room, transformed in the 1950s, sits just off the suite of second-floor offices of the House speaker, centered in the Capitol, on its west end closest to the National Mall.

“Been here a lot this week, right there on my knees,” Johnson said. “Just praying. ... That’s what the founders did.”

As Wednesday night had melted into Thursday morning, none other than George Washington, the first president himself, watched over the room, his tall figure bent on one knee in the stained-glass image high above a small altar.

“In times of great challenge, they got on their knees and they sought divine guidance, and that’s what we do,” Johnson was saying. “Because I’m convinced that God’s given us a chance to save this great republic.”

Johnson is a conservative Christian and among the more outwardly religious of House speakers. He was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/johnson-house-speaker-trump-elected-ed9fd1d574eafb6373e667e110a0f989">accidental choice</a>&nbsp;to lead Republicans, selected after his GOP colleagues ousted their previous speaker almost two years ago. When Johnson emerged as the pick, Republicans gathered around him and prayed. He considers himself a “servant” leader.

Determined to push Trump’s bill to House passage, the speaker set his intention. He created a self-imposed deadline, Memorial Day, that seemed overly optimistic. And he just kept moving forward, despite robust opposition from Democrats and skeptics within his own GOP ranks.

As the deadline neared, he did not let up. He prayed.

“I feel like I have sort of a vision of where we’re supposed to go, and you just set the course and you just patiently get everybody there,” he explained.

The speaker is sometimes in a question-answering mood. A conversation unfolded.

Aren’t you afraid of flopping? he was asked.

“I don’t really have fear,” he said. “I mean, I know that we have to accomplish this mission in order to save the country.”

The speaker was explaining how this is “the greatest nation” and his own belief in its “foundational principles.”

“And what I think we’re trying to do here is restore them,” he said. “Piece by piece, that’s what we do here every day.”

But your legislation is being criticized, hammered for doing so many things. People will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-snap-states-house-trump-abortion-work-1556d8a594dc5668b298641081b759c9">lose access to Medicaid and food stamps.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748175142555.png" alt="Stained Glass Window of the Congressional Prayer Room-photo Office of the Chaplain" />
 <figcaption>Stained Glass Window of the Congressional Prayer Room-photo Office of the Chaplain</figcaption>
 </figure>By LISA MASCAROWASHINGTON (AP) — It was just past 3 a.m., a few hours before the House vote on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-5-23-2025">President Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;top priority in Congress, his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-breaks-bill-medicaid-80b5781377bcd0870a1dccb3c7b8dc05">“big, beautiful bill.”</a>&nbsp;House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;was rushing through the Capitol halls with his security guards and aides in tow. For a moment, he paused.Would you like to see&nbsp;<a href="https://chaplain.house.gov/religion/prayer_room.html" target="_blank">the prayer room</a>? he asked an Associated Press reporter.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1744300109988.png" alt="FIle photo House Speaker Mike Johnson" />
 <figcaption>FIle photo House Speaker Mike Johnson</figcaption>
 </figure>The question was in response to another question about his leadership style: whether his religion, his Christian faith, had been guiding him through the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-trump-f2c60ae5c7c1313de69446f9ac7176e6">tumultuous process</a>.“This is like a cathedral at night,” he said, walking toward an almost-hidden door. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the Capitol.”He punched in the key code and stepped inside.<h2>‘Just praying’</h2>The room, transformed in the 1950s, sits just off the suite of second-floor offices of the House speaker, centered in the Capitol, on its west end closest to the National Mall.“Been here a lot this week, right there on my knees,” Johnson said. “Just praying. ... That’s what the founders did.”As Wednesday night had melted into Thursday morning, none other than George Washington, the first president himself, watched over the room, his tall figure bent on one knee in the stained-glass image high above a small altar.“In times of great challenge, they got on their knees and they sought divine guidance, and that’s what we do,” Johnson was saying. “Because I’m convinced that God’s given us a chance to save this great republic.”Johnson is a conservative Christian and among the more outwardly religious of House speakers. He was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/johnson-house-speaker-trump-elected-ed9fd1d574eafb6373e667e110a0f989">accidental choice</a>&nbsp;to lead Republicans, selected after his GOP colleagues ousted their previous speaker almost two years ago. When Johnson emerged as the pick, Republicans gathered around him and prayed. He considers himself a “servant” leader.Determined to push Trump’s bill to House passage, the speaker set his intention. He created a self-imposed deadline, Memorial Day, that seemed overly optimistic. And he just kept moving forward, despite robust opposition from Democrats and skeptics within his own GOP ranks.As the deadline neared, he did not let up. He prayed.“I feel like I have sort of a vision of where we’re supposed to go, and you just set the course and you just patiently get everybody there,” he explained.<h2>‘I don’t really have fear’</h2>The speaker is sometimes in a question-answering mood. A conversation unfolded.Aren’t you afraid of flopping? he was asked.“I don’t really have fear,” he said. “I mean, I know that we have to accomplish this mission in order to save the country.”The speaker was explaining how this is “the greatest nation” and his own belief in its “foundational principles.”“And what I think we’re trying to do here is restore them,” he said. “Piece by piece, that’s what we do here every day.”But your legislation is being criticized, hammered for doing so many things. People will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-snap-states-house-trump-abortion-work-1556d8a594dc5668b298641081b759c9">lose access to Medicaid and food stamps.</a>The Congressional Budget office estimates that under proposals in the bill, some 8.6 million people will no longer have health care, and 3 million a month will stop receiving the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP.“They’re counting the people the work requirements are going to apply to,” he said. “They would be, would be choosing, you know, not to work.”But some of the people — particularly older, single men — may not be able to find work or go back to work.The new 80-hours-a-month work requirements or community service would be for able-bodied adults without dependents through age 64, with various exceptions. Some parents of children older than 7 would also need to fulfill the work requirement to receive SNAP food stamp assistance.“We have finite resources,” he said. “So the vulnerable populations are who we’re trying to take care of.”Do you worry that’s counter to your own beliefs?“We are helping people,” he said. For an able-bodied man to work, “it’s good for his own personal dignity. It’s good for his purpose. It’s a win-win-win.”<h2>‘A lot of patience’</h2>The debates in Congress come during a time of great soul-searching in the United States and the world. People are divided as ever, politically and economically, yet also yearning for a sense of community and togetherness that seems to be slipping further out of reach.House Democrats, who have fought Johnson and his party every step of the way in opposing what they call the “big, ugly bill,” were not about to cede any moral ground to Republicans or to Trump.“This is the United States of America — the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is indecent to rip food out of the mouths of children and everyday Americans,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hakeem-jeffries">House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries</a>&nbsp;said during his own lengthy floor speech ahead of the vote.Before invoking the Gospel of Matthew 25:35-40, Jeffries said Congress could do better than this “unconscionable” and “un-American” bill.“I do believe that there are people of faith on both sides of this chamber,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hakeem-jeffries-religious-faith-politics-mike-johnson-bf64b91ffc34c74a0cd2f7662d1a3e9f">Jeffries, of New York</a>.“Jesus talks about the importance of standing up for the least, the lost, the left behind, the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the homeless, the people who are confined, strangers in a foreign land,” he said. “It cannot be the case that one goes to synagogue or goes to the mosque — or one goes to church, as I do — but one goes to church to pray on Sunday and then comes to Washington, D.C., to prey on the American people the rest of the week.”All of that would come hours later, spoken as the bill was on its unstoppable path toward passage. For now, at this late moment, Johnson’s reflections were drawing to an end. He was shutting the prayer room door behind him.So how did you do it? How did you get your Republicans to fall in line?“Just a lot of patience,” Johnson said.What about your meetings with Trump at the White House?That would be for another day, he indicated. With the room closed, the speaker of the House had shared the keycode so others could seek out prayer in the Capitol if needed. He headed around the corner, through the side halls of the Capitol, back to his office.