Modest gains on Wall Street lifted the stock market to an all-time high Wednesday ahead of a highly anticipated earnings update from computer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/42657a49554bf35fb12fdf48c02287d2">chip giant Nvidia</a>.

The S&amp;P 500 rose 0.2%, good enough to nudge the benchmark index past the record high it set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite closed 0.2% higher.

Technology companies led the way higher, outweighing declines in communication services and other sectors.

Investors see Nvidia’s quarterly report, which was due after the bell, as a barometer for the strength of the boom in artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology. Its heavy weighting also gives Nvidia outsized influence as a bellwether for the broader market. Its shares slipped 0.1%.

“Saying this is the most important stock in the world is an understatement,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “The stock’s average move after an earnings release is plus or minus 7.4%, so just an average move will make an impact on the entire market.”

Several big software companies -- CrowdStrike Holdings, ServiceNow, Palo Alto Networks, Intuit and Salesforce -- rose ahead of the Nvidia results.

The stocks have been mostly in the red so far this quarter amid worries that AI is going to make software creation much easier at the expense of big software companies’ competitive edge.

Cracker Barrel shares climbed 8% after the restaurant company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/8b496da282deef3d8d0618c3f9f4db46">scrapped plans to change its logo</a>&nbsp;following an uproar on social media that even drew a comment from President Donald Trump.

Shares in several companies rose after they reported quarterly results that topped analysts' forecasts. Department store chain Kohl’s vaulted 24% and database platform company MongoDB surged 38%. Both companies also raised their full-year guidance.

J.M. Smucker slid 4.4% after the jelly and jam maker's latest quarterly snapshot fell short of analysts’ estimates.

Among other stocks that lost ground: doughnut shop chain Krispy Kreme, which fell 3.5%, and Paramount Skydance, which dropped 6.5% for the biggest decline among S&amp;P 500 companies.

Treasury yields mostly fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.24% from 4.26% late Tuesday.

Crude oil prices rose. European markets finished mostly lower and Asian markets closed mixed overnight.

Trading on Wall Street is off to an uneven start this week following big gains last week on hopes for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-powell-287af1c758a30d67f5384d17423c5029">interest rate cuts from the Fed</a>.

Markets have been subdued after Trump escalated his fight with the central bank by trying to fire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-reserve-rates-354ddf9b0b2a78eabbe7ebd361bf2e05">Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook</a>. Cook's lawyer said she'll sue Trump’s administration to try to stop him.

Trump has been feuding with the central bank over its cautious interest rate policy. The Fed has held rates steady since late 2024 over worries that Trump's unpredictable tariff policies will reignite inflation. Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling. Still, he is only one of 12 votes that decides interest rate policy.

For now, the situation isn't expected to have a major impact on the Fed's near-term policy.

The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, dropped to 3.62% from 3.68%.

Traders are still betting the Fed will trim its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting in September. Traders see an 90.3% chance that the central bank will cut the rate by a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group.

“It’s kind of a foregone conclusion from the market that we’re going to get the September interest rate cut,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “The bigger question is probably 'What’s after that?' ”

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate in late 2024 after spending the last several years fighting rising inflation by raising rates. It managed to mostly tame inflation and avoided having those higher rates stall economic growth, thanks largely to strong consumer spending and a resilient job market.

The Fed hit the pause button heading into 2025 over concerns that higher tariffs imposed by Trump could reignite inflation. Lower interest rates make borrowing easier, helping to spur more investment and spending, but that could also potentially fuel inflation. However, concerns are deepening over the jobs market.

Economic data is relatively light this week until Friday, which will bring another update on inflation: the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index. Economists expect it to show that inflation remained at about 2.9% in July, compared with a year ago. Businesses have been warning investors and consumers about higher costs and prices because of tariffs.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-us-tariff-exports-trade-tension-48ac6d5e172df04832c75d2a57d0a860">Steep tariffs placed by the Trump administration on India</a>&nbsp;over Russian oil purchases took effect Wednesday, bringing the combined tariffs imposed on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-us-modi-trump-tariffs-relationship-575af0f270713fa6b09f4ed4e2848f21">the U.S. ally</a>&nbsp;to 50%.

All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 15.46 points to 6,481.40. The Dow added 147.16 points to 45,565.23, and the Nasdaq climbed 45.87 points to 21,590.14.

<p>By ALEX VEIGA <br>AP Business Writer</p><p>Modest gains on Wall Street lifted the stock market to an all-time high Wednesday ahead of a highly anticipated earnings update from computer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/42657a49554bf35fb12fdf48c02287d2">chip giant Nvidia</a>.</p><p>The S&amp;P 500 rose 0.2%, good enough to nudge the benchmark index past the record high it set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite closed 0.2% higher.</p><p>Technology companies led the way higher, outweighing declines in communication services and other sectors.</p><p>Investors see Nvidia’s quarterly report, which was due after the bell, as a barometer for the strength of the boom in artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology. Its heavy weighting also gives Nvidia outsized influence as a bellwether for the broader market. Its shares slipped 0.1%.</p><p>“Saying this is the most important stock in the world is an understatement,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “The stock’s average move after an earnings release is plus or minus 7.4%, so just an average move will make an impact on the entire market.”</p><p>Several big software companies -- CrowdStrike Holdings, ServiceNow, Palo Alto Networks, Intuit and Salesforce -- rose ahead of the Nvidia results.</p><p>The stocks have been mostly in the red so far this quarter amid worries that AI is going to make software creation much easier at the expense of big software companies’ competitive edge.</p><p>Cracker Barrel shares climbed 8% after the restaurant company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/8b496da282deef3d8d0618c3f9f4db46">scrapped plans to change its logo</a>&nbsp;following an uproar on social media that even drew a comment from President Donald Trump.</p><p>Shares in several companies rose after they reported quarterly results that topped analysts' forecasts. Department store chain Kohl’s vaulted 24% and database platform company MongoDB surged 38%. Both companies also raised their full-year guidance.</p><p>J.M. Smucker slid 4.4% after the jelly and jam maker's latest quarterly snapshot fell short of analysts’ estimates.</p><p>Among other stocks that lost ground: doughnut shop chain Krispy Kreme, which fell 3.5%, and Paramount Skydance, which dropped 6.5% for the biggest decline among S&amp;P 500 companies.</p><p>Treasury yields mostly fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.24% from 4.26% late Tuesday.</p><p>Crude oil prices rose. European markets finished mostly lower and Asian markets closed mixed overnight.</p><p>Trading on Wall Street is off to an uneven start this week following big gains last week on hopes for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-powell-287af1c758a30d67f5384d17423c5029">interest rate cuts from the Fed</a>.</p><p>Markets have been subdued after Trump escalated his fight with the central bank by trying to fire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-reserve-rates-354ddf9b0b2a78eabbe7ebd361bf2e05">Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook</a>. Cook's lawyer said she'll sue Trump’s administration to try to stop him.</p><p>Trump has been feuding with the central bank over its cautious interest rate policy. The Fed has held rates steady since late 2024 over worries that Trump's unpredictable tariff policies will reignite inflation. Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling. Still, he is only one of 12 votes that decides interest rate policy.</p><p>For now, the situation isn't expected to have a major impact on the Fed's near-term policy.</p><p>The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, dropped to 3.62% from 3.68%.</p><p>Traders are still betting the Fed will trim its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting in September. Traders see an 90.3% chance that the central bank will cut the rate by a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group.</p><p>“It’s kind of a foregone conclusion from the market that we’re going to get the September interest rate cut,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “The bigger question is probably 'What’s after that?' ”</p><p>The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate in late 2024 after spending the last several years fighting rising inflation by raising rates. It managed to mostly tame inflation and avoided having those higher rates stall economic growth, thanks largely to strong consumer spending and a resilient job market.</p><p>The Fed hit the pause button heading into 2025 over concerns that higher tariffs imposed by Trump could reignite inflation. Lower interest rates make borrowing easier, helping to spur more investment and spending, but that could also potentially fuel inflation. However, concerns are deepening over the jobs market.</p><p>Economic data is relatively light this week until Friday, which will bring another update on inflation: the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index. Economists expect it to show that inflation remained at about 2.9% in July, compared with a year ago. Businesses have been warning investors and consumers about higher costs and prices because of tariffs.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-us-tariff-exports-trade-tension-48ac6d5e172df04832c75d2a57d0a860">Steep tariffs placed by the Trump administration on India</a>&nbsp;over Russian oil purchases took effect Wednesday, bringing the combined tariffs imposed on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-us-modi-trump-tariffs-relationship-575af0f270713fa6b09f4ed4e2848f21">the U.S. ally</a>&nbsp;to 50%.</p><p>All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 15.46 points to 6,481.40. The Dow added 147.16 points to 45,565.23, and the Nasdaq climbed 45.87 points to 21,590.14.</p>

Wall Street edges higher and pushes S&P 500 to another record

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 people in an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-school-shooting-286c32580b1bd05cef08b8e13509e374">act of violence</a>&nbsp;the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol — approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School just before 8:30 a.m. Police believe the shooter then killed himself.

The children who died were 8 and 10, and 14 other kids were among the wounded, the chief said. Dozens of youngsters were inside.

Michael Simpson said his 10-year-old grandson, Weston Halsne, was nicked by a bullet as he sat near the church windows. His voice shaking as he left the area around the school, Simpson said the violence during Mass on the third day of school left him wondering whether God was watching over.

“I don’t know where He is,” Simpson said.

The police chief said the shooter was in his early 20s, did not have an extensive known criminal history and is believed to have acted alone, but did not release the name or information on possible connections to the school. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press authorities have identified the shooter as Robin Westman. That official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The police chief said a wooden plank was placed to barricade some of the side doors, and that authorities found a smoke bomb but no explosives at the scene.

“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” O'Hara said at a news conference as church bells rang out. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey lamented that the violence had forever changed the students' families and the city along with them.

“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” Frey said. “These kids were literally praying."

Westman’s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, said he did not know the accused shooter well and was confounded by the violence: "It's an unspeakable tragedy.”

“We’re praying for my sister and her other children and also, obviously, for these poor, poor children,” Heleringer said by phone. He said he had last seen Westman at a family wedding three or four years ago.

Bill Bienemann, who lives a couple of blocks away and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church, said he heard as many as 50 shots over as long as four minutes.

“I was shocked. I said, ‘There’s no way that could be gunfire,’” he said. “There was so much of it. It was sporadic.”

Bienemann’s daughter, Alexandra, said she was an alumna of the kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school, and it made her sick to her stomach to think she might know some of those who were injured.

“It doesn’t make me feel safe at all in this community that I have been in for so long," she said.

Police chief says officers rescued children who hid

The police chief said officers immediately responded to reports of the shooting, entered the church, rendered first aid and rescued some of the children hiding throughout the building as other emergency responders arrived.

The school was evacuated and students’ families later were directed to a “reunification zone” there. Outside, amid a heavy uniformed law enforcement presence, children in dark green uniforms trickled out of the school with adults, giving lingering hugs and wiping away tears.

Aubrey Pannhoff, a 16-year-old student at a different Catholic school, stood crying just outside the police cordon. She had rushed to Annunciation after her own school’s lockdown and prayer service, and she said she was asking God: “Why?”

“It’s little kids,” she said. “It’s just really hard for me to take in.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the violence “horrific” and his state is heartbroken in posts on X. On Truth Social, President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the shooting. The White House later said Trump spoke with Walz. The governor was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in last year’s election against Trump's running mate, now Vice President J.D. Vance, a Republican.

From the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolences. The Chicago-born Leo, history’s first American pope, said he was praying for relatives of the dead.

Democratic officials from around country were meeting in Minneapolis, and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told the gathering what was happening and said it was “a tragic day for Minnesotans.”

Hennepin Healthcare, the main trauma hospital in Minneapolis, said it received 10 patients, including eight children — aged 6 through 14 — and two adults. Seven were considered to be in critical condition. Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, said it admitted seven children, ages 9 through 16.

A string of fatal shootings in Minneapolis

Monday had been the first day of the school year at Annunciation, a 102-year-old school in a leafy residential and commercial neighborhood about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of downtown Minneapolis. Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a back-to-school event, holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.

Karin Cebulla, who said she had worked at the school and sent her two now-college-aged daughters there, said Wednesday she had “never met such authentic, accepting, loving, gracious people” as she did there.

The gunfire was the latest in a series of fatal shootings in the city in less than 24 hours. One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis. Hours later, two people died in two other shootings in the city.

O’Hara, the police chief, said the Annunciation shooting does not appear to be related to other recent violence. Still, Dr. Thomas Wyatt, the Hennepin Healthcare emergency medicine chief, noted the toll of responding to two mass-casualty shootings in 24 hours.

Wednesday's school shooting also followed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/active-shooter-calls-hoaxes-arkansas-villanova-iowa-7fae16fae9025cf421acb6115c30c3d3">spate of hoax calls</a>&nbsp;about purported shootings on at least a dozen U.S. college campuses. The bogus warnings, sometimes featuring gunshot sounds in the background, prompted universities to issue texts to “run, hide, fight” and frightened students around the nation as the school year begins.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; Will Weissert and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Nicole Winfield in Vatican City; and Giovanna Dell’Orto and Steve Peoples in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A gunman opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church and struck a group of children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol — approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School.

O’Hara said the shooting suspect is dead and in his early 20s and does not have an extensive known criminal history. Officials are looking into his motive.

“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," said the police chief, who noted that a wooden plank was placed to barricade some of the side doors.

The children who died were 8 and 10, he said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the violence “horrific” in a social media post.

Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, said in a statement five children were admitted for care. Hennepin Healthcare, which has Minnesota’s largest emergency department, said it also was caring for patients from the shooting.

Bill Bienemann, who lives a couple of blocks away and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church, said he heard dozens of shots, perhaps as many as 50, over as long as four minutes.

Bienemann’s daughter, Alexandra, said she attended the school from kindergarten to 8th grade, finishing in 2014. After she heard of the shooting, she said she was shaking and crying, and her boss told her to take the day off.

“It breaks my heart, makes me sick to my stomach, knowing that there are people I know who are either injured or maybe even killed,” Alexandra Bienemann said. “It doesn’t make me feel safe at all in this community that I have been in for so long.”

The school was evacuated, and students’ families later were directed to a “reunification zone” at the school. Outside, amid a heavy uniformed law enforcement presence, were uniformed children in their dark green shirts or dresses. Many were trickling out of the school with adults, giving lingering hugs and wiping away tears.

Local, state, county and federal law enforcement officers and agents converged on the area, a leafy residential and commercial neighborhood about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of downtown Minneapolis. On Truth Social, President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the “tragic shooting” and that the White House would continue to monitor it.

Dating to 1923, the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school had an all-school Mass scheduled at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to its website. Monday was the first day of school. Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a back-to-school event, holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.

At a meeting of Democratic officials elsewhere in Minneapolis, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin noted the shooting and “unknown amount of victims.”

Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Jennifer Peltz in New York; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; and Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — At least five children were injured in a shooting Wednesday during the first week of classes at a Minneapolis Catholic school, authorities and a hospital said. Gov. Tim Walz called the violence “horrific.”

The Minneapolis city government said the shooter had been “contained” after the gunfire at Annunciation Catholic School and there was no longer any “active threat” to residents.

Walz said on social media that he had been briefed on the shooting.

“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Walz wrote on X.

As police, FBI and other federal agents and ambulances converged on the school, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he was briefed on the “tragic shooting” and that the White House would continue to monitor it.

The school was evacuated, and students’ families later were directed to a “reunification zone” at the school.

Officials ID shooter who killed 2 at Catholic school in Minnesota

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, keeping him out of a series of high-profile games starting with next week’s season opener against the Chargers in Brazil.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rashee-rice-charges-dallas-crash-kansas-city-chiefs-d71cfd66fabfc151111d67ea1bfa0f74">Rice pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;about six weeks ago to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. As part of his plea agreement from the March 2024 crash on a Dallas highway, prosecutors said, Rice also received a sentence of five years of deferred probation and 30 days in jail as a condition of his probation.

The NFL handed down its suspension, which Rice will not appeal, after its own internal investigation. It voids a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rice-chiefs-hearing-f2de00e8e78ef7ff0f572c587a1c708b">Sept. 30 hearing</a>&nbsp;before former federal Judge Sue L. Robinson that was scheduled for the NFL’s headquarters in New York.

Along with missing the Chargers game, Rice will miss a Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles on Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium; a Sunday night trip to New York to face the Giants; a high-profile matchup with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sept. 28; a game against Jacksonville the following Monday night; and a Sunday night showdown with the Lions.

Rice will be eligible to return to the field when Kansas City faces the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afc-west-broncos-chiefs-chargers-raiders-3c6e2e509b8c54aef4b327d253d8f878">AFC West</a>&nbsp;rival Raiders on Oct. 19.

The Chiefs did not make Rice nor coach Andy Reid available Wednesday. Rice also was not at their final practice before Sunday, when the Chiefs go into their game-week schedule to prepare for the Friday night matchup with the Chargers.

“We're just going to go out there, trust what the coaches put on our plates, whatever game plan we have regardless of who is in there,” tight end Noah Gray said Wednesday. “I'm extremely confident in all the guys.”

Rice’s status has been in limbo ever since he was driving a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rashee-rice-corvette-lamborghini-crash-dallas-2f3ac72c23b1d9ca4860f8cacc8b173e">Lamborghini Urus SUV</a>&nbsp;at 119 mph (191 kph) on the North Central Expressway, made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles, prosecutors said. After the crash, Rice did not check on the welfare of those in the other vehicles but instead fled on foot.

Rice said in a statement issued by his attorney that he’s had “a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said the 25-year-old Rice will have some flexibility in when he must serve his jail time. He also was required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled about $115,000.

“I’ve completely changed. You have to learn from things like that,” Rice said during a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-rashee-rice-7a914217238f4fa8cbdacedf59d5a93f">brief media availability in training camp</a>. “All I can focus on is what I can control right now and that’s me doing what I do.”

After a breakout rookie season, Rice was on his way to a memorable follow-up last fall, catching 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games. But in Week 4, after Patrick Mahomes had thrown an interception, the QB accidentally dived into Rice’s leg as they were trying to make a tackle, tearing the lateral collateral ligament in his knee.

Rice wound up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-kansas-city-rashee-rice-8bf46efe2fe8a336bbc751de9121c17b">missing the rest of the season</a>, including a loss to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.

He spent the offseason rehabbing the knee, and Rice was ready to participate in the Chiefs’ offseason program. But under terms of the suspension, Rice now will be barred from the practice facility until the middle of next month.

The Chiefs undoubtedly believed a suspension was coming. They kept eight wide receivers on Tuesday, when NFL roster cuts were due. That group includes rookie Jalen Royals, who has been dealing with an injury and may not be available for the season opener in Brazil, and Marquise Brown, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.

Now, the Chiefs will be relying on Brown and second-year pro Xavier Worthy alongside tight end Travis Kelce in their passing game. The other wide receivers on the initial roster are veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster, return specialist Nikko Remigio, preseason standout Tyquan Thornton and Jason Brownlee, who spent part of last season with the Jets.

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712916229752.png" alt="Rice as shown in his booking photo at DeSoto Texas Jail in May of 2024" />
                        <figcaption>Rice as shown in his booking photo at DeSoto Texas Jail in May of 2024</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, keeping him out of a series of high-profile games starting with next week’s season opener against the Chargers in Brazil.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/rashee-rice-charges-dallas-crash-kansas-city-chiefs-d71cfd66fabfc151111d67ea1bfa0f74">Rice pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;about six weeks ago to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. As part of his plea agreement from the March 2024 crash on a Dallas highway, prosecutors said, Rice also received a sentence of five years of deferred probation and 30 days in jail as a condition of his probation.</p><p>The NFL handed down its suspension, which Rice will not appeal, after its own internal investigation. It voids a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rice-chiefs-hearing-f2de00e8e78ef7ff0f572c587a1c708b">Sept. 30 hearing</a>&nbsp;before former federal Judge Sue L. Robinson that was scheduled for the NFL’s headquarters in New York.</p><p>Along with missing the Chargers game, Rice will miss a Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles on Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium; a Sunday night trip to New York to face the Giants; a high-profile matchup with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sept. 28; a game against Jacksonville the following Monday night; and a Sunday night showdown with the Lions.</p><p>Rice will be eligible to return to the field when Kansas City faces the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afc-west-broncos-chiefs-chargers-raiders-3c6e2e509b8c54aef4b327d253d8f878">AFC West</a>&nbsp;rival Raiders on Oct. 19.</p><p>The Chiefs did not make Rice nor coach Andy Reid available Wednesday. Rice also was not at their final practice before Sunday, when the Chiefs go into their game-week schedule to prepare for the Friday night matchup with the Chargers.</p><p>“We're just going to go out there, trust what the coaches put on our plates, whatever game plan we have regardless of who is in there,” tight end Noah Gray said Wednesday. “I'm extremely confident in all the guys.”</p><p>Rice’s status has been in limbo ever since he was driving a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rashee-rice-corvette-lamborghini-crash-dallas-2f3ac72c23b1d9ca4860f8cacc8b173e">Lamborghini Urus SUV</a>&nbsp;at 119 mph (191 kph) on the North Central Expressway, made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles, prosecutors said. After the crash, Rice did not check on the welfare of those in the other vehicles but instead fled on foot.</p><p>Rice said in a statement issued by his attorney that he’s had “a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”</p><p>The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said the 25-year-old Rice will have some flexibility in when he must serve his jail time. He also was required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled about $115,000.</p><p>“I’ve completely changed. You have to learn from things like that,” Rice said during a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-rashee-rice-7a914217238f4fa8cbdacedf59d5a93f">brief media availability in training camp</a>. “All I can focus on is what I can control right now and that’s me doing what I do.”</p><p>After a breakout rookie season, Rice was on his way to a memorable follow-up last fall, catching 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games. But in Week 4, after Patrick Mahomes had thrown an interception, the QB accidentally dived into Rice’s leg as they were trying to make a tackle, tearing the lateral collateral ligament in his knee.</p><p>Rice wound up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-kansas-city-rashee-rice-8bf46efe2fe8a336bbc751de9121c17b">missing the rest of the season</a>, including a loss to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.</p><p>He spent the offseason rehabbing the knee, and Rice was ready to participate in the Chiefs’ offseason program. But under terms of the suspension, Rice now will be barred from the practice facility until the middle of next month.</p><p>The Chiefs undoubtedly believed a suspension was coming. They kept eight wide receivers on Tuesday, when NFL roster cuts were due. That group includes rookie Jalen Royals, who has been dealing with an injury and may not be available for the season opener in Brazil, and Marquise Brown, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.</p><p>Now, the Chiefs will be relying on Brown and second-year pro Xavier Worthy alongside tight end Travis Kelce in their passing game. The other wide receivers on the initial roster are veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster, return specialist Nikko Remigio, preseason standout Tyquan Thornton and Jason Brownlee, who spent part of last season with the Jets.</p><p>___</p><p>AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.</p><p>___</p>

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice is suspended 6 games by NFL

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused in a fatal hit-and-run that killed a teen will return to court on Wednesday afternoon.

Gauge Brasher, 19,&nbsp; will appear for a hearing on the crime in the courtroom of Judge Jeffrey Goering, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.&nbsp; The DA's office charged Brasher with 2nd degree murder in the death of&nbsp;14-year-old Jackson Nzabonimpa. He is also charged with failure to stop at an accident and criminal damage to property.

&nbsp;Wichita police took Brasher&nbsp; into custody shortly after 4 p.m. August 15, in the 3100 block of E. Range Road, according to a statement from Wichita Police.

Around 6:30 p.m. August 13, a nearby Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in the area saw the aftermath of the crash that killed&nbsp;14-year-old Jackson Nzabonimpa and saw two men running from a black BMW that had crashed. After a short foot pursuit, both men were apprehended.

The preliminary investigation indicated the BMW was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit a power pole and then a utility box. The impact forced the power pole and utility box into Nzabonimpa, who died on scene from his injuries.&nbsp;

Witnesses at the intersection identified the 19-year-old suspect Gauge Brasher, who fled as the driver. He is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. The investigation indicated that impairment and speed were likely contributing factors in the collision. Brasher was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and later left the hospital. Police issued an alert in attempt to locate him. The passenger in the BMW is a 24-year-old man who was detained and later released with no charges.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 Brasher remains jailed on bond totaling over $500,000.00, according to online jail records.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755212957933.png" alt="View of the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH" />
                        <figcaption>View of the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused in a fatal hit-and-run that killed a teen will return to court on Wednesday afternoon.</p><p>Gauge Brasher, 19,&nbsp; will appear for a hearing on the crime in the courtroom of Judge Jeffrey Goering, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.&nbsp; The DA's office charged Brasher with 2nd degree murder in the death of&nbsp;14-year-old Jackson Nzabonimpa. He is also charged with failure to stop at an accident and criminal damage to property.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755346851465.png" alt="Brasher photo Sedgwick Co." />
                        <figcaption>Brasher photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>&nbsp;Wichita police took Brasher&nbsp; into custody shortly after 4 p.m. August 15, in the 3100 block of E. Range Road, according to a statement from Wichita Police.</p><p>Around 6:30 p.m. August 13, a nearby Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in the area saw the aftermath of the crash that killed&nbsp;14-year-old Jackson Nzabonimpa and saw two men running from a black BMW that had crashed. After a short foot pursuit, both men were apprehended.</p><p>The preliminary investigation indicated the BMW was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit a power pole and then a utility box. The impact forced the power pole and utility box into Nzabonimpa, who died on scene from his injuries.&nbsp;</p><p>Witnesses at the intersection identified the 19-year-old suspect Gauge Brasher, who fled as the driver. He is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. The investigation indicated that impairment and speed were likely contributing factors in the collision. Brasher was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and later left the hospital. Police issued an alert in attempt to locate him. The passenger in the BMW is a 24-year-old man who was detained and later released with no charges.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p> Brasher remains jailed on bond totaling over $500,000.00, according to online jail records.&nbsp;</p>

Suspect who hid after crash that killed teen is due back in court

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement in a joint post on Instagram Tuesday. Union Station in Kansas City offered their congratulations Tuesday night with a fantastic light display.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756296492469.png" alt="-Andrew McDonald, Persistent Vision Photography and&nbsp;James Van Booven, Delightful Lunatic Photography" />
                        <figcaption>-Andrew McDonald, Persistent Vision Photography and&nbsp;James Van Booven, Delightful Lunatic Photography</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement in a joint post on Instagram Tuesday. Union Station in Kansas City offered their congratulations Tuesday night with a fantastic light display.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations, Travis and Taylor! We are so excited to celebrate this magical new era with you! Tonight, the (Chiefs) Kingdom lights shine for you, as Union Station features a special celebratory lighting display of Orange and Mint coming together with Red and Gold.<br><br>Photos by:… <a href="https://t.co/415M7HAv0i">pic.twitter.com/415M7HAv0i</a></p>&mdash; Union Station KC (@UnionStationKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnionStationKC/status/1960526810808021074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce engagement: &quot;I wish them a lot of luck. I think he&#39;s a great player. I think he&#39;s a great guy and I think that she&#39;s a terrific person, so I wish them a lot of luck.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xMd8wgMTZW">pic.twitter.com/xMd8wgMTZW</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1960413669956677922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Union Station congratulates Travis and Taylor

SEDGWICK COUNTY — An inmate who admitted throwing scalding water on a Kansas jail deputy learned his fate Wednesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Judge Chrystal Krier sentenced 21-year-old James Chavez to an additional 69 months in jail, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — An inmate who admitted throwing scalding water on a Kansas jail deputy will learn his fate Wednesday.&nbsp; A hearing on Friday to sentence him was continued.

Judge Chrystal Krier will sentence 21-year-old James Chavez. In July he entered a guilty plea to charges of aggravated battery.

On April 14, a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy suffered serious burns after an inmate identified as Chavez launched a targeted attack inside the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Facility.

The incident happened while the deputy was speaking with inmates in a housing pod.&nbsp; Chavez obtained a pot of boiling water and threw it on the deputy, causing second and third-degree burns to the back part of his body.

Sedgwick County EMS transported the deputy to a local hospital, where he was admitted to the Burn Unit. The 30-year-old deputy who has served with the Sheriff’s Office for nearly two years was expected to make a full recovery.

Chavez was originally booked into the detention facility in March 2024 on pending juvenile charges and later faced an additional charge for trafficking contraband into a correctional facility. He has had 39 documented disciplinary incidents since entering the facility.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1744743778023.png" alt="Chavez-photo Sedgwick County" />
                        <figcaption>Chavez-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>SEDGWICK COUNTY — An inmate who admitted throwing scalding water on a Kansas jail deputy learned his fate Wednesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Judge Chrystal Krier sentenced 21-year-old James Chavez to an additional 69 months in jail, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.</p><p>-------------------</p><p>SEDGWICK COUNTY — An inmate who admitted throwing scalding water on a Kansas jail deputy will learn his fate Wednesday.&nbsp; A hearing on Friday to sentence him was continued.</p><p>Judge Chrystal Krier will sentence 21-year-old James Chavez. In July he entered a guilty plea to charges of aggravated battery.</p><p>On April 14, a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy suffered serious burns after an inmate identified as Chavez launched a targeted attack inside the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Facility.</p><p>The incident happened while the deputy was speaking with inmates in a housing pod.&nbsp; Chavez obtained a pot of boiling water and threw it on the deputy, causing second and third-degree burns to the back part of his body.</p><p>Sedgwick County EMS transported the deputy to a local hospital, where he was admitted to the Burn Unit. The 30-year-old deputy who has served with the Sheriff’s Office for nearly two years was expected to make a full recovery.</p><p>Chavez was originally booked into the detention facility in March 2024 on pending juvenile charges and later faced an additional charge for trafficking contraband into a correctional facility. He has had 39 documented disciplinary incidents since entering the facility.</p>

Prisoner who threw scalding water on Kan. jail deputy will learn his fate

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;seemingly caught his loyal conservative base off-guard and sparked backlash by saying he would allow 600,000 Chinese students into American universities.

That would be a departure for the Trump administration after it added&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-visa-social-media-d71aa33ff756c1383b362f69bf5b7a17">new vetting</a>&nbsp;for student visas, moved to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harvard-international-students-trump-what-to-know-6defa20d617f1ef297402e0d84c55e1e">block foreign enrollment</a>&nbsp;at Harvard and expanded the grounds for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/international-student-visa-f1-sevis-status-716ce8e67e2c3093eba4092e57ba1612">terminating international students’ ability</a>&nbsp;to study in the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has singled out China, the second highest source of international students in the U.S.,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/05/new-visa-policies-put-america-first-not-china" target="_blank">saying in May</a>&nbsp;that the State Department would revoke visas for students tied to the Chinese Communist Party and boost vetting of new applicants.

Trump’s announcement Monday adds to the confusion about the administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-visas-deportations-068ad6cd5724e7248577f17592327ca4">restrictive visa policies</a>&nbsp;and its approach to China as the superpowers tussle over trade and intensifying tech competition. It also marks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-maga-tucker-carlson-charlie-kirk-409c839e4eadf2a39a1b957213379b08">another divide with figures in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base</a>, who tout an “America First” agenda and had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-maga-tucker-carlson-charlie-kirk-409c839e4eadf2a39a1b957213379b08">contested the U.S. inserting itself</a>&nbsp;in the recent Israel-Iran war.

Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters — from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to former adviser Steve Bannon and far-right activist Laura Loomer — rejected the idea of welcoming more Chinese students.

It’s not immediately clear why the figure Trump cited was so high — more than twice the number of Chinese students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year. The total also has been falling in the past few years. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Here’s what to know about Trump’s announcement and the reaction:

What did Trump say about Chinese students?

During&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-south-korea-trade-lee-jae-myung-f80efa062dcc1b2430bbe3f12d6d1b6e">a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung</a>&nbsp;in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump was asked by reporters if he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“President Xi would like me to come to China. It’s a very important relationship. As you know, we are taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and different things,” he said. “I hear so many stories about ‘We are not going to allow their students,’ but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It’s very important — 600,000 students.”

Trump doubled down at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, sitting next to Rubio, where he said he was “honored” to have Chinese students in the U.S. and said they help colleges stay afloat.

“I told this to President Xi that we’re honored to have their students here,” Trump said. “Now, with that, we check and we’re careful, we see who is there.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said that Trump told Xi in a June phone call that “the U.S. loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America.”

It was a shift after the State Department announced in late May that it would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections with the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”

How many Chinese students come to the US?

After decades of growth, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-education-students-universities-a0193f84fd7b6879867aee147ae73a48">number of Chinese students</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. peaked at 372,532 in the 2019-2020 academic year, just as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The number slipped to 289,526 in 2022 and further dipped to 277,398 in 2023.

In the past year, several U.S. universities, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-michigan-university-657f1ac4b2b0ea7af7ca4e0b902c7951">University of Michigan</a>, have ended their joint partnerships with Chinese universities after Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-higher-education-research-tech-republicans-f6c00d6ccac7ebef5c9eadabf499b06b">raised concerns</a>&nbsp;that U.S. dollars have contributed to China’s tech advancement and military modernization.

Experts say the number of students is likely to fall further because of tense U.S.-China relations and China’s declining population.

There’s growing bipartisan consensus that U.S. schools should not help train Beijing’s top talent in critical fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and aerospace technology.

Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration, has said he would like to see Chinese students coming to the U.S. to study humanities and social sciences, “not particle physics.”

During his first term, Trump banned Chinese graduate students who had attended schools with Chinese military ties.

Bannon, one of Trump’s former advisers, criticized the announcement Tuesday, saying “there should be no foreign students here for the moment.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was asked Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” how such a shift would be consistent with Trump’s “America First” push. Lutnick argued that Trump was taking a “rational economic view” and asserted that 15% of American universities and colleges would go out of business without those foreign students.

“I just don’t understand it for the life of me. Those are 600,000 spots that American kids won’t get,” host Laura Ingraham said.

At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump said international students are helping keep some U.S. schools afloat.

“And you know what would happen if they didn’t (come)? Our college system would go to hell very quickly and it wouldn’t be the top colleges. It would be colleges that struggle on the bottom,” Trump said.

An analysis by NAFSA, an association of international educators, found that international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 378,175 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia, raised questions.

“If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP,” Greene said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

What is China saying about student visa restrictions?

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The foreign ministry has called out the U.S. for what it says is “discriminatory, politically driven and selective law enforcement” against Chinese students arriving in the U.S.

Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, said Friday that students have been treated unfairly and subjected to extended interrogations. Mao said some students had their visas revoked and were banned from entering the country after they were told they “might endanger national security.”

“The U.S.’s moves severely violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, impede the flow of people between the two countries and dampen China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges,” she said.

The embassy issued an advisory Monday urging Chinese students not to enter the U.S. through Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, alleging several students were harassed and interrogated by customs officials. The embassy said at least one student was detained for more than 80 hours before being sent back to China.

This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the commerce secretary’s last name to Lutnick, instead of Lutnik.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;seemingly caught his loyal conservative base off-guard and sparked backlash by saying he would allow 600,000 Chinese students into American universities.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 NEW: Trump says U.S. will now allow 600,000 Chinese students.<br><br>In 2022 there were 290k Chinese students.<br><br>In 2023 there were 277k Chinese students.<br><br>HOW DOES DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF CHINESE STUDENTS PUT AMERICA FIRST? <a href="https://t.co/aLEgy82G6R">pic.twitter.com/aLEgy82G6R</a></p>&mdash; Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) <a href="https://twitter.com/OcrazioCornPop/status/1960152623337603098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 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"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“I like that Chinese students come here. Do you know what would happen if they didn&#39;t? Our college system would go to hell very quickly.” - Trump<br><br>Is MAGA OK with this? <br><br> <a href="https://t.co/oLBkr2SeFG">pic.twitter.com/oLBkr2SeFG</a></p>&mdash; Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1960414080017023332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>That would be a departure for the Trump administration after it added&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-visa-social-media-d71aa33ff756c1383b362f69bf5b7a17">new vetting</a>&nbsp;for student visas, moved to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harvard-international-students-trump-what-to-know-6defa20d617f1ef297402e0d84c55e1e">block foreign enrollment</a>&nbsp;at Harvard and expanded the grounds for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/international-student-visa-f1-sevis-status-716ce8e67e2c3093eba4092e57ba1612">terminating international students’ ability</a>&nbsp;to study in the United States.</p><p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio has singled out China, the second highest source of international students in the U.S.,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/05/new-visa-policies-put-america-first-not-china" target="_blank">saying in May</a>&nbsp;that the State Department would revoke visas for students tied to the Chinese Communist Party and boost vetting of new applicants.</p><p>Trump’s announcement Monday adds to the confusion about the administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-visas-deportations-068ad6cd5724e7248577f17592327ca4">restrictive visa policies</a>&nbsp;and its approach to China as the superpowers tussle over trade and intensifying tech competition. It also marks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-maga-tucker-carlson-charlie-kirk-409c839e4eadf2a39a1b957213379b08">another divide with figures in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base</a>, who tout an “America First” agenda and had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-maga-tucker-carlson-charlie-kirk-409c839e4eadf2a39a1b957213379b08">contested the U.S. inserting itself</a>&nbsp;in the recent Israel-Iran war.</p><p>Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters — from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to former adviser Steve Bannon and far-right activist Laura Loomer — rejected the idea of welcoming more Chinese students.</p><p>It’s not immediately clear why the figure Trump cited was so high — more than twice the number of Chinese students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year. The total also has been falling in the past few years. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p><p>Here’s what to know about Trump’s announcement and the reaction:</p><h2>What did Trump say about Chinese students?</h2><p>During&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-south-korea-trade-lee-jae-myung-f80efa062dcc1b2430bbe3f12d6d1b6e">a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung</a>&nbsp;in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump was asked by reporters if he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.</p><p>“President Xi would like me to come to China. It’s a very important relationship. As you know, we are taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and different things,” he said. “I hear so many stories about ‘We are not going to allow their students,’ but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It’s very important — 600,000 students.”</p><p>Trump doubled down at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, sitting next to Rubio, where he said he was “honored” to have Chinese students in the U.S. and said they help colleges stay afloat.</p><p>“I told this to President Xi that we’re honored to have their students here,” Trump said. “Now, with that, we check and we’re careful, we see who is there.”</p><p>The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said that Trump told Xi in a June phone call that “the U.S. loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America.”</p><p>It was a shift after the State Department announced in late May that it would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections with the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”</p><h2>How many Chinese students come to the US?</h2><p>After decades of growth, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-education-students-universities-a0193f84fd7b6879867aee147ae73a48">number of Chinese students</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. peaked at 372,532 in the 2019-2020 academic year, just as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The number slipped to 289,526 in 2022 and further dipped to 277,398 in 2023.</p><p>In the past year, several U.S. universities, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-michigan-university-657f1ac4b2b0ea7af7ca4e0b902c7951">University of Michigan</a>, have ended their joint partnerships with Chinese universities after Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-higher-education-research-tech-republicans-f6c00d6ccac7ebef5c9eadabf499b06b">raised concerns</a>&nbsp;that U.S. dollars have contributed to China’s tech advancement and military modernization.</p><p>Experts say the number of students is likely to fall further because of tense U.S.-China relations and China’s declining population.</p><p>There’s growing bipartisan consensus that U.S. schools should not help train Beijing’s top talent in critical fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and aerospace technology.</p><p>Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration, has said he would like to see Chinese students coming to the U.S. to study humanities and social sciences, “not particle physics.”</p><p>During his first term, Trump banned Chinese graduate students who had attended schools with Chinese military ties.</p><h2>How are Trump’s supporters reacting?</h2><p>Bannon, one of Trump’s former advisers, criticized the announcement Tuesday, saying “there should be no foreign students here for the moment.”</p><p>Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was asked Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” how such a shift would be consistent with Trump’s “America First” push. Lutnick argued that Trump was taking a “rational economic view” and asserted that 15% of American universities and colleges would go out of business without those foreign students.</p><p>“I just don’t understand it for the life of me. Those are 600,000 spots that American kids won’t get,” host Laura Ingraham said.</p><p>At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump said international students are helping keep some U.S. schools afloat.</p><p>“And you know what would happen if they didn’t (come)? Our college system would go to hell very quickly and it wouldn’t be the top colleges. It would be colleges that struggle on the bottom,” Trump said.</p><p>An analysis by NAFSA, an association of international educators, found that international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 378,175 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year.</p><p>Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia, raised questions.</p><p>“If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP,” Greene said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.</p><h2>What is China saying about student visa restrictions?</h2><p>The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The foreign ministry has called out the U.S. for what it says is “discriminatory, politically driven and selective law enforcement” against Chinese students arriving in the U.S.</p><p>Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, said Friday that students have been treated unfairly and subjected to extended interrogations. Mao said some students had their visas revoked and were banned from entering the country after they were told they “might endanger national security.”</p><p>“The U.S.’s moves severely violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, impede the flow of people between the two countries and dampen China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges,” she said.</p><p>The embassy issued an advisory Monday urging Chinese students not to enter the U.S. through Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, alleging several students were harassed and interrogated by customs officials. The embassy said at least one student was detained for more than 80 hours before being sent back to China.</p><p>___</p><p>This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the commerce secretary’s last name to Lutnick, instead of Lutnik.</p>

Trump saying 600,000 Chinese students could come to the US draws backlash

McPHERSON — Students at McPherson High School were safely evacuated Tuesday afternoon after smoke was reported in the school’s wood shop area.

The McPherson Fire Department, McPherson Police Department, and McPherson EMS were dispatched shortly before 3 p.m. to investigate what was initially believed to be a possible electrical fire.

Responding crews directed their attention to the roundhouse wood shop, where students had already been evacuated as a precaution. Officials confirmed all students were safely released for the day once the incident was reported.

Upon investigation, firefighters determined that an electrical circuit embedded in the floor had shorted, causing a small amount of smoke. The issue was contained by isolating the circuit through its breaker. No flames were reported, and the situation was quickly brought under control.

USD 418 maintenance personnel assisted with the investigation and remained on scene after emergency crews cleared.

No injuries were reported, and officials say classes are expected to continue as normal once repairs are completed.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756296276601.png" alt="Google image" />
                        <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>MARC JACOBS<br>Hutch Post</p><p>McPHERSON — Students at McPherson High School were safely evacuated Tuesday afternoon after smoke was reported in the school’s wood shop area.</p><p>The McPherson Fire Department, McPherson Police Department, and McPherson EMS were dispatched shortly before 3 p.m. to investigate what was initially believed to be a possible electrical fire.</p><p>Responding crews directed their attention to the roundhouse wood shop, where students had already been evacuated as a precaution. Officials confirmed all students were safely released for the day once the incident was reported.</p><p>Upon investigation, firefighters determined that an electrical circuit embedded in the floor had shorted, causing a small amount of smoke. The issue was contained by isolating the circuit through its breaker. No flames were reported, and the situation was quickly brought under control.</p><p>USD 418 maintenance personnel assisted with the investigation and remained on scene after emergency crews cleared.</p><p>No injuries were reported, and officials say classes are expected to continue as normal once repairs are completed.</p>

Electrical issue prompts evacuation at Kansas high school

FINNEY COUNTY —Police arrested a&nbsp;hit-and-run suspect Saturday night after he fled a crash and assaulting Officers during the arrest. 

Just after 10:30 p.m., police responded to a reported hit-and-run crash near 4101 E. US Highway 50, according to a media release.

Police learned that a pickup truck was speeding when it struck a tree, and the driver ran from the crash. Officers quickly located the suspect, identified as Jorge Cardenas, 22, in the area. 

When approached, Cardenas attempted to run and became combative as he was apprehended, striking Officers before being taken into custody. 

Cardenas was booked into the Finney County Jail on requested charges, including Battery Law enforcement officer, Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer, Transporting an Open Container, and Duty to Report Accidents. Officers were not injured and returned to duty.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756219106145.png" alt="Cardenas photo Finney Co." />
                        <figcaption>Cardenas photo Finney Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>FINNEY COUNTY —Police arrested a&nbsp;hit-and-run suspect Saturday night after he fled a crash and assaulting Officers during the arrest. </p><p>Just after 10:30 p.m., police responded to a reported hit-and-run crash near 4101 E. US Highway 50, according to a media release.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756218347510.jpeg" alt="Photo Garden City Police" />
                        <figcaption>Photo Garden City Police</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Police learned that a pickup truck was speeding when it struck a tree, and the driver ran from the crash. Officers quickly located the suspect, identified as Jorge Cardenas, 22, in the area. </p><p>When approached, Cardenas attempted to run and became combative as he was apprehended, striking Officers before being taken into custody. </p><p>Cardenas was booked into the Finney County Jail on requested charges, including Battery Law enforcement officer, Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer, Transporting an Open Container, and Duty to Report Accidents. Officers were not injured and returned to duty.</p>

Police: Suspect in SW Kansas struck officers after running from crash

KANSAS CITY (AP) —The new diamond on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-engaged-d585627eb98b69428ce206a2c8a9cb7d">Taylor Swift's wedding ring finger</a>&nbsp;reflects her vintage-loving heart in a brilliant cut dating to 18th-century candlelight.

A close-up of the sparkler Tuesday was among five photos that accompanied Swift's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/taylor-swift">engagement announcement</a>&nbsp;with beau Travis Kelce on Instagram. The ring was designed by Kindred Lubeck, a representative for the pop star confirmed.

The diamond is an old mine brilliant cut, said Tree Paine, Swift's publicist. She provided no further details.

Lubeck, who is based in New York and operates Artifex Fine Jewelry, is the daughter of Jay Lubeck, a well-known goldsmith in Neptune Beach, Florida. Swift showed off her ring on Instagram as the couple stood in a garden. Swift wore a striped Ralph Lauren dress and her go-to Cartier diamond-encrusted watch on her left wrist.

Lubeck is a goldsmith who specializes in hand engraving. She also collects vintage jewelry, according to her bio on Artifex Fine Jewelry’s website. Old mine brilliant cuts are often boxy shaped with rounded corners and soft curved edges. Swift's diamond is in a yellow gold bezel setting.

Such diamonds usually have 58 large facets and the style dates to the 18th century. The bulky nature of the cut was intended to sparkle by candlelight.

An email to Artifex was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Swift and her football fiance from the Kansas City Chiefs have enthralled millions around the world,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-eras-tour-end-06a41d7c717486f2c0e99a7304789912">especially her Swiftie fan base,</a>&nbsp;since they began dating. Their relationship was documented in countless shots of Swift celebrating at Chiefs games and fan videos of Kelce dancing along at Swift’s Eras concert tour as it traveled the globe.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737974956093.png" alt="File Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift after the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)" />
                        <figcaption>File Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift after the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY (AP) —The new diamond on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-engaged-d585627eb98b69428ce206a2c8a9cb7d">Taylor Swift's wedding ring finger</a>&nbsp;reflects her vintage-loving heart in a brilliant cut dating to 18th-century candlelight.</p><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p>A close-up of the sparkler Tuesday was among five photos that accompanied Swift's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/taylor-swift">engagement announcement</a>&nbsp;with beau Travis Kelce on Instagram. The ring was designed by Kindred Lubeck, a representative for the pop star confirmed.</p><p>The diamond is an old mine brilliant cut, said Tree Paine, Swift's publicist. She provided no further details.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations, Travis and Taylor! We are so excited to celebrate this magical new era with you! Tonight, the (Chiefs) Kingdom lights shine for you, as Union Station features a special celebratory lighting display of Orange and Mint coming together with Red and Gold.<br><br>Photos by:… <a href="https://t.co/415M7HAv0i">pic.twitter.com/415M7HAv0i</a></p>&mdash; Union Station KC (@UnionStationKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnionStationKC/status/1960526810808021074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce engagement: &quot;I wish them a lot of luck. I think he&#39;s a great player. I think he&#39;s a great guy and I think that she&#39;s a terrific person, so I wish them a lot of luck.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xMd8wgMTZW">pic.twitter.com/xMd8wgMTZW</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1960413669956677922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Lubeck, who is based in New York and operates Artifex Fine Jewelry, is the daughter of Jay Lubeck, a well-known goldsmith in Neptune Beach, Florida. Swift showed off her ring on Instagram as the couple stood in a garden. Swift wore a striped Ralph Lauren dress and her go-to Cartier diamond-encrusted watch on her left wrist.</p><p>Lubeck is a goldsmith who specializes in hand engraving. She also collects vintage jewelry, according to her bio on Artifex Fine Jewelry’s website. Old mine brilliant cuts are often boxy shaped with rounded corners and soft curved edges. Swift's diamond is in a yellow gold bezel setting.</p><p>Such diamonds usually have 58 large facets and the style dates to the 18th century. The bulky nature of the cut was intended to sparkle by candlelight.</p><p>An email to Artifex was not immediately returned Tuesday.</p><p>Swift and her football fiance from the Kansas City Chiefs have enthralled millions around the world,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-eras-tour-end-06a41d7c717486f2c0e99a7304789912">especially her Swiftie fan base,</a>&nbsp;since they began dating. Their relationship was documented in countless shots of Swift celebrating at Chiefs games and fan videos of Kelce dancing along at Swift’s Eras concert tour as it traveled the globe.</p>

Taylor Swift stuns with vintage-inspired engagement ring designed by Kindred Lubeck

NEOSHO COUNTY —On Sunday January 17, 2016, at approx. 7:01 pm the Neosho County E-911 Center received a report of an elderly woman setting in the passenger side of a pickup parked at a local business in Erie. The reporting party advised the woman had been in the parked truck since approximately 10:00 am that day, according to Sheriff Greg Taylor.

The Erie Police Department was dispatched to the business to check on the woman’s welfare. The woman told the officer that her son was going to a sports thing, did not want her to go, and left her in the vehicle around 10 am. The woman advised that her son, Jay Shumate had left walking in an unknown direction. The Erie PD Officer took the woman home to her residence in Erie, as she was unable to drive herself. 

On January 21, 2016, the Erie Police Department as the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a search of the surrounding area of Erie. According to the Erie Police Department, Jay Shumate, who was 60 at the time, had not returned home. It was reported that Mr. Shumate would frequently walk along U.S. 59 or Main Street south from to the Neosho River. 

On January 22, 2016, a large search consisting of community volunteers, law enforcement and volunteer fireman searched the surrounding snow-covered sections of land. With an emphasis on searching the area between Erie and the Neosho River. The search was conducted with individuals on foot, ATV’s, horseback, and aircraft. The search was unsuccessful. At the time there were a couple of alleged possible sightings of Mr. Shumate, one claiming to have seen someone similar hitchhiking on US69 near Pittsburg. The Erie Police Department investigation into Mr. Shumate’s disappearance was unsuccessful. Since that time the Neosho River has flooded a few times. 

On February 13, 2023, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a human skull that had been found the previous day by people looking for deer antler sheds. Investigators collected the skull and were taken to the location of its discovery. The area is prone to flooding from the river. Investigators searched for any other remains or clothing in a large area around where the skull was found. 

This search yielded nothing. The skull was taken to the Washburn University Forensic Anthropology lab for testing. The testing estimated that the skull was likely from a male. 

The Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the KBI with the investigation. Familial DNA samples were collected from a member of the Shumate family. DNA profiles were sent to PTC Laboratories in Texas. 

On Tuesday August 25, 2025, the Sheriff’s Office received the DNA Analysis confirming that the skull is the remains of Jay Shumate. The cause of death is unknown. A Sheriff’s Office Investigator has notified the next of kin.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756246913886.png" alt="Jay Shumate&nbsp; courtesy photo" />
                        <figcaption>Jay Shumate&nbsp; courtesy photo</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>NEOSHO COUNTY —On Sunday January 17, 2016, at approx. 7:01 pm the Neosho County E-911 Center received a report of an elderly woman setting in the passenger side of a pickup parked at a local business in Erie. The reporting party advised the woman had been in the parked truck since approximately 10:00 am that day, according to Sheriff Greg Taylor.</p><p>The Erie Police Department was dispatched to the business to check on the woman’s welfare. The woman told the officer that her son was going to a sports thing, did not want her to go, and left her in the vehicle around 10 am. The woman advised that her son, Jay Shumate had left walking in an unknown direction. The Erie PD Officer took the woman home to her residence in Erie, as she was unable to drive herself. </p><p>On January 21, 2016, the Erie Police Department as the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a search of the surrounding area of Erie. According to the Erie Police Department, Jay Shumate, who was 60 at the time, had not returned home. It was reported that Mr. Shumate would frequently walk along U.S. 59 or Main Street south from to the Neosho River. </p><p>On January 22, 2016, a large search consisting of community volunteers, law enforcement and volunteer fireman searched the surrounding snow-covered sections of land. With an emphasis on searching the area between Erie and the Neosho River. The search was conducted with individuals on foot, ATV’s, horseback, and aircraft. The search was unsuccessful. At the time there were a couple of alleged possible sightings of Mr. Shumate, one claiming to have seen someone similar hitchhiking on US69 near Pittsburg. The Erie Police Department investigation into Mr. Shumate’s disappearance was unsuccessful. Since that time the Neosho River has flooded a few times. </p><p>On February 13, 2023, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a human skull that had been found the previous day by people looking for deer antler sheds. Investigators collected the skull and were taken to the location of its discovery. The area is prone to flooding from the river. Investigators searched for any other remains or clothing in a large area around where the skull was found. </p><p>This search yielded nothing. The skull was taken to the Washburn University Forensic Anthropology lab for testing. The testing estimated that the skull was likely from a male. </p><p>The Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the KBI with the investigation. Familial DNA samples were collected from a member of the Shumate family. DNA profiles were sent to PTC Laboratories in Texas. </p><p>On Tuesday August 25, 2025, the Sheriff’s Office received the DNA Analysis confirming that the skull is the remains of Jay Shumate. The cause of death is unknown. A Sheriff’s Office Investigator has notified the next of kin.&nbsp;</p>

Sheriff: Remains are of Kan. man missing nearly 10-years

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

Three states are at risk of losing some federal transportation funding because they are not enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order that commercial truck drivers must be proficient in English, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.

New Mexico, Washington and California will have 30 days to comply with the order or risk losing funding from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — among the smaller of the Transportation Department’s agencies — Duffy said, standing behind a lectern with an “America First” banner on it at the department’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.

California stands to lose $33 million, Washington could lose $10.5 million and New Mexico would lose $7 million, Duffy said. He urged the states to comply with the executive order, which Trump signed in April and took effect in June, or face increasingly draconian penalties.

“We don’t want to take away money from states,” Duffy said. “But we will take money away and we will take additional steps that get progressively more difficult for these states. There’s a lot of great tools that we have here that we don’t want to use.”

All three states contributed to a Florida crash this month in which three people were killed, Duffy said. The truck driver involved had a commercial license from California and Washington, and had been pulled over for speeding in New Mexico prior to crashing in Florida, Duffy said.

“So this one driver touched all three states,” he said.

The Florida driver, an immigrant from India who did not have permanent legal authority to be in the country, made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/20/jay-collins-is-headed-to-california-to-bring-back-undocumented-truck-driver/" target="_blank">local reports</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/8/1565041802198.jpeg" alt="Google image" />
                        <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a></p><p>Three states are at risk of losing some federal transportation funding because they are not enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order that commercial truck drivers must be proficient in English, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.</p><p>New Mexico, Washington and California will have 30 days to comply with the order or risk losing funding from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — among the smaller of the Transportation Department’s agencies — Duffy said, standing behind a lectern with an “America First” banner on it at the department’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.</p><p>California stands to lose $33 million, Washington could lose $10.5 million and New Mexico would lose $7 million, Duffy said. He urged the states to comply with the executive order, which Trump signed in April and took effect in June, or face increasingly draconian penalties.</p><p>“We don’t want to take away money from states,” Duffy said. “But we will take money away and we will take additional steps that get progressively more difficult for these states. There’s a lot of great tools that we have here that we don’t want to use.”</p><p>All three states contributed to a Florida crash this month in which three people were killed, Duffy said. The truck driver involved had a commercial license from California and Washington, and had been pulled over for speeding in New Mexico prior to crashing in Florida, Duffy said.</p><p>“So this one driver touched all three states,” he said.</p><p>The Florida driver, an immigrant from India who did not have permanent legal authority to be in the country, made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/20/jay-collins-is-headed-to-california-to-bring-back-undocumented-truck-driver/" target="_blank">local reports</a>.</p><p>Duffy said the Florida driver did not understand road signs, but did not further specify how his lack of English comprehension led to the crash, which reportedly involved making a U-turn across lanes of traffic. But Duffy repeatedly said the issue was one of safety.</p><p>Duffy said that when the Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-enforces-commonsense-rules-of-the-road-for-americas-truck-drivers/" target="_blank">executive order&nbsp;</a>went into effect, it received negative publicity.</p><p>“There was a lot of press that complained to us that we were being unfair to people, that we were being mean to people,” he said. “And what we said was, ‘No, this is a safety issue.’ Making sure drivers of very heavy, 80,000-pound rigs can speak the language is truly a critical safety issue. And some complained about it.”</p><h2>Newsom hits back</h2><p>On social media, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office said the federal government approved a permit for the Florida driver.</p><p>“This is rich,” Newsom’s office&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GovPressOffice" target="_blank">wrote on X</a>. “The Trump Administration approved the federal work permit for the man who killed 3 people — and now they’re scrambling to shift blame after getting caught. Sean’s nonsense announcement is as big a joke as the Trump Administration itself.”</p><p>A DHS spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/24/us/harjinder-singh-florida-crash-immigration" target="_blank">denied</a>&nbsp;the federal government issued the driver a work permit and blamed Newsom.</p><p>“These innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California Department of Motor Vehicles issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to States Newsroom.</p><p>Newsom has increasingly over the past few months used his social media channels to mock Trump.&nbsp;</p><p>Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis wrote in an email that the agency was “reviewing the matter with our state transportation partners” and would soon have a more detailed response.</p><p>A spokesperson for Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said he had not received Duffy’s letter.&nbsp;</p><p>“We will review it when we receive it and carefully evaluate next steps,” the spokesperson, Brionna Aho, said.&nbsp;</p><p>That state’s Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, made<a href="https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/08/19/wa-will-not-be-bullied-or-intimidated-ferguson-tells-bondi/" target="_blank">&nbsp;a defiant statement</a>&nbsp;last week about complying with the Trump administration’s demands on immigration enforcement.</p><p>“Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations,” he wrote to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.</p><p>He has&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GovBobFerguson/status/1960108862843060436" target="_blank">amplified</a>&nbsp;that message&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GovBobFerguson/status/1960132600112271694" target="_blank">several</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GovBobFerguson/status/1958985338954948621" target="_blank">times</a>&nbsp;since.</p><p>The New Mexico Department of Transportation deferred a request for comment to the state’s Department of Public Safety, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.</p><h2>Investigating testing</h2><p>Duffy said he was puzzled by commercial drivers who were able to pass a skills test without understanding English, and said the department was investigating that issue.</p><p>“This is something we’re looking at and working on when someone, an individual, comes in to take their test to become a commercial driver, and then they do a skills test… at that point, it would be clear that this driver doesn’t understand all the road signs and doesn’t speak the language, but miraculously, they’re passing the skills test,” he said. “I think any common-sense analysis would say, well, that doesn’t make sense.”</p><p>The federal department would be looking at whether the skills tests are being correctly administered and whether there is “some gaming of the system that we have to address.”</p>