WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting.

Just before noon Tuesday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 2000 block of N. 33rd Terrace in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release. When officers arrived, they found a man outside with an apparent gunshot wound. 

He was pronounced deceased at the scene. 

This incident is under investigation by the KCKPD Major Case Unit. Police have not released the name of the victim.

 Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.There is nothing further to report at this time.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting.Just before noon Tuesday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 2000 block of N. 33rd Terrace in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release. When officers arrived, they found a man outside with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. This incident is under investigation by the KCKPD Major Case Unit. Police have not released the name of the victim. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.There is nothing further to report at this time.

Homicide: Man found dead outside Kansas home

WASHINGTON (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-citizenship-spouses-69b9212c382d9bb265369b29b62622d7">new Biden administration policy</a>&nbsp;announced Tuesday will give roughly half a million immigrants who are married to American citizens but lack legal status in the United States a pathway to citizenship for them and their children.

It is one of President Joe Biden's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-dreamers-509d520529867db6a77ddcf2dcebe2a3">most sweeping immigration policies</a>&nbsp;and one that migrant advocates had been heavily lobbying the administration to undertake.

A look at the new policy, who might benefit and how:

Under U.S. immigration law, if an American marries someone who is not a citizen but is living in the United States, it can be a straightforward process for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-immigrants-11486c86ba620a04ae9dc66a3d44f346">spouse to apply for long-term permanent residence</a>&nbsp;— called a green card.

But if the spouse has been living in the United States illegally for a long time, that process gets much more complicated.

They often have to leave and apply from their home country. Depending on how long the person has lived in the U.S. without authorization, they could have to stay abroad for three to 10 years before applying to come back. They can seek a waiver to avoid waiting that long abroad, but getting a waiver also is averaging about three and a half years.

They have to go abroad, apply at a consulate — where waits can be extensive — and be permitted back into the U.S.

“There is the risk of prolonged separation especially if things go wrong," said Elizabeth Taufa, policy attorney and strategist for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Facing the prospect of leaving their families in America for a lengthy process that might not work, many decide to stay and live in the shadows.

How is Biden changing immigration policy?

Under the new policy, many spouses without legal status can now apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the U.S. and eventually get a path to citizenship. But it’s not a blanket approval.

To be eligible, people have to have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat and have been married by June 17, 2024. They would have to apply to the Department of Homeland Security, which considers the applications on a case-by-case basis, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2024/06/17/fact-sheet-dhs-announces-new-process-promote-unity-and-stability-families">wrote in a fact sheet describing</a>&nbsp;the new policy. Immigrant spouses cannot have already been admitted or paroled into the country previously.

Applicants will be vetted for previous immigration history, criminal history and more, including potential fraud, Biden's announcement said.

Once Homeland Security approves an application,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-keep-families-together/">the White House said, the</a>&nbsp;person would then have three years to apply for permanent residency and could get work authorization for up to three years.

About 1.1 million immigrants without legal status are married to American citizens in the United States, according to immigration advocacy organization FWD.us. The administration thinks that ultimately about half that number — about 500,000 — could be eligible for this program, plus about 50,000 of their children.

On average, the spouses have lived in the United States for a little over two decades, the White House said. A senior administration official said during a call to brief reporters that they expect the majority of people benefitting from the program will be from Mexico.

How does this fit in with Biden's other immigration policies?

The Biden administration has pursued a two-pronged strategy on immigration and border security over the past year and a half.

On one hand, Biden has made it much more difficult to qualify for asylum at the southern border and intensified removals of those who don't qualify to stay. Immigration advocates vilified Biden's decision this month to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-ban-halt-border-mexico-1905e3565b2da1cffb8f38a778c07118">cut off asylum processing</a>&nbsp;after arrivals on the southern border hit a certain number per day.

On the other hand, the administration has taken a number of steps to admit people into the country.

In the biggest example, the administration created a program last year allowing people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor, pass a background check and fly into a U.S. airport. As of the end of April, 434,800 people have arrived through that program from those four countries.

Many advocates have pushed the administration to do more for immigrants who have lived in the U.S. illegally for decades.

What's changing in the program for ‘Dreamers’?

Separate from the policy for migrant spouses, the administration also announced changes designed to help those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program qualify more easily for long-established work visas.

The Obama administration in 2012 offered people who were brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents as children deportation protections and temporary work permits. Many of them, often known as “Dreamers,” are now parents themselves.

Many companies who employ DACA recipients can apply for them to get a work visa, which is more stable and provides a pathway to permanent residence, said Dan Berger, an immigration fellow at Cornell Law School who co-founded&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.lawschool.cornell.edu/path2papers/">Path2Papers</a>, an organization that helps dreamers pursue work visas and other ways to get legal permanent residency.

But to get the work visa, the DACA recipient must travel abroad, apply and get a waiver to reenter the U.S. Berger said that waiver process is very slow and offers little guidance, so employers and DACA recipients aren't eager to try it.

“Having clear guidance and clear expectation is really helpful,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security has to produce guidance on how the spousal program will work. The program will go into effect by the end of summer, President Joe Biden said during a ceremony Tuesday.

It will fall to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, to process all the applications. That agency has historically struggled with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/EOY2023">funding as it works to reduce backlogs and wait times</a>.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-citizenship-spouses-69b9212c382d9bb265369b29b62622d7">new Biden administration policy</a>&nbsp;announced Tuesday will give roughly half a million immigrants who are married to American citizens but lack legal status in the United States a pathway to citizenship for them and their children.(Click below to watch the announcement)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1143912406917134%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=623" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>It is one of President Joe Biden's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-dreamers-509d520529867db6a77ddcf2dcebe2a3">most sweeping immigration policies</a>&nbsp;and one that migrant advocates had been heavily lobbying the administration to undertake.A look at the new policy, who might benefit and how:<h2>How did things work before?</h2>Under U.S. immigration law, if an American marries someone who is not a citizen but is living in the United States, it can be a straightforward process for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-immigration-border-immigrants-11486c86ba620a04ae9dc66a3d44f346">spouse to apply for long-term permanent residence</a>&nbsp;— called a green card.But if the spouse has been living in the United States illegally for a long time, that process gets much more complicated.They often have to leave and apply from their home country. Depending on how long the person has lived in the U.S. without authorization, they could have to stay abroad for three to 10 years before applying to come back. They can seek a waiver to avoid waiting that long abroad, but getting a waiver also is averaging about three and a half years.They have to go abroad, apply at a consulate — where waits can be extensive — and be permitted back into the U.S.“There is the risk of prolonged separation especially if things go wrong," said Elizabeth Taufa, policy attorney and strategist for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.Facing the prospect of leaving their families in America for a lengthy process that might not work, many decide to stay and live in the shadows.<h2>How is Biden changing immigration policy?</h2>Under the new policy, many spouses without legal status can now apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the U.S. and eventually get a path to citizenship. But it’s not a blanket approval.To be eligible, people have to have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat and have been married by June 17, 2024. They would have to apply to the Department of Homeland Security, which considers the applications on a case-by-case basis, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2024/06/17/fact-sheet-dhs-announces-new-process-promote-unity-and-stability-families">wrote in a fact sheet describing</a>&nbsp;the new policy. Immigrant spouses cannot have already been admitted or paroled into the country previously.Applicants will be vetted for previous immigration history, criminal history and more, including potential fraud, Biden's announcement said.Once Homeland Security approves an application,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-keep-families-together/">the White House said, the</a>&nbsp;person would then have three years to apply for permanent residency and could get work authorization for up to three years.About 1.1 million immigrants without legal status are married to American citizens in the United States, according to immigration advocacy organization FWD.us. The administration thinks that ultimately about half that number — about 500,000 — could be eligible for this program, plus about 50,000 of their children.On average, the spouses have lived in the United States for a little over two decades, the White House said. A senior administration official said during a call to brief reporters that they expect the majority of people benefitting from the program will be from Mexico.<h2>How does this fit in with Biden's other immigration policies?</h2>The Biden administration has pursued a two-pronged strategy on immigration and border security over the past year and a half.On one hand, Biden has made it much more difficult to qualify for asylum at the southern border and intensified removals of those who don't qualify to stay. Immigration advocates vilified Biden's decision this month to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-ban-halt-border-mexico-1905e3565b2da1cffb8f38a778c07118">cut off asylum processing</a>&nbsp;after arrivals on the southern border hit a certain number per day.On the other hand, the administration has taken a number of steps to admit people into the country.In the biggest example, the administration created a program last year allowing people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor, pass a background check and fly into a U.S. airport. As of the end of April, 434,800 people have arrived through that program from those four countries.Many advocates have pushed the administration to do more for immigrants who have lived in the U.S. illegally for decades.<h2>What's changing in the program for ‘Dreamers’?</h2>Separate from the policy for migrant spouses, the administration also announced changes designed to help those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program qualify more easily for long-established work visas.The Obama administration in 2012 offered people who were brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents as children deportation protections and temporary work permits. Many of them, often known as “Dreamers,” are now parents themselves.Many companies who employ DACA recipients can apply for them to get a work visa, which is more stable and provides a pathway to permanent residence, said Dan Berger, an immigration fellow at Cornell Law School who co-founded&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.lawschool.cornell.edu/path2papers/">Path2Papers</a>, an organization that helps dreamers pursue work visas and other ways to get legal permanent residency.But to get the work visa, the DACA recipient must travel abroad, apply and get a waiver to reenter the U.S. Berger said that waiver process is very slow and offers little guidance, so employers and DACA recipients aren't eager to try it.“Having clear guidance and clear expectation is really helpful,” he said.<h2>What's next?</h2>The Department of Homeland Security has to produce guidance on how the spousal program will work. The program will go into effect by the end of summer, President Joe Biden said during a ceremony Tuesday.It will fall to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, to process all the applications. That agency has historically struggled with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/EOY2023">funding as it works to reduce backlogs and wait times</a>.

🎥 How Biden's new pathway to citizenship will work

For more than one-and-a-half centuries,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-juneteenth-f77ddd12436ad02d8124e7d48abe9db4">the Juneteenth holiday</a>&nbsp;has been sacred to many Black communities.

It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-juneteenth-f77ddd12436ad02d8124e7d48abe9db4">found out they had been freed</a>&nbsp;— after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

People who never gave the June 19 holiday more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a “right” way&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/juneteenth-holiday-beginner-celebration-guide-460084b8008206febf23bd8d083170fa">to celebrate Juneteenth</a>?

For beginners and those brushing up on history, here are some answers:

Is Juneteenth a solemn day of remembrance or more of a party?

It just depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true Independence Day, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. The gatherings were especially revolutionary because they were free of restrictive measures, known as “Black Codes,” enforced in Confederate states, controlling whether liberated slaves could vote, buy property, gather for worship and other aspects of daily life.

Last week, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-juneteenth-concert-patti-labelle-gladys-knight-2ec59a6f5476507aada5b7480c6e28a5">White House kicked things off early with a concert</a>&nbsp;on the South Lawn for Juneteenth and Black Music Month. Singers Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle were among the the lineup of well-known artists from gospel, rap, jazz and other genres. The atmosphere was primarily festive with Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black vice president, dancing on stage with gospel singer Kirk Franklin.

“Today as we celebrate Juneteenth, together we are reminded of the promise of America,” Harris said in opening remarks. “A promise of freedom, liberty and opportunity, not for some but for all. In many ways the story of Juneteenth and of our nation is a story of our ongoing fight to realize that promise.”

Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.

The important thing is to make people feel they have options on how to observe the occasion, said Dr. David Anderson, a Black pastor and CEO of Gracism Global, a consulting firm helping leaders navigate conversations bridging divides across race and culture.

“Just like the Martin Luther King holiday, we say it’s a day of service and a lot of people will do things. There are a lot of other people who are just ‘I appreciate Dr. King, I’ll watch what’s on the television, and I’m gonna rest,’” Anderson said. “I don’t want to make people feel guilty about that. What I want to do is give everyday people a choice.”

What if you've never celebrated Juneteenth?

Anderson never did anything on Juneteenth in his youth. He didn’t learn about it until his 30s.

“I think many folks haven’t known about it — who are even my color as an African American male. Even if you heard about it and knew about it, you didn’t celebrate it,” Anderson said. “It was like just a part of history. It wasn’t a celebration of history.”

For many African Americans, the farther away from Texas that they grew up increased the likelihood they didn’t have big Juneteenth celebrations regularly. In the South, the day can vary based on when word of Emancipation reached each state.

What kind of public Juneteenth events are going on around the country?

Search online and you will find a smorgasbord of gatherings in major cities and suburbs all varying in scope and tone. Some are more carnival-esque festivals with food trucks, arts and crafts and parades. Within those festivals, you’ll likely find access to professionals in health care, finance and community resources. There also are concerts and fashion shows to highlight Black excellence and creativity. For those who want to look back, plenty of organizations and universities host panels to remind people of Juneteenth’s history.

For the first time since Juneteenth was federally recognized, the National Park Service is making entry into all sites free on the holiday. Several parks will be hosting Juneteenth commemorations this week.

Are there special foods served on Juneteenth?

Aside from barbecue, the color red has been a through line for Juneteenth food for generations. Red symbolizes the bloodshed and sacrifice of enslaved ancestors. A Juneteenth menu might incorporate items like barbecued ribs or other red meat, watermelon and red velvet cake. Drinks like fruit punch and red Kool-Aid may make an appearance at the table.

Does how you celebrate Juneteenth matter if you aren't Black?

Dr. Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University whose research focuses on race, said there’s no reason to feel awkward about wanting to recognize Juneteenth just because you have no personal ties or you’re not Black. In fact, embrace it.

“I would reframe that and challenge my non-Black folks who want to lean into Juneteenth and celebrate,” Brown said. “It absolutely is your history. It absolutely is a part of your experience. ... Isn’t this all of our history? The good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.”

If you want to bring some authenticity to your recognition of Juneteenth, educate yourself. Attending a street festival or patronizing a Black-owned business is a good start but it also would be good to “make your mind better,” Anderson said.

“That goes longer than a celebration,” Anderson said. “I think Black people need to do it too because it’s new for us as well, in America. But for non-Black people, if they could read on this topic and read on Black history beyond Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, that would show me that you’re really serious about growing in this area.”

If you’re struggling with how to “ethically” mark the day, Brown also suggested expanding your knowledge of why the holiday matters so much. That can be through reading, attending an event or going to an African American history museum if there’s one nearby.

“Have that full human experience of seeing yourself in and through the eyes of others, even if that’s not your own lived experience,” she said. “That is a radical human act that is awesome and should be encouraged and celebrated.”

What are other names used to refer to Juneteenth?

Over the decades, Juneteenth has also been called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Black Fourth of July and second Independence Day among others.

“Because 1776, Fourth of July, where we’re celebrating freedom and liberty and all of that, that did not include my descendants,” Brown said. “Black people in America were still enslaved. So that that holiday always comes with a bittersweet tinge to it.”

It’s typical to wish people a “Happy Juneteenth” or “Happy Teenth," according to Alan Freeman, a comedian organizing a Juneteenth comedy festival in Galveston, Texas for the second straight year.

“You know how at Christmas people will say ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other and not even know each other?" Freeman said. “You can get a ‘Merry Christmas’ from everybody. This is the same way.”

Tang, who reported from Phoenix, is a member of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at @ttangAP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1685725545610.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By TERRY TANG Associated PressFor more than one-and-a-half centuries,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-juneteenth-f77ddd12436ad02d8124e7d48abe9db4">the Juneteenth holiday</a>&nbsp;has been sacred to many Black communities.It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-juneteenth-f77ddd12436ad02d8124e7d48abe9db4">found out they had been freed</a>&nbsp;— after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.People who never gave the June 19 holiday more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a “right” way&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/juneteenth-holiday-beginner-celebration-guide-460084b8008206febf23bd8d083170fa">to celebrate Juneteenth</a>?For beginners and those brushing up on history, here are some answers:<h2>Is Juneteenth a solemn day of remembrance or more of a party?</h2>It just depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true Independence Day, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. The gatherings were especially revolutionary because they were free of restrictive measures, known as “Black Codes,” enforced in Confederate states, controlling whether liberated slaves could vote, buy property, gather for worship and other aspects of daily life.Last week, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-juneteenth-concert-patti-labelle-gladys-knight-2ec59a6f5476507aada5b7480c6e28a5">White House kicked things off early with a concert</a>&nbsp;on the South Lawn for Juneteenth and Black Music Month. Singers Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle were among the the lineup of well-known artists from gospel, rap, jazz and other genres. The atmosphere was primarily festive with Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black vice president, dancing on stage with gospel singer Kirk Franklin.“Today as we celebrate Juneteenth, together we are reminded of the promise of America,” Harris said in opening remarks. “A promise of freedom, liberty and opportunity, not for some but for all. In many ways the story of Juneteenth and of our nation is a story of our ongoing fight to realize that promise.”Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.The important thing is to make people feel they have options on how to observe the occasion, said Dr. David Anderson, a Black pastor and CEO of Gracism Global, a consulting firm helping leaders navigate conversations bridging divides across race and culture.“Just like the Martin Luther King holiday, we say it’s a day of service and a lot of people will do things. There are a lot of other people who are just ‘I appreciate Dr. King, I’ll watch what’s on the television, and I’m gonna rest,’” Anderson said. “I don’t want to make people feel guilty about that. What I want to do is give everyday people a choice.”<h2>What if you've never celebrated Juneteenth?</h2>Anderson never did anything on Juneteenth in his youth. He didn’t learn about it until his 30s.“I think many folks haven’t known about it — who are even my color as an African American male. Even if you heard about it and knew about it, you didn’t celebrate it,” Anderson said. “It was like just a part of history. It wasn’t a celebration of history.”For many African Americans, the farther away from Texas that they grew up increased the likelihood they didn’t have big Juneteenth celebrations regularly. In the South, the day can vary based on when word of Emancipation reached each state.<h2>What kind of public Juneteenth events are going on around the country?</h2>Search online and you will find a smorgasbord of gatherings in major cities and suburbs all varying in scope and tone. Some are more carnival-esque festivals with food trucks, arts and crafts and parades. Within those festivals, you’ll likely find access to professionals in health care, finance and community resources. There also are concerts and fashion shows to highlight Black excellence and creativity. For those who want to look back, plenty of organizations and universities host panels to remind people of Juneteenth’s history.For the first time since Juneteenth was federally recognized, the National Park Service is making entry into all sites free on the holiday. Several parks will be hosting Juneteenth commemorations this week.<h2>Are there special foods served on Juneteenth?</h2>Aside from barbecue, the color red has been a through line for Juneteenth food for generations. Red symbolizes the bloodshed and sacrifice of enslaved ancestors. A Juneteenth menu might incorporate items like barbecued ribs or other red meat, watermelon and red velvet cake. Drinks like fruit punch and red Kool-Aid may make an appearance at the table.<h2>Does how you celebrate Juneteenth matter if you aren't Black?</h2>Dr. Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University whose research focuses on race, said there’s no reason to feel awkward about wanting to recognize Juneteenth just because you have no personal ties or you’re not Black. In fact, embrace it.“I would reframe that and challenge my non-Black folks who want to lean into Juneteenth and celebrate,” Brown said. “It absolutely is your history. It absolutely is a part of your experience. ... Isn’t this all of our history? The good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.”If you want to bring some authenticity to your recognition of Juneteenth, educate yourself. Attending a street festival or patronizing a Black-owned business is a good start but it also would be good to “make your mind better,” Anderson said.“That goes longer than a celebration,” Anderson said. “I think Black people need to do it too because it’s new for us as well, in America. But for non-Black people, if they could read on this topic and read on Black history beyond Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, that would show me that you’re really serious about growing in this area.”If you’re struggling with how to “ethically” mark the day, Brown also suggested expanding your knowledge of why the holiday matters so much. That can be through reading, attending an event or going to an African American history museum if there’s one nearby.“Have that full human experience of seeing yourself in and through the eyes of others, even if that’s not your own lived experience,” she said. “That is a radical human act that is awesome and should be encouraged and celebrated.”<h2>What are other names used to refer to Juneteenth?</h2>Over the decades, Juneteenth has also been called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Black Fourth of July and second Independence Day among others.“Because 1776, Fourth of July, where we’re celebrating freedom and liberty and all of that, that did not include my descendants,” Brown said. “Black people in America were still enslaved. So that that holiday always comes with a bittersweet tinge to it.”<h2>Is there a proper Juneteenth greeting?</h2>It’s typical to wish people a “Happy Juneteenth” or “Happy Teenth," according to Alan Freeman, a comedian organizing a Juneteenth comedy festival in Galveston, Texas for the second straight year.“You know how at Christmas people will say ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other and not even know each other?" Freeman said. “You can get a ‘Merry Christmas’ from everybody. This is the same way.”___Tang, who reported from Phoenix, is a member of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at @ttangAP.

The beginner's guide to celebrating Juneteenth

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and searching for suspects.

Just after 10p.m. Monday, police responded to reported of an armed robbery at W. 80th Street and Metcalf Avenue, according to Officer John Lacy.

A store employee reported two men entered the business wearing ski mask and displayed firearms and demanded cash.&nbsp; In the process of taking items from the business, the two suspects also battered the store employee. 

The first suspect was described as a black male in his twenties wearing a gray hoodie black pants and white shoes.  The second suspect was described as a possible Hispanic male also in his twenties wearing a black hood jacket, black pants and white shoes. 

 The store employee suffered minor injuries and was not transported to a local hospital.  The two suspects left eastbound on foot from the business.

  If you have any information please contact the lead Detective at 913-327-8750 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.  Officer John Lacy #653Police Public Information Officer

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and searching for suspects.Just after 10p.m. Monday, police responded to reported of an armed robbery at W. 80th Street and Metcalf Avenue, according to Officer John Lacy.A store employee reported two men entered the business wearing ski mask and displayed firearms and demanded cash.&nbsp; In the process of taking items from the business, the two suspects also battered the store employee. The first suspect was described as a black male in his twenties wearing a gray hoodie black pants and white shoes. The second suspect was described as a possible Hispanic male also in his twenties wearing a black hood jacket, black pants and white shoes. The store employee suffered minor injuries and was not transported to a local hospital. The two suspects left eastbound on foot from the business. If you have any information please contact the lead Detective at 913-327-8750 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. Officer John Lacy #653Police Public Information Officer

Store employee battered during Kansas armed robbery

KANSAS CITY —Investigators recently recovered over 300 pounds of stolen telecommunications cable, taken in multiple KC area thefts, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control.

 These thefts not only cost companies money in material losses and repair bills, but also affect consumers in the form of lost services and outages.&nbsp; Authorities have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718741274497.png" alt="Photo MSHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo MSHP</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Investigators recently recovered over 300 pounds of stolen telecommunications cable, taken in multiple KC area thefts, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control. These thefts not only cost companies money in material losses and repair bills, but also affect consumers in the form of lost services and outages.&nbsp; Authorities have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

Patrol recovers over 300 pounds of stolen telecom cables

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Yemen's Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday, the second-such ship to be sunk in the rebel campaign.

The sinking of the Tutor in the Red Sea marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign targeting shipping through the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The attack comes despite a monthslong U.S.-led campaign in the region that has seen the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-navy-yemen-houthis-israel-war-7a9997f9d84ac669fae69ecf819913fb">Navy face its most-intense maritime fighting</a>&nbsp;since World War II, with near-daily attacks targeting commercial vessels and warship.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned-and-operated Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning to sailors in the region.

“Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the last reported location,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is believed to have sunk.”

The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the sinking. The U.S. military as well did not immediately acknowledge the sinking and did not respond to requests for comment.

The Tutor came under attack about a week ago by a bomb-carrying Houthi drone boat in the Red Sea. John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Monday that the attack killed “a crew member who hailed from the Philippines.” The Philippines has yet to acknowledge the death, but the man who had been aboard the Tutor has been missing for over a week in the Red Sea, which faces intense summertime heat.

The use of a boat loaded with explosives raised the specter of 2000’s USS Cole attack, a suicide assault by al-Qaida on the warship when it was at port in Aden, killing 17 on board. The Cole is now part of a U.S. Navy operation led by the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea to try and halt the Houthi attacks, though the rebels continue their assaults.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks</a>&nbsp;on shipping, killing four sailors. They've seized one vessel and sunk two since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-war-us-british-airstrikes-israel-hamas-12f99b7afc389a703f8dd333f2376b20">a series of strikes May 30</a>&nbsp;killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.

In March,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-rubymar-sinks-red-sea-fb64a490ce935756337ee3606e15d093">the Belize-flagged Rubymar carried a load of fertilizer sank in the Red Sea</a>&nbsp;after taking on water for days following a rebel attack.

The Houthis have maintained their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. However, many of the ships they've attacked have little or no connection to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians there, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. It&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">began after Hamas-led militants</a>&nbsp;attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703990687604.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Yemen's Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday, the second-such ship to be sunk in the rebel campaign.The sinking of the Tutor in the Red Sea marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign targeting shipping through the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.The attack comes despite a monthslong U.S.-led campaign in the region that has seen the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-navy-yemen-houthis-israel-war-7a9997f9d84ac669fae69ecf819913fb">Navy face its most-intense maritime fighting</a>&nbsp;since World War II, with near-daily attacks targeting commercial vessels and warship.The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned-and-operated Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning to sailors in the region.“Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the last reported location,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is believed to have sunk.”The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the sinking. The U.S. military as well did not immediately acknowledge the sinking and did not respond to requests for comment.The Tutor came under attack about a week ago by a bomb-carrying Houthi drone boat in the Red Sea. John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Monday that the attack killed “a crew member who hailed from the Philippines.” The Philippines has yet to acknowledge the death, but the man who had been aboard the Tutor has been missing for over a week in the Red Sea, which faces intense summertime heat.The use of a boat loaded with explosives raised the specter of 2000’s USS Cole attack, a suicide assault by al-Qaida on the warship when it was at port in Aden, killing 17 on board. The Cole is now part of a U.S. Navy operation led by the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea to try and halt the Houthi attacks, though the rebels continue their assaults.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks</a>&nbsp;on shipping, killing four sailors. They've seized one vessel and sunk two since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-war-us-british-airstrikes-israel-hamas-12f99b7afc389a703f8dd333f2376b20">a series of strikes May 30</a>&nbsp;killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.In March,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-rubymar-sinks-red-sea-fb64a490ce935756337ee3606e15d093">the Belize-flagged Rubymar carried a load of fertilizer sank in the Red Sea</a>&nbsp;after taking on water for days following a rebel attack.The Houthis have maintained their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. However, many of the ships they've attacked have little or no connection to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.The war in Gaza has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians there, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. It&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">began after Hamas-led militants</a>&nbsp;attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.

Terrorist attack sinks second ship in the Red Sea

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement and railroad officials are investigating a fatal accident.

Just after 5p.m. Tuesday, a Union Pacific train struck and killed an individual&nbsp; near N Kansas Ave and NE Norris Street, according to&nbsp;Meg Siffring with Union Pacific.

The train crew was not injured. Union Pacific is working with local authorities to understand what led up to the incident.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718757295503.png" alt="photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement and railroad officials are investigating a fatal accident.Just after 5p.m. Tuesday, a Union Pacific train struck and killed an individual&nbsp; near N Kansas Ave and NE Norris Street, according to&nbsp;Meg Siffring with Union Pacific.The train crew was not injured. Union Pacific is working with local authorities to understand what led up to the incident.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

Pedestrian dead after struck by train in Kansas

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — An attempted robbery at a highway rest area in eastern Nebraska left a 72-year-old man dead and a 71-year-old woman critically injured in a knife attack Wednesday, authorities said.

The Hall County Sheriff's office said deputies were called to an Interstate 80 rest area shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday and found both victims with knife wounds.

The man from Eureka, Missouri, died at a Grand Island hospital. The woman is in critical condition at the hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said. She is also from Eureka.

The suspect fled the rest area in a vehicle before authorities arrived, but Grand Island Police Captain Dean Elliott told television station KSNB that officers were able to get a description.

The Nebraska State Patrol tried to stop a vehicle matching that description near Wood River before that vehicle exited the interstate and turned south. Elliott said the vehicle eventually drove into the Platte River before the suspect was arrested.

It wasn't immediately clear what charges the 22-year-old man from Elyria, Ohio, will face.

The victims were not immediately identified because authorities are still notifying family members.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718822090654.png" alt="Photo Nebraska State Patrol courtesy NTV" />
 <figcaption>Photo Nebraska State Patrol courtesy NTV</figcaption>
 </figure>GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — An attempted robbery at a highway rest area in eastern Nebraska left a 72-year-old man dead and a 71-year-old woman critically injured in a knife attack Wednesday, authorities said.The Hall County Sheriff's office said deputies were called to an Interstate 80 rest area shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday and found both victims with knife wounds.The man from Eureka, Missouri, died at a Grand Island hospital. The woman is in critical condition at the hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said. She is also from Eureka.The suspect fled the rest area in a vehicle before authorities arrived, but Grand Island Police Captain Dean Elliott told television station KSNB that officers were able to get a description.The Nebraska State Patrol tried to stop a vehicle matching that description near Wood River before that vehicle exited the interstate and turned south. Elliott said the vehicle eventually drove into the Platte River before the suspect was arrested.It wasn't immediately clear what charges the 22-year-old man from Elyria, Ohio, will face.The victims were not immediately identified because authorities are still notifying family members.

Man, 72, killed and woman hurt in knife attack at Nebraska highway rest area

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is making a serious run at becoming the new home for the reigning&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2024-score-chiefs-49ers-49b5dca51c05ab0f259cef0d7da76c2d">Super Bowl champions</a>&nbsp;with legislators approving a plan Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-new-stadium-d33d64672c1cfb8d015d29b03ccf9b4f">for luring</a>&nbsp;both the Chiefs and Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals away from Missouri.

Bipartisan legislative supermajorities OKed the measure to authorize state bonds to help finance new stadiums and practice facilities for both teams on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area of 2.3 million residents, which is split by the border with Missouri. Three Super Bowl victories in five years — and player Travis Kelce’s romance with pop icon Taylor Swift — have made the Chiefs perhaps the area’s most celebrated civic asset.

The plan from the Republican-controlled Legislature goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. While she stopped short of promising to sign it, she said in a statement that “Kansas now has the opportunity to become a professional sports powerhouse.”

Both the Chiefs and the Royals said they look forward to considering Kansas options. The lease on the Missouri complex with their side-by-side stadiums runs through January 2031, but both have said they already should have been planning for the future.

“We’re excited about what happened here today,” Korb Maxwell, an attorney for the Chiefs who lives on the Kansas side, said at the Statehouse after the bill cleared the Legislature. “This is incredibly real.”

The approval capped a two-month push to capitalize on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-royals-kansas-city-stadiums-e9605296b85e91699441e4ba10e83212">the refusal in April</a>&nbsp;by voters on the Missouri side to continue a local sales tax used to finance the upkeep of the teams' stadiums.

Backers of the plan brushed aside decades of research by economists concluding that government subsidies for professional sports stadiums&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-stadiums-public-funding-nfl-mlb-a81d825286530bb95f227efc99f2e9d3">are not worth the cost</a>. They also overcame criticism that lawmakers were moving too quickly.

A spokeswoman for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment. But in Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas promised to “lay out a good offer” to keep both teams in town.

“Today was largely, in my opinion, about leverage,” Lucas said. “And the teams are in an exceptional leverage position.”

Some Kansas officials reached the same conclusion.

“I think the Chiefs and the Royals are using us,” said state Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Kansas City-area Democrat.

The votes on the Kansas stadium-financing plan were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li_2024s/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20240618140409_302207/">84-38</a>&nbsp;in the state House and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li_2024s/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20240618180827_709784/">27-8</a>&nbsp;in the Senate. Lawmakers from across the state — even western Kansas, far from any new stadium — supported the measure.

It would allow state bonds to cover up to 70% of each new stadium, paying them off over 30 years with revenues from sports betting, state lottery ticket sales and new sales and alcohol taxes collected from shopping and entertainment districts around the new stadiums.

House Commerce Committee Chair Sean Tarwater, a Kansas City-area Republican, said the Chiefs still are likely to spend $500 million to $700 million in private funds on a new stadium.

“There are no blank checks,” Tarwater told GOP colleagues during a briefing.

Legislators debated the plan during a one-day special session called by Kelly to have them consider reducing taxes after she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-budget-tax-cuts-veto-9ebddf96cd35b614d8e96f2d8b8939c2">vetoed three tax-cutting plans</a>&nbsp;before legislators adjourned their regular annual session May 1.

Republican leaders had promised that the stadium proposal wouldn’t come up until the Legislature first approved a plan to cut income and property taxes by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-cuts-kansas-special-legislative-session-b79d213f1a904dfd7604648ea9d2c454">a total of $1.23 billion</a>&nbsp;over the next three years. Many lawmakers argued that voters would be angry if the state helped finance new stadiums without cutting taxes.

With the tax bill passed, the stadium plan gained support even from lawmakers who saw it as a handout for wealthy team owners. Some said failing to act risked pushing the teams to leave the Kansas City area, and a few said they had wanted the Chiefs in Kansas since childhood.

“It is amazing to me the speed with which we can solve problems when they're oriented around wealth, when they’re oriented around business,” said state Rep. Jason Probst, a Democrat from central Kansas.

“This is the system that we’re stuck in, so if we choose to opt out of that system, we will lose every time,” he said.

Economists who study pro sports teams have concluded in dozens of studies that a new stadium and shopping-and-entertainment area merely takes existing economic activity away from elsewhere in a community, resulting in little or no net gain.

“It could still help Kansas and maybe hurt Missouri by the same amount,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith college in central Massachusetts who has written multiple books about sports. “It’s a zero-sum game.”

A skeptical state Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Kansas City-area Republican, used a Christmas Eve metaphor to characterize supporters' excitement before she voted no.

"There are visions of sugar plums,” Baumgardner said.

By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is making a serious run at becoming the new home for the reigning&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2024-score-chiefs-49ers-49b5dca51c05ab0f259cef0d7da76c2d">Super Bowl champions</a>&nbsp;with legislators approving a plan Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-new-stadium-d33d64672c1cfb8d015d29b03ccf9b4f">for luring</a>&nbsp;both the Chiefs and Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals away from Missouri.Bipartisan legislative supermajorities OKed the measure to authorize state bonds to help finance new stadiums and practice facilities for both teams on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area of 2.3 million residents, which is split by the border with Missouri. Three Super Bowl victories in five years — and player Travis Kelce’s romance with pop icon Taylor Swift — have made the Chiefs perhaps the area’s most celebrated civic asset.The plan from the Republican-controlled Legislature goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. While she stopped short of promising to sign it, she said in a statement that “Kansas now has the opportunity to become a professional sports powerhouse.”Both the Chiefs and the Royals said they look forward to considering Kansas options. The lease on the Missouri complex with their side-by-side stadiums runs through January 2031, but both have said they already should have been planning for the future.“We’re excited about what happened here today,” Korb Maxwell, an attorney for the Chiefs who lives on the Kansas side, said at the Statehouse after the bill cleared the Legislature. “This is incredibly real.”The approval capped a two-month push to capitalize on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-royals-kansas-city-stadiums-e9605296b85e91699441e4ba10e83212">the refusal in April</a>&nbsp;by voters on the Missouri side to continue a local sales tax used to finance the upkeep of the teams' stadiums.Backers of the plan brushed aside decades of research by economists concluding that government subsidies for professional sports stadiums&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-stadiums-public-funding-nfl-mlb-a81d825286530bb95f227efc99f2e9d3">are not worth the cost</a>. They also overcame criticism that lawmakers were moving too quickly.A spokeswoman for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment. But in Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas promised to “lay out a good offer” to keep both teams in town.“Today was largely, in my opinion, about leverage,” Lucas said. “And the teams are in an exceptional leverage position.”Some Kansas officials reached the same conclusion.“I think the Chiefs and the Royals are using us,” said state Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Kansas City-area Democrat.The votes on the Kansas stadium-financing plan were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li_2024s/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20240618140409_302207/">84-38</a>&nbsp;in the state House and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li_2024s/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20240618180827_709784/">27-8</a>&nbsp;in the Senate. Lawmakers from across the state — even western Kansas, far from any new stadium — supported the measure.It would allow state bonds to cover up to 70% of each new stadium, paying them off over 30 years with revenues from sports betting, state lottery ticket sales and new sales and alcohol taxes collected from shopping and entertainment districts around the new stadiums.House Commerce Committee Chair Sean Tarwater, a Kansas City-area Republican, said the Chiefs still are likely to spend $500 million to $700 million in private funds on a new stadium.“There are no blank checks,” Tarwater told GOP colleagues during a briefing.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mayor Lucas’s statement on the Kansas Legislature’s STAR bond vote: <a href="https://t.co/dRYs3KzJrk">pic.twitter.com/dRYs3KzJrk</a>&mdash; Mayor Quinton Lucas (@MayorLucasKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorLucasKC/status/1803203120924602403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Legislators debated the plan during a one-day special session called by Kelly to have them consider reducing taxes after she&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-budget-tax-cuts-veto-9ebddf96cd35b614d8e96f2d8b8939c2">vetoed three tax-cutting plans</a>&nbsp;before legislators adjourned their regular annual session May 1.Republican leaders had promised that the stadium proposal wouldn’t come up until the Legislature first approved a plan to cut income and property taxes by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-cuts-kansas-special-legislative-session-b79d213f1a904dfd7604648ea9d2c454">a total of $1.23 billion</a>&nbsp;over the next three years. Many lawmakers argued that voters would be angry if the state helped finance new stadiums without cutting taxes.With the tax bill passed, the stadium plan gained support even from lawmakers who saw it as a handout for wealthy team owners. Some said failing to act risked pushing the teams to leave the Kansas City area, and a few said they had wanted the Chiefs in Kansas since childhood.“It is amazing to me the speed with which we can solve problems when they're oriented around wealth, when they’re oriented around business,” said state Rep. Jason Probst, a Democrat from central Kansas.Yet Probst voted for the bill.“This is the system that we’re stuck in, so if we choose to opt out of that system, we will lose every time,” he said.Economists who study pro sports teams have concluded in dozens of studies that a new stadium and shopping-and-entertainment area merely takes existing economic activity away from elsewhere in a community, resulting in little or no net gain.“It could still help Kansas and maybe hurt Missouri by the same amount,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith college in central Massachusetts who has written multiple books about sports. “It’s a zero-sum game.”A skeptical state Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Kansas City-area Republican, used a Christmas Eve metaphor to characterize supporters' excitement before she voted no."There are visions of sugar plums,” Baumgardner said.

Kansas making a big run at KC's pro teams with a plan to help pay for new stadiums

NEW YORK (AP) —Willie Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died. He was 93.

Mays' family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had died earlier in the afternoon.

“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” son Michael Mays said in a statement released by the club. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/willie-mays-career-death-a1a52f9b19a24934ad992a346b39b2c0">The center fielder, who began his professional career in the Negro Leagues</a>&nbsp;in 1948, was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. His signature basket catch and his dashes around the bases with his cap flying off personified the joy of the game. His over-the shoulder catch of a long drive in the 1954 World Series is baseball’s most celebrated defensive feat.

Mays died two days before a game between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rickwood-field-willie-mays-14d999da5a7fb363b43dce06df8f7577">to honor the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham</a>, Alabama.

“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast ... Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime. ... We will never forget this true Giant on and off the field.”

Few were so blessed with each of the five essential qualities for a superstar -- hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, fielding and throwing. Fewer so joyously exerted those qualities -- whether launching home runs; dashing around the bases, loose-fitting cap flying off his head; or chasing down fly balls in center field and finishing the job with his trademark basket catch.

“When I played ball, I tried to make sure everybody enjoyed what I was doing,” Mays told NPR in 2010. “I made the clubhouse guy fit me a cap that when I ran, the wind gets up in the bottom and it flies right off. People love that kind of stuff.”

Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Glove. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history.

He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, behind Ruth and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&amp;T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza.

For millions in the 1950s and ’60s and after, the smiling ball player with the friendly, high-pitched voice was a signature athlete and showman during an era when baseball was still the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015, Mays left his fans with countless memories. But a single feat served to capture his magic -- one so untoppable it was simply called “The Catch.”

In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the then-New York Giants hosted the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games in the regular season and were strong favorites in the postseason. The score was 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Cleveland’s Vic Wertz faced reliever Don Liddle with none out, Larry Doby on second and Al Rosen on first.

With the count 1-2, Wertz smashed a fastball to deep center field. In an average park, with an average center fielder, Wertz would have homered, or at least had an easy triple. But the center field wall in the eccentrically shaped Polo Grounds was more than 450 feet away. And there was nothing close to average about the skills of Willie Mays.

Decades of taped replays have not diminished the astonishment of watching Mays race toward the wall, his back to home plate; reach out his glove and haul in the drive. What followed was also extraordinary: Mays managed to turn around while still moving forward, heave the ball to the infield and prevent Doby from scoring even as Mays spun to the ground. Mays himself would proudly point out that “the throw” was as important as “the catch.”

“Soon as it got hit, I knew I’d catch the ball,” Mays told biographer James S. Hirsch, whose book came out in 2010.

“All the time I’m running back, I’m thinking, ‘Willie, you’ve got to get this ball back to the infield.’”

“The Catch” was seen and heard by millions through radio and the then-emerging medium of television, and Mays became one of the first Black athletes with mass media appeal. He was a guest star on “The Donna Reed Show,” “Bewitched” and other sitcoms. He inspired a handful of songs and was named first in Terry Cashman’s 1980s novelty hit, “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey &amp; The Duke),” a tribute in part to the brief era when New York had three future Hall of Famers in center: Mays, Mantle of the Yankees and Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Giants went on to sweep the Indians, with many citing Mays’ play as the turning point. The impact was so powerful that 63 years later, in 2017, baseball named the World Series Most Valuable Player after him even though it was his only moment of postseason greatness. He appeared in three other World Series, in 1951 and 1962 for the Giants and 1973 for the Mets, batting just .239 with no home runs in the four series. (His one postseason homer was in the 1971 National League playoffs, when the Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates).

But “The Catch” and his achievements during the regular season were greatness enough. Yankees and Dodgers fans may have fiercely challenged Mays’ eminence, but Mantle and Snider did not. At a 1995 baseball writers dinner in Manhattan, with all three at the dais, Mantle raised the eternal question: Which of the three was better?

“We don’t mean being second, do we, Duke?” he added.

Between 1954 and 1966, Mays drove in 100 or more runs 10 times, scored 100 or more 12 times, hit 40 or more homers six times, more than 50 homers twice and led the league in stolen bases four times. His numbers might have been bigger. He missed most of 1952 and all of 1953 because of military service, quite possibly costing him the chance to overtake Ruth’s career home run record of 714, an honor that first went to Henry Aaron; then Mays’ godson, Barry Bonds. He likely would have won more Gold Gloves if the award had been established before 1956. He insisted he would have led the league in steals more often had he tried.

Mays was fortunate in escaping serious injury and avoiding major scandal, but he endured personal and professional troubles. His first marriage, to Marghuerite Wendell, ended in divorce. He was often short of money in the pre-free agent era, and he received less for endorsements than did Mantle and other white athletes. He was subject to racist insults and his insistence that he was an entertainer, not a spokesman, led to his being chastised by Jackie Robinson and others for not contributing more to the civil rights movement. He didn’t care for some of his managers and didn’t always appreciate a fellow idol, notably Aaron, his greatest contemporary.

“When Henry began to soar up the home-run chart, Willie was loathe to give even a partial nod to Henry’s ability, choosing instead to blame his own performance on his home turf, (San Francisco’s) Candlestick Park, saying it was a lousy park in which to hit homers and this was the reason for Henry’s onrush,” Aaron biographer Howard Bryant wrote in 2010.

Admirers of Aaron, who died in 2021, would contend that only his quiet demeanor and geographical distance from major media centers -- Aaron played in Atlanta and Milwaukee -- kept him from being ranked the same as, or even better than Mays. But much of the baseball world placed Mays above all. He was the game’s highest-paid player for 11 seasons (according to the Society for American Baseball Research) and often batted first in All-Star games, because he was Willie Mays. From center field, he called pitches and positioned other fielders. He boasted that he relied on his own instincts, not those of any coach, when deciding whether to try for an extra base.

Sports writer Barney Kremenko has often been credited with nicknaming him “The Say Hey Kid,” referring to Mays’ spirited way of greeting his teammates. Moments on and off the field sealed the public’s affection. In 1965, Mays defused a horrifying brawl after teammate Juan Marichal clubbed Los Angeles Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Mays led a bloodied Roseboro away and sat with him on the clubhouse bench of the Dodgers, the Giants’ hated rivals.

Years earlier, when living in Manhattan, he endeared himself to young fans by playing in neighborhood stickball games.

“I used to have maybe 10 kids come to my window,” he said in 2011 while visiting the area of the old Polo Grounds. “Every morning, they’d come at 9 o’clock. They’d knock on my window, get me up. And I had to be out at 9:30. So they’d give me a chance to go shower. They’d give me a chance to eat breakfast. But I had to be out there at 9:30, because that’s when they wanted to play. So I played with them for about maybe an hour.”

He was born in Westfield, Alabama, in 1931, the son of a Negro League player who wanted Willie to do the same, playing catch with him and letting him sit in the dugout. Young Mays was so gifted an athlete that childhood friends swore that basketball, not baseball, was his best sport.

By high school he was playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, and late in life would receive an additional 10 hits to his career total, 3,293, when Negro League statistics were recognized in 2024 by Major League Baseball. With Robinson breaking the major league’s color barrier in 1947, Mays’ ascension became inevitable. The Giants signed him after he graduated from high school (he had to skip his senior prom) and sent him to its minor league affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey. He began the 1951 season with Minneapolis, a Triple-A club. After 35 games, he was batting a head-turning .477 and was labeled by one scout as “the best prospect in America.” Giants Manager Leo Durocher saw no reason to wait and demanded that Mays, barely 20 at the time, join his team’s starting lineup.

Durocher managed Mays from 1951-55 and became a father figure -- the surly but astute leader who nurtured and sometimes pampered the young phenom. As Durocher liked to tell it, and Mays never disputed, Mays struggled in his first few games and was ready to go back to the minors.

“In the minors I’m hitting .477, killing everybody. And I came to the majors, I couldn’t hit. I was playing the outfield very, very well, throwing out everybody, but I just couldn’t get a hit,” Mays told the Academy of Achievement, a Washington-based leadership center, in 1996. “And I started crying, and Leo came to me and he says, ‘You’re my center fielder; it doesn’t make any difference what you do. You just go home, come back and play tomorrow.’ I think that really, really turned me around.”

Mays finished 1951 batting .272 with 20 home runs, good enough to be named the league’s top rookie. He might have been a legend that first season. The Giants were 13 games behind Brooklyn on Aug. 11, but rallied and tied the Dodgers, then won a best-of-3 playoff series with one of baseball’s most storied homers: Bobby Thomson’s shot in the bottom of the ninth off Ralph Branca.

“I was concentrating on Branca, what he was throwing, what he might throw me,” Mays told The New York Times in 2010. “When he hit the home run, I didn’t even move.

“I remember all the guys running by me, running to home plate, and I’m saying, ‘What’s going on here?’ I was thinking, ‘I got to hit!‘”

His military service the next two years stalled his career, but not his development. Mays was assigned as a batting instructor for his unit’s baseball team and, at the suggestion of one pupil, began catching fly balls by holding out his glove face up, around his belly, like a basket. Mays adopted the new approach in part because it enabled him to throw more quickly.

He returned full time in 1954, hit 41 homers and a league-leading .345. He was only 34 when he hit his 500th career homer, in 1965, but managed just 160 over the next eight years. Early in the 1972 season, with Mays struggling and the Giants looking to cut costs, the team stunned Mays and others by trading its marquee player to the New York Mets, returning him to the city where he had started out in the majors.

Mays’ debut with his new team could not have been better scripted: He hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning against the visiting Giants, and helped the Mets win 5-4. But he deteriorated badly over the next two seasons, even falling down on occasion in the field. Many cited him as example of a star who stayed too long.

In retirement, he mentored Bonds and defended him against allegations of using steroids. Mays himself was in trouble when Commissioner Bowie Kuhn banned him from the game, in 1979, for doing promotional work at the Bally’s Park Place Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Kuhn’s successor, Peter Ueberroth, reinstated Mays and fellow casino promoter Mantle in 1985).

But tributes were more common and they came from everywhere -- show business, sports, the White House. In the 1979 movie “Manhattan,” Woody Allen’s character cites Mays as among his reasons for living. When Obama learned he was a distant cousin of political rival and former Vice President Dick Cheney, he lamented that he wasn’t related to someone “cool,” like Mays.

Asked about career highlights, Mays inevitably mentioned “The Catch,” but also cherished hitting four home runs in a game against the Braves; falling over a canvas fence to make a catch in the minors; and running into a fence in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field while chasing a bases-loaded drive, knocking himself out, but still holding on to the ball.

Most of the time, he was happy just being on the field, especially when the sun went down.

“I mean, you had the lights out there and all you do is go out there, and you’re out there by yourself in center field,” he told the achievement academy. “And, I just felt that it was such a beautiful game that I just wanted to play it forever, you know.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718759616070.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —Willie Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died. He was 93.Mays' family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had died earlier in the afternoon.“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” son Michael Mays said in a statement released by the club. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/willie-mays-career-death-a1a52f9b19a24934ad992a346b39b2c0">The center fielder, who began his professional career in the Negro Leagues</a>&nbsp;in 1948, was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. His signature basket catch and his dashes around the bases with his cap flying off personified the joy of the game. His over-the shoulder catch of a long drive in the 1954 World Series is baseball’s most celebrated defensive feat.Mays died two days before a game between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rickwood-field-willie-mays-14d999da5a7fb363b43dce06df8f7577">to honor the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham</a>, Alabama.“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast ... Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime. ... We will never forget this true Giant on and off the field.”Few were so blessed with each of the five essential qualities for a superstar -- hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, fielding and throwing. Fewer so joyously exerted those qualities -- whether launching home runs; dashing around the bases, loose-fitting cap flying off his head; or chasing down fly balls in center field and finishing the job with his trademark basket catch.“When I played ball, I tried to make sure everybody enjoyed what I was doing,” Mays told NPR in 2010. “I made the clubhouse guy fit me a cap that when I ran, the wind gets up in the bottom and it flies right off. People love that kind of stuff.”Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Glove. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history.He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, behind Ruth and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&amp;T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza.For millions in the 1950s and ’60s and after, the smiling ball player with the friendly, high-pitched voice was a signature athlete and showman during an era when baseball was still the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015, Mays left his fans with countless memories. But a single feat served to capture his magic -- one so untoppable it was simply called “The Catch.”In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the then-New York Giants hosted the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games in the regular season and were strong favorites in the postseason. The score was 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Cleveland’s Vic Wertz faced reliever Don Liddle with none out, Larry Doby on second and Al Rosen on first.With the count 1-2, Wertz smashed a fastball to deep center field. In an average park, with an average center fielder, Wertz would have homered, or at least had an easy triple. But the center field wall in the eccentrically shaped Polo Grounds was more than 450 feet away. And there was nothing close to average about the skills of Willie Mays.Decades of taped replays have not diminished the astonishment of watching Mays race toward the wall, his back to home plate; reach out his glove and haul in the drive. What followed was also extraordinary: Mays managed to turn around while still moving forward, heave the ball to the infield and prevent Doby from scoring even as Mays spun to the ground. Mays himself would proudly point out that “the throw” was as important as “the catch.”Decades of taped replays have not diminished the astonishment of watching Mays race toward the wall, his back to home plate; reach out his glove and haul in the drive. What followed was also extraordinary: Mays managed to turn around while still moving forward, heave the ball to the infield and prevent Doby from scoring even as Mays spun to the ground. Mays himself would proudly point out that “the throw” was as important as “the catch.”“Soon as it got hit, I knew I’d catch the ball,” Mays told biographer James S. Hirsch, whose book came out in 2010.“All the time I’m running back, I’m thinking, ‘Willie, you’ve got to get this ball back to the infield.’”“The Catch” was seen and heard by millions through radio and the then-emerging medium of television, and Mays became one of the first Black athletes with mass media appeal. He was a guest star on “The Donna Reed Show,” “Bewitched” and other sitcoms. He inspired a handful of songs and was named first in Terry Cashman’s 1980s novelty hit, “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey &amp; The Duke),” a tribute in part to the brief era when New York had three future Hall of Famers in center: Mays, Mantle of the Yankees and Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers.The Giants went on to sweep the Indians, with many citing Mays’ play as the turning point. The impact was so powerful that 63 years later, in 2017, baseball named the World Series Most Valuable Player after him even though it was his only moment of postseason greatness. He appeared in three other World Series, in 1951 and 1962 for the Giants and 1973 for the Mets, batting just .239 with no home runs in the four series. (His one postseason homer was in the 1971 National League playoffs, when the Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates).But “The Catch” and his achievements during the regular season were greatness enough. Yankees and Dodgers fans may have fiercely challenged Mays’ eminence, but Mantle and Snider did not. At a 1995 baseball writers dinner in Manhattan, with all three at the dais, Mantle raised the eternal question: Which of the three was better?“We don’t mean being second, do we, Duke?” he added.Between 1954 and 1966, Mays drove in 100 or more runs 10 times, scored 100 or more 12 times, hit 40 or more homers six times, more than 50 homers twice and led the league in stolen bases four times. His numbers might have been bigger. He missed most of 1952 and all of 1953 because of military service, quite possibly costing him the chance to overtake Ruth’s career home run record of 714, an honor that first went to Henry Aaron; then Mays’ godson, Barry Bonds. He likely would have won more Gold Gloves if the award had been established before 1956. He insisted he would have led the league in steals more often had he tried.Mays was fortunate in escaping serious injury and avoiding major scandal, but he endured personal and professional troubles. His first marriage, to Marghuerite Wendell, ended in divorce. He was often short of money in the pre-free agent era, and he received less for endorsements than did Mantle and other white athletes. He was subject to racist insults and his insistence that he was an entertainer, not a spokesman, led to his being chastised by Jackie Robinson and others for not contributing more to the civil rights movement. He didn’t care for some of his managers and didn’t always appreciate a fellow idol, notably Aaron, his greatest contemporary.“When Henry began to soar up the home-run chart, Willie was loathe to give even a partial nod to Henry’s ability, choosing instead to blame his own performance on his home turf, (San Francisco’s) Candlestick Park, saying it was a lousy park in which to hit homers and this was the reason for Henry’s onrush,” Aaron biographer Howard Bryant wrote in 2010.Admirers of Aaron, who died in 2021, would contend that only his quiet demeanor and geographical distance from major media centers -- Aaron played in Atlanta and Milwaukee -- kept him from being ranked the same as, or even better than Mays. But much of the baseball world placed Mays above all. He was the game’s highest-paid player for 11 seasons (according to the Society for American Baseball Research) and often batted first in All-Star games, because he was Willie Mays. From center field, he called pitches and positioned other fielders. He boasted that he relied on his own instincts, not those of any coach, when deciding whether to try for an extra base.Sports writer Barney Kremenko has often been credited with nicknaming him “The Say Hey Kid,” referring to Mays’ spirited way of greeting his teammates. Moments on and off the field sealed the public’s affection. In 1965, Mays defused a horrifying brawl after teammate Juan Marichal clubbed Los Angeles Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Mays led a bloodied Roseboro away and sat with him on the clubhouse bench of the Dodgers, the Giants’ hated rivals.Years earlier, when living in Manhattan, he endeared himself to young fans by playing in neighborhood stickball games.“I used to have maybe 10 kids come to my window,” he said in 2011 while visiting the area of the old Polo Grounds. “Every morning, they’d come at 9 o’clock. They’d knock on my window, get me up. And I had to be out at 9:30. So they’d give me a chance to go shower. They’d give me a chance to eat breakfast. But I had to be out there at 9:30, because that’s when they wanted to play. So I played with them for about maybe an hour.”He was born in Westfield, Alabama, in 1931, the son of a Negro League player who wanted Willie to do the same, playing catch with him and letting him sit in the dugout. Young Mays was so gifted an athlete that childhood friends swore that basketball, not baseball, was his best sport.By high school he was playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, and late in life would receive an additional 10 hits to his career total, 3,293, when Negro League statistics were recognized in 2024 by Major League Baseball. With Robinson breaking the major league’s color barrier in 1947, Mays’ ascension became inevitable. The Giants signed him after he graduated from high school (he had to skip his senior prom) and sent him to its minor league affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey. He began the 1951 season with Minneapolis, a Triple-A club. After 35 games, he was batting a head-turning .477 and was labeled by one scout as “the best prospect in America.” Giants Manager Leo Durocher saw no reason to wait and demanded that Mays, barely 20 at the time, join his team’s starting lineup.Durocher managed Mays from 1951-55 and became a father figure -- the surly but astute leader who nurtured and sometimes pampered the young phenom. As Durocher liked to tell it, and Mays never disputed, Mays struggled in his first few games and was ready to go back to the minors.“In the minors I’m hitting .477, killing everybody. And I came to the majors, I couldn’t hit. I was playing the outfield very, very well, throwing out everybody, but I just couldn’t get a hit,” Mays told the Academy of Achievement, a Washington-based leadership center, in 1996. “And I started crying, and Leo came to me and he says, ‘You’re my center fielder; it doesn’t make any difference what you do. You just go home, come back and play tomorrow.’ I think that really, really turned me around.”Mays finished 1951 batting .272 with 20 home runs, good enough to be named the league’s top rookie. He might have been a legend that first season. The Giants were 13 games behind Brooklyn on Aug. 11, but rallied and tied the Dodgers, then won a best-of-3 playoff series with one of baseball’s most storied homers: Bobby Thomson’s shot in the bottom of the ninth off Ralph Branca.Mays was the on-deck batter.“I was concentrating on Branca, what he was throwing, what he might throw me,” Mays told The New York Times in 2010. “When he hit the home run, I didn’t even move.“I remember all the guys running by me, running to home plate, and I’m saying, ‘What’s going on here?’ I was thinking, ‘I got to hit!‘”His military service the next two years stalled his career, but not his development. Mays was assigned as a batting instructor for his unit’s baseball team and, at the suggestion of one pupil, began catching fly balls by holding out his glove face up, around his belly, like a basket. Mays adopted the new approach in part because it enabled him to throw more quickly.He returned full time in 1954, hit 41 homers and a league-leading .345. He was only 34 when he hit his 500th career homer, in 1965, but managed just 160 over the next eight years. Early in the 1972 season, with Mays struggling and the Giants looking to cut costs, the team stunned Mays and others by trading its marquee player to the New York Mets, returning him to the city where he had started out in the majors.Mays’ debut with his new team could not have been better scripted: He hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning against the visiting Giants, and helped the Mets win 5-4. But he deteriorated badly over the next two seasons, even falling down on occasion in the field. Many cited him as example of a star who stayed too long.In retirement, he mentored Bonds and defended him against allegations of using steroids. Mays himself was in trouble when Commissioner Bowie Kuhn banned him from the game, in 1979, for doing promotional work at the Bally’s Park Place Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Kuhn’s successor, Peter Ueberroth, reinstated Mays and fellow casino promoter Mantle in 1985).But tributes were more common and they came from everywhere -- show business, sports, the White House. In the 1979 movie “Manhattan,” Woody Allen’s character cites Mays as among his reasons for living. When Obama learned he was a distant cousin of political rival and former Vice President Dick Cheney, he lamented that he wasn’t related to someone “cool,” like Mays.Asked about career highlights, Mays inevitably mentioned “The Catch,” but also cherished hitting four home runs in a game against the Braves; falling over a canvas fence to make a catch in the minors; and running into a fence in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field while chasing a bases-loaded drive, knocking himself out, but still holding on to the ball.Most of the time, he was happy just being on the field, especially when the sun went down.“I mean, you had the lights out there and all you do is go out there, and you’re out there by yourself in center field,” he told the achievement academy. “And, I just felt that it was such a beautiful game that I just wanted to play it forever, you know.”___

Baseball legend Willie Mays dead at 93

FINNEY COUNTY —Two men are going to prison for their role in a robbery and murder in southwest Kansas.

Dalton S. Pister, 31, Garden City, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and&nbsp; Alexander Goetting, 20, Garden City, was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the February 2022 death of 36-year-old Hector Flores, according to the Finney County Attorney's office.

Just before 10:30 a.m. February 13, 2022 police&nbsp;were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 800 block of N. 5th Street in Garden City.

Officers located Jesus Hector Flores, 36, of&nbsp; Garden City, KS, who had been shot. EMS transported Flores to St. Catherine Hospital where he later died.

Through the investigation police identified Goetting and Pister as being involved in the shooting.

Police located Goetting and took him into custody. Pister was located and arrested in Scott City..

Pister was sentenced to spend just over 17-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Goetting was sentenced to just over 41-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Both must also register as violent offenders.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644934626650.png" alt="Dalton Pister-photo Finney Co." />
 <figcaption>Dalton Pister-photo Finney Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Two men are going to prison for their role in a robbery and murder in southwest Kansas.Dalton S. Pister, 31, Garden City, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and&nbsp; Alexander Goetting, 20, Garden City, was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the February 2022 death of 36-year-old Hector Flores, according to the Finney County Attorney's office.Just before 10:30 a.m. February 13, 2022 police&nbsp;were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 800 block of N. 5th Street in Garden City.Officers located Jesus Hector Flores, 36, of&nbsp; Garden City, KS, who had been shot. EMS transported Flores to St. Catherine Hospital where he later died.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718662415415.png" alt="Goetting-photo Finney Co." />
 <figcaption>Goetting-photo Finney Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Through the investigation police identified Goetting and Pister as being involved in the shooting.Police located Goetting and took him into custody. Pister was located and arrested in Scott City..Pister was sentenced to spend just over 17-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Goetting was sentenced to just over 41-years in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Both must also register as violent offenders.

2 SW Kansas men going to prison for violent robbery, murder

House, Senate restrain members to avoid amending deal anchored to income tax cuts

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature deflected bipartisan interest in tweaking Tuesday a bill negotiated by Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican House and Senate leaders delivering a projected $2 billion reduction in state income and property taxes during the next five years.

In a special session of the Legislature, the Senate voted 34-4 and the House 121-2 to forward the unaltered package to the Democratic governor. The Legislature took action on the tax measure before diving into legislation shaping economic development incentives intended to draw the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals to new stadiums in Kansas.

A majority in the Senate voted to cut off debate on the tax bill and avoid consideration of amendments Republican and Democratic senators were preparing to offer. Focus of dissent in terms of the tax bill negotiated by Senate President Ty Masterson, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Kelly centered on removal from the package of $55 million in reductions to property taxes and repeal on July 1 of the state’s 2% sales tax on groceries. The bill also included a provision expanding by $6 million the state’s childcare tax credit, which drew criticism.

“I’m champing on the bit. I’m ready to vote for this thing,” said Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-Leavenworth. “Coming to this point, we’re all a little frustrated. We didn’t all get exactly what we wanted. We are delivering tax cuts to all Kansans.”

Sen. Rob Olson, an Olathe Republican not seeking reelection in 2024, made the motion to halt the Senate debate and call a vote. Olson, who endorsed a Kelly tax plan early in the session and voted for the compromise tax bill, said the negotiated package wasn’t ideal, but work of legislators often required some form of compromise.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1718753958727.png" alt=" Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, presided over debate Tuesday on a negotiated tax-reduction bill during a special session of the Legislature called by Gov. Laura Kelly. The bill passed the House and Senate by wide margins. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, presided over debate Tuesday on a negotiated tax-reduction bill during a special session of the Legislature called by Gov. Laura Kelly. The bill passed the House and Senate by wide margins. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>House, Senate restrain members to avoid amending deal anchored to income tax cuts</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature deflected bipartisan interest in tweaking Tuesday a bill negotiated by Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican House and Senate leaders delivering a projected $2 billion reduction in state income and property taxes during the next five years.In a special session of the Legislature, the Senate voted 34-4 and the House 121-2 to forward the unaltered package to the Democratic governor. The Legislature took action on the tax measure before diving into legislation shaping economic development incentives intended to draw the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals to new stadiums in Kansas.A majority in the Senate voted to cut off debate on the tax bill and avoid consideration of amendments Republican and Democratic senators were preparing to offer. Focus of dissent in terms of the tax bill negotiated by Senate President Ty Masterson, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Kelly centered on removal from the package of $55 million in reductions to property taxes and repeal on July 1 of the state’s 2% sales tax on groceries. The bill also included a provision expanding by $6 million the state’s childcare tax credit, which drew criticism.“I’m champing on the bit. I’m ready to vote for this thing,” said Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-Leavenworth. “Coming to this point, we’re all a little frustrated. We didn’t all get exactly what we wanted. We are delivering tax cuts to all Kansans.”Sen. Rob Olson, an Olathe Republican not seeking reelection in 2024, made the motion to halt the Senate debate and call a vote. Olson, who endorsed a Kelly tax plan early in the session and voted for the compromise tax bill, said the negotiated package wasn’t ideal, but work of legislators often required some form of compromise.“We can sit here and pick it apart,” he said. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”In the House, Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, offered an amendment to Senate Bill 1 that would have added a 75% property tax rebate to unemployable, disabled veterans. That tax break had been considered during the regular legislative session, but became snarled with a bundle of special-interest tax breaks. One of those would have benefitted owners of restaurants, childcare facilities and fitness clubs, including owners of the Genesis Health Club chain.Rep. Adam Smith, the Weskan Republican and chair of the House Taxation Committee, asked peers in the House to vote down Miller’s amendment. He said it was important to follow the Senate’s lead and preserve all elements of the tax bill negotiated by Kelly, Hawkins and Masterson.“This is one of those tough ones,” Smith said. “This is the struggle we’ve had really for two years trying to find not only the right dollar amount, but the proper policy pieces to go into this bill. I do worry that any changes to the original agreement by the legislative leaders and the governor’s office — we don’t have a choice to come back and override this if there is a veto.”Prior to convening of the special session, Kelly said she would sign the tax bill if adopted by the Legislature. She previously vetoed three major tax bills because they weren’t financially sustainable for state government.<h2>Globalists and wokeism</h2>While a handful of senators voted against undermining debate on the tax proposal and then voted for passage of the bill, outgoing Sen. Alicia Straub left no doubt she was disturbed by behind-the-scenes wrangling between GOP legislative leadership and the governor ahead of the special session. She appeared frustrated by explosion of interest in trying to convince owners of the Chiefs or Royals to relocate those professional teams to Kansas.“This special session and tax bill may go down in history as the deflategate of special sessions,” the Ellinwood Republican said. “I refuse to play ball with billionaire globalists, cheaters, liars and thieves. Kansas deserves better.”Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, inquired as to why repeal of the state food sales tax law was taken off the table. And, outgoing Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, expressed dismay the negotiators stripped from the deal much of the residential property tax reductions contained in previous legislation.The tax legislation was presented Monday to a joint session of the House and Senate tax committees. The regular process of assigning a bill to those committees for hearings, debate and amendment was bypassed. Senate leadership decided the bill would be brought directly to the floor for consideration. After a handful of speeches outlining objections to the bill, and before any amendment could be offered, a motion was approved to proceed to final action.Another senator who chose not to seek reelection, Hutchinson Republican Mark Steffen, said he was astounded negotiations led to a doubling of the state tax credit on childcare expenditures. He said the tax policy incentivized parents to enter the workforce, place children in daycare and weaken “traditional” family structures in Kansas.Masterson pushed back against Steffen’s assertion bolstering a childcare tax provision in state law could undermine the nuclear family.“That is so over the top. I find it incredibly offensive,” the Senate president said. “That’s akin to saying Trump somehow is going to destroy democracy.Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, said it was bizarre of Steffen to assert that parents who made use of childcare services were “bad parents.” She said that common practice meant economic circumstances required parents to work on behalf of their families and ridiculed the senator’s attempt to demonize certain parents.Meanwhile, Steffen took Republican colleagues in the Legislature to the woodshed while accusing them of raising by 20% state government spending during his four-year term in the Legislature.“Think of that,” he said. “We’ve got problems with wokeism, with big business trying to control our government.”The bill moving to the House would create a two-rate state income tax structure with the upper rate at 5.58% and the lower rate at 5.2%. Under existing law, the three-rate approach taxed Kansans at rates of 3.1%, 5.25% and 5.7% based on income.The bill also would raise the personal income tax exemption from $2,250 to $9,160 and raise the standard deduction by 3%. It also would eliminate the state’s income tax on Social Security benefits, which would allow seniors to avoid more than $100 million annually in state income tax payments. Only a dozen states tax Social Security payments.The child care tax credit in Kansas would be doubled to 50% of the comparable federal tax break. The residential property tax exemption in the bill tied to funding of Kansas public schools would be nearly doubled to $75,000 from the current level of $42,000.Negotiations led to removal of broader property tax cuts and repeal of the state’s sales tax on food, which is scheduled to expire Jan. 1.Overall, the bill endorsed by the Legislature would reduce state revenue by nearly $2 billion over five years. The annual adjustments would range from $380 million to $471 million. The high end would occur the first year of implementation because some provisions of tax reform would be retroactive.