SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after a traffic stop.

Shortly after 6:30a.m. June 11, a deputy with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a blue 2002 Ford F250 for tag not assigned near SE 2nd Street and SE Croco Croco Road, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

 During the investigation, the deputies located illegal narcotics and arrested 30-year-old&nbsp;Paige M. Smith-Novak of Topeka on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, operating a vehicle without a valid license, no insurance, and tag not assigned.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686691008950.png" alt="Smith-Novak" />
 <figcaption>Smith-Novak</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after a traffic stop.Shortly after 6:30a.m. June 11, a deputy with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a blue 2002 Ford F250 for tag not assigned near SE 2nd Street and SE Croco Croco Road, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. During the investigation, the deputies located illegal narcotics and arrested 30-year-old&nbsp;Paige M. Smith-Novak of Topeka on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, operating a vehicle without a valid license, no insurance, and tag not assigned.

Sheriff: Kan. woman caught transporting meth and marijuana 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of the theft was brazen, even simple.

Fraudsters used the Social Security numbers of dead people and federal prisoners to get unemployment checks. Cheaters collected those benefits in multiple states. And federal loan applicants weren’t cross-checked against a Treasury Department database that would have raised red flags about sketchy borrowers.

Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. But so did a U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana.

All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history, with thieves plundering billions of dollars&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pandemics-bills-legislation-coronavirus-pandemic-2d5b0ce9771b0ad88c607123b3bad8ee">in federal COVID-19 relief aid intended to combat the worst pandemic</a>&nbsp;in a century and to stabilize an economy in free fall.

An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID relief aid.

That number is certain to grow as investigators dig deeper into thousands of potential schemes.

How could so much be stolen? Investigators and outside experts say the government, in seeking to quickly spend trillions in relief aid, conducted too little oversight during the pandemic’s early stages and instituted too few restrictions on applicants. In short, they say, the grift was just way too easy.

“Here was this sort of endless pot of money that anyone could access,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-fruchter-b2640b22/">Dan Fruchter</a>, chief of the fraud and white-collar crime unit at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa">U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Washington</a>. “Folks kind of fooled themselves into thinking that it was a socially acceptable thing to do, even though it wasn’t legal.”

The U.S. government has charged more than 2,230 defendants with pandemic-related fraud crimes and is conducting thousands of investigations.

Most of the looted money was swiped from three large pandemic-relief initiatives launched during the Trump administration and inherited by President Joe Biden. Those programs were designed to help small businesses and unemployed workers survive the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic.

The pilfering was wide but not always as deep as the eye-catching headlines about cases involving many millions of dollars. But all of the theft, big and small, illustrates an epidemic of scams and swindles at a time America was grappling with overrun hospitals, school closures and shuttered businesses. Since the pandemic began in early 2020,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">more than 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19</a>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michael Horowitz,&nbsp;<a href="https://oig.justice.gov/">the U.S. Justice Department inspector general</a>&nbsp;who chairs the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, told Congress the fraud is “clearly in the tens of billions of dollars” and may eventually exceed $100 billion.

Horowitz told the AP he was sticking with that estimate, but won’t be certain about the number until he gets more solid data.

“I’m hesitant to get too far out on how much it is,” he said. “But clearly it’s substantial and the final accounting is still at least a couple of years away.”

Mike Galdo, the U.S. Justice Department’s acting director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement, said, “It is an unprecedented amount of fraud.”

Before leaving office, former President Donald Trump approved emergency aid measures totaling $3.2 trillion, according to figures from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/">Pandemic Response Accountability Committee</a>. Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan authorized the spending of another $1.9 trillion. About a fifth of the $5.2 trillion has yet to be paid out, according to the committee’s most recent accounting.

Never has so much federal emergency aid been injected into the U.S. economy so quickly. “The largest rescue package in American history,” U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told Congress.

The enormous scale of that package has obscured multibillion-dollar mistakes.

An $837 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/www.irs.gov">IRS</a>&nbsp;program, for example, succeeded 99% of the time in getting economic stimulus checks to the proper taxpayers, according to the tax agency. Nevertheless, that 1% failure rate translated into nearly $8 billion going to “ineligible individuals,” a Treasury Department inspector general told AP.

An IRS spokesman said the agency does not agree with all the figures cited by the watchdog and noted that, even if correct, the loss represented a tiny fraction of the program’s budget.

The health crisis thrust the&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/www.sba.gov">Small Business Administration</a>, an agency that typically gets little attention, into an unprecedented role. In the seven decades before the pandemic struck, for example, the SBA had doled out $67 billion in disaster loans.

When the pandemic struck, the agency was assigned to manage two massive relief efforts — the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection programs, which would swell to more than a trillion dollars. SBA’s workforce had to get money out the door, fast, to help struggling businesses and their employees. COVID-19 pushed SBA’s pace from a walk to an Olympic sprint. Between March 2020 and the end of July 2020, the agency granted 3.2 million COVID-19 economic injury disaster loans totaling $169 billion, according to an SBA inspector general’s report, while at the same time implementing the huge new Paycheck Protection Program.

In the haste, guardrails to protect federal money were dropped. Prospective borrowers were allowed to “self-certify” that their loan applications were true. The CARES Act also barred SBA from looking at tax return transcripts that could have weeded out shady or undeserving applicants, a decision eventually reversed at the end of 2020.

“If you open up the bank window and say, give me your application and just promise me you really are who you say you are, you attract a lot of fraudsters and that’s what happened here,” Horowitz said.

The SBA inspector general’s office has estimated fraud in the COVID-19 economic injury disaster loan program at $86 billion and the Paycheck Protection program at $20 billion. The watchdog is expected in coming weeks to release revised loss figures that are likely to be much higher.

In an interview, SBA Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware declined to say what the new fraud estimate for both programs will be.

“It will be a figure that is fair, that is 1,000% defensible by my office, fully backed by our significant criminal investigative activity that is taking place in this space,” Ware said.

Ware and his staff are overwhelmed with pandemic-related audits and investigations. The office has a backlog of more than 80,000 actionable leads, close to a 100 years’ worth of work.

“Death by a thousand cuts might be death by 80,000 cuts for them,” Horowitz said of Ware’s workload. “It’s just the magnitude of it, the enormity of it.”

A 2022 study from the University of Texas at Austin found almost five times as many suspicious Paycheck Protection loans as the $20 billion SBA’s inspector general has reported so far. The research, led by finance professor John Griffin, found as much as $117 billion in questionable and possibly fraudulent loans, citing indicators such as non-registered businesses and multiple loans to the same address.

Horowitz, the pandemic watchdog chairman, criticized the government’s failure early on to use the “Do Not Pay” Treasury Department database, designed to keep government money from going to debarred contractors, fugitives, felons or people convicted of tax fraud. Those reviews, he said, could have been done quickly.

“It’s a false narrative that has been set out, that there are only two choices,” Horowitz said. “One choice is, get the money out right away. And that the only other choice was to spend weeks and months trying to figure out who was entitled to it.”

In less than a few days, a week at most, Horowitz said, SBA might have discovered thousands of ineligible applicants.

“24 hours? 48 hours? Would that really have upended the program?” Horowitz said. “I don’t think it would have. And it was data sitting there. It didn’t get checked.”

The Biden administration put in place stricter rules to stem pandemic fraud, including use of the “Do Not Pay” database. Biden also recently proposed a $1.6 billion plan to boost law enforcement efforts to go after pandemic relief fraudsters.

“I think the bottom line is regardless of what the number is, it emanates overwhelmingly from three programs that were designed and originated in 2020 with too many large holes that opened the door to criminal fraud,” Gene Sperling, the White House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-310542ef5cddc914104960a00ae356e0">American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;coordinator, said in an interview.

“We came into office when the largest amounts of fraud were already out of the barn,” Sperling added.

In a statement, an SBA spokesperson declined to say whether the agency agrees with the figures issued by Ware’s office, saying the federal government has not developed an accepted system for assessing fraud in government programs. Previous analyses have pointed to “potential fraud” or “fraud indicators” in a manner that conveys those numbers as a true fraud estimate when they are not, according to the statement.

Han Nguyen, a spokesman for the SBA, said Monday that “the vast majority of the likely fraud originated in the first nine months of the pandemic programs, under the Trump administration.” For the COVID-19 economic injury disaster loan program, Nguyen said, SBA's “working estimate” found $28 billion in likely fraud.

The coronavirus pandemic plunged the U.S. economy into a short but devastating recession. Jobless rates soared into double digits and Washington sent hundreds of billions of dollars to states to help the suddenly unemployed.

For crooks, it was like tossing chum into the sea to lure fish. Many of these state unemployment agencies used antiquated computer systems or had too few staff to stop bogus claims from being paid.

“Yes, the states were overwhelmed in terms of demand,” said Brent Parton, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration. “We had not seen a spike like this ever in a global event like a pandemic. The systems were underfunded. They were not resilient. And I would say, more importantly, were vulnerable to sophisticated attacks by fraudsters.”

Fraud in pandemic unemployment assistance programs stands at $76 billion, according to congressional testimony from Labor Department Inspector General Larry Turner. That’s a conservative estimate. Another $115 billion mistakenly went to people who should not have received the benefits, according to his testimony.

Turner declined AP’s request for an interview.

Turner’s task in identifying all of the pandemic unemployment insurance fraud has been complicated by a lack of cooperation from the federal Bureau of Prisons, according to a September “alert memo” issued by his office. Scam artists used Social Security numbers of federal prisoners to steal millions of dollars in benefits.

His office still doesn’t know exactly how much was swiped that way. The prison bureau had declined to provide current data about federal prisoners. The AP reached out to the bureau several times for comment, starting June 2. Bureau spokesperson Emery Nelson said on Monday the agency had provided in February and March “all the necessary data” to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Turner is a member of the committee.

Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber saw trouble coming when safeguards to ensure the unemployment aid only went to people who legitimately qualified were lowered, making conditions ripe for fraud and waste. The state’s unemployment agency "took controls down because on the one hand, they literally were drinking from a firehose,” Faber said. “They had a year’s worth of claims in a couple of weeks. The second part of the problem was the (federal government) directed them to get the money out the door as quickly as possible and worry less about security. They took that to heart. I think that was a mistake.”

Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services reported in February $1 billion in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims and another $4.8 billion in overpayments.

The ubiquitous masks that became a symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic are seen on fewer and fewer faces. Hospitalizations for the virus have steadily declined, according to CDC data, and Biden in April ended the national emergency to respond to the pandemic.

But on politically divided Capitol Hill, lawmakers have not put the pandemic behind them and are engaged in a fierce debate over the success of the relief spending and who’s to blame for the theft.

Too much government money, Republicans argue, breeds fraud, waste and inflation. Democrats have countered that all the financial muscle from Washington saved lives, businesses and jobs.

The GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee is investigating pandemic relief spending. “We must identify where this money went, how much ended up in the hands of fraudsters or ineligible participants, and what should be done to ensure it never happens again," the panel's chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said in a statement Tuesday.

Republicans and Democrats did, however, find common ground last year on bills to give the federal government more time to catch fraudsters. Biden in August signed legislation to increase the statute of limitations from five to 10 years on crimes involving the two major programs managed by the SBA.

The extra time will help federal prosecutors untangle pandemic fraud cases, which often involve identity theft and crooks overseas. But there’s no guarantee they’ll catch everyone who jumped at the chance for an easy payday. They’re busy, too, with crimes unrelated to pandemic relief funds.

“Do we have enough cases and leads that we could be doing them in 2030? We absolutely could,” said Fruchter, the federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Washington. “But my experience tells me that likely there will be other priorities that will come up and will need to be addressed. And unfortunately, in our office, we don’t have a dedicated pandemic fraud unit.”

Congress has not yet passed a measure that would give prosecutors the additional five years to go after unemployment fraudsters. That worries Turner, the Labor Department watchdog. Without the extension, he told Congress in a late May report, people who stole the benefits may escape justice.

Sperling, the White House official, said any future crisis that requires government intervention doesn’t have to be a choice between helping people in need and stopping fraudsters.

“The prevention strategy going forward is that in a crisis, you can focus on fast delivery to people in desperate situations without feeling that you can only get that speed by taking down commonsense anti-fraud guardrails,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1581011016098.png" alt="Former Kansas lawmaker Michael Capps who was convicted of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief was sentenced last month to two years and three months in prison, according to online court records." />
 <figcaption>Former Kansas lawmaker Michael Capps who was convicted of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief was sentenced last month to two years and three months in prison, according to online court records.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of the theft was brazen, even simple.Fraudsters used the Social Security numbers of dead people and federal prisoners to get unemployment checks. Cheaters collected those benefits in multiple states. And federal loan applicants weren’t cross-checked against a Treasury Department database that would have raised red flags about sketchy borrowers.Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. But so did a U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana.All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history, with thieves plundering billions of dollars&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pandemics-bills-legislation-coronavirus-pandemic-2d5b0ce9771b0ad88c607123b3bad8ee">in federal COVID-19 relief aid intended to combat the worst pandemic</a>&nbsp;in a century and to stabilize an economy in free fall.An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID relief aid.That number is certain to grow as investigators dig deeper into thousands of potential schemes.How could so much be stolen? Investigators and outside experts say the government, in seeking to quickly spend trillions in relief aid, conducted too little oversight during the pandemic’s early stages and instituted too few restrictions on applicants. In short, they say, the grift was just way too easy.“Here was this sort of endless pot of money that anyone could access,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-fruchter-b2640b22/">Dan Fruchter</a>, chief of the fraud and white-collar crime unit at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa">U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Washington</a>. “Folks kind of fooled themselves into thinking that it was a socially acceptable thing to do, even though it wasn’t legal.”The U.S. government has charged more than 2,230 defendants with pandemic-related fraud crimes and is conducting thousands of investigations.Most of the looted money was swiped from three large pandemic-relief initiatives launched during the Trump administration and inherited by President Joe Biden. Those programs were designed to help small businesses and unemployed workers survive the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic.The pilfering was wide but not always as deep as the eye-catching headlines about cases involving many millions of dollars. But all of the theft, big and small, illustrates an epidemic of scams and swindles at a time America was grappling with overrun hospitals, school closures and shuttered businesses. Since the pandemic began in early 2020,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">more than 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19</a>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Michael Horowitz,&nbsp;<a href="https://oig.justice.gov/">the U.S. Justice Department inspector general</a>&nbsp;who chairs the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, told Congress the fraud is “clearly in the tens of billions of dollars” and may eventually exceed $100 billion.Horowitz told the AP he was sticking with that estimate, but won’t be certain about the number until he gets more solid data.“I’m hesitant to get too far out on how much it is,” he said. “But clearly it’s substantial and the final accounting is still at least a couple of years away.”Mike Galdo, the U.S. Justice Department’s acting director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement, said, “It is an unprecedented amount of fraud.”Before leaving office, former President Donald Trump approved emergency aid measures totaling $3.2 trillion, according to figures from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/">Pandemic Response Accountability Committee</a>. Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan authorized the spending of another $1.9 trillion. About a fifth of the $5.2 trillion has yet to be paid out, according to the committee’s most recent accounting.Never has so much federal emergency aid been injected into the U.S. economy so quickly. “The largest rescue package in American history,” U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told Congress.The enormous scale of that package has obscured multibillion-dollar mistakes.An $837 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/www.irs.gov">IRS</a>&nbsp;program, for example, succeeded 99% of the time in getting economic stimulus checks to the proper taxpayers, according to the tax agency. Nevertheless, that 1% failure rate translated into nearly $8 billion going to “ineligible individuals,” a Treasury Department inspector general told AP.An IRS spokesman said the agency does not agree with all the figures cited by the watchdog and noted that, even if correct, the loss represented a tiny fraction of the program’s budget.The health crisis thrust the&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/www.sba.gov">Small Business Administration</a>, an agency that typically gets little attention, into an unprecedented role. In the seven decades before the pandemic struck, for example, the SBA had doled out $67 billion in disaster loans.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588075781384.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>When the pandemic struck, the agency was assigned to manage two massive relief efforts — the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection programs, which would swell to more than a trillion dollars. SBA’s workforce had to get money out the door, fast, to help struggling businesses and their employees. COVID-19 pushed SBA’s pace from a walk to an Olympic sprint. Between March 2020 and the end of July 2020, the agency granted 3.2 million COVID-19 economic injury disaster loans totaling $169 billion, according to an SBA inspector general’s report, while at the same time implementing the huge new Paycheck Protection Program.In the haste, guardrails to protect federal money were dropped. Prospective borrowers were allowed to “self-certify” that their loan applications were true. The CARES Act also barred SBA from looking at tax return transcripts that could have weeded out shady or undeserving applicants, a decision eventually reversed at the end of 2020.“If you open up the bank window and say, give me your application and just promise me you really are who you say you are, you attract a lot of fraudsters and that’s what happened here,” Horowitz said.The SBA inspector general’s office has estimated fraud in the COVID-19 economic injury disaster loan program at $86 billion and the Paycheck Protection program at $20 billion. The watchdog is expected in coming weeks to release revised loss figures that are likely to be much higher.In an interview, SBA Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware declined to say what the new fraud estimate for both programs will be.“It will be a figure that is fair, that is 1,000% defensible by my office, fully backed by our significant criminal investigative activity that is taking place in this space,” Ware said.Ware and his staff are overwhelmed with pandemic-related audits and investigations. The office has a backlog of more than 80,000 actionable leads, close to a 100 years’ worth of work.“Death by a thousand cuts might be death by 80,000 cuts for them,” Horowitz said of Ware’s workload. “It’s just the magnitude of it, the enormity of it.”A 2022 study from the University of Texas at Austin found almost five times as many suspicious Paycheck Protection loans as the $20 billion SBA’s inspector general has reported so far. The research, led by finance professor John Griffin, found as much as $117 billion in questionable and possibly fraudulent loans, citing indicators such as non-registered businesses and multiple loans to the same address.Horowitz, the pandemic watchdog chairman, criticized the government’s failure early on to use the “Do Not Pay” Treasury Department database, designed to keep government money from going to debarred contractors, fugitives, felons or people convicted of tax fraud. Those reviews, he said, could have been done quickly.“It’s a false narrative that has been set out, that there are only two choices,” Horowitz said. “One choice is, get the money out right away. And that the only other choice was to spend weeks and months trying to figure out who was entitled to it.”In less than a few days, a week at most, Horowitz said, SBA might have discovered thousands of ineligible applicants.“24 hours? 48 hours? Would that really have upended the program?” Horowitz said. “I don’t think it would have. And it was data sitting there. It didn’t get checked.”The Biden administration put in place stricter rules to stem pandemic fraud, including use of the “Do Not Pay” database. Biden also recently proposed a $1.6 billion plan to boost law enforcement efforts to go after pandemic relief fraudsters.“I think the bottom line is regardless of what the number is, it emanates overwhelmingly from three programs that were designed and originated in 2020 with too many large holes that opened the door to criminal fraud,” Gene Sperling, the White House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-310542ef5cddc914104960a00ae356e0">American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;coordinator, said in an interview.“We came into office when the largest amounts of fraud were already out of the barn,” Sperling added.In a statement, an SBA spokesperson declined to say whether the agency agrees with the figures issued by Ware’s office, saying the federal government has not developed an accepted system for assessing fraud in government programs. Previous analyses have pointed to “potential fraud” or “fraud indicators” in a manner that conveys those numbers as a true fraud estimate when they are not, according to the statement.Han Nguyen, a spokesman for the SBA, said Monday that “the vast majority of the likely fraud originated in the first nine months of the pandemic programs, under the Trump administration.” For the COVID-19 economic injury disaster loan program, Nguyen said, SBA's “working estimate” found $28 billion in likely fraud.The coronavirus pandemic plunged the U.S. economy into a short but devastating recession. Jobless rates soared into double digits and Washington sent hundreds of billions of dollars to states to help the suddenly unemployed.For crooks, it was like tossing chum into the sea to lure fish. Many of these state unemployment agencies used antiquated computer systems or had too few staff to stop bogus claims from being paid.“Yes, the states were overwhelmed in terms of demand,” said Brent Parton, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration. “We had not seen a spike like this ever in a global event like a pandemic. The systems were underfunded. They were not resilient. And I would say, more importantly, were vulnerable to sophisticated attacks by fraudsters.”Fraud in pandemic unemployment assistance programs stands at $76 billion, according to congressional testimony from Labor Department Inspector General Larry Turner. That’s a conservative estimate. Another $115 billion mistakenly went to people who should not have received the benefits, according to his testimony.Turner declined AP’s request for an interview.Turner’s task in identifying all of the pandemic unemployment insurance fraud has been complicated by a lack of cooperation from the federal Bureau of Prisons, according to a September “alert memo” issued by his office. Scam artists used Social Security numbers of federal prisoners to steal millions of dollars in benefits.His office still doesn’t know exactly how much was swiped that way. The prison bureau had declined to provide current data about federal prisoners. The AP reached out to the bureau several times for comment, starting June 2. Bureau spokesperson Emery Nelson said on Monday the agency had provided in February and March “all the necessary data” to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Turner is a member of the committee.Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber saw trouble coming when safeguards to ensure the unemployment aid only went to people who legitimately qualified were lowered, making conditions ripe for fraud and waste. The state’s unemployment agency "took controls down because on the one hand, they literally were drinking from a firehose,” Faber said. “They had a year’s worth of claims in a couple of weeks. The second part of the problem was the (federal government) directed them to get the money out the door as quickly as possible and worry less about security. They took that to heart. I think that was a mistake.”Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services reported in February $1 billion in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims and another $4.8 billion in overpayments.The ubiquitous masks that became a symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic are seen on fewer and fewer faces. Hospitalizations for the virus have steadily declined, according to CDC data, and Biden in April ended the national emergency to respond to the pandemic.But on politically divided Capitol Hill, lawmakers have not put the pandemic behind them and are engaged in a fierce debate over the success of the relief spending and who’s to blame for the theft.Too much government money, Republicans argue, breeds fraud, waste and inflation. Democrats have countered that all the financial muscle from Washington saved lives, businesses and jobs.The GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee is investigating pandemic relief spending. “We must identify where this money went, how much ended up in the hands of fraudsters or ineligible participants, and what should be done to ensure it never happens again," the panel's chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said in a statement Tuesday.Republicans and Democrats did, however, find common ground last year on bills to give the federal government more time to catch fraudsters. Biden in August signed legislation to increase the statute of limitations from five to 10 years on crimes involving the two major programs managed by the SBA.The extra time will help federal prosecutors untangle pandemic fraud cases, which often involve identity theft and crooks overseas. But there’s no guarantee they’ll catch everyone who jumped at the chance for an easy payday. They’re busy, too, with crimes unrelated to pandemic relief funds.“Do we have enough cases and leads that we could be doing them in 2030? We absolutely could,” said Fruchter, the federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Washington. “But my experience tells me that likely there will be other priorities that will come up and will need to be addressed. And unfortunately, in our office, we don’t have a dedicated pandemic fraud unit.”Congress has not yet passed a measure that would give prosecutors the additional five years to go after unemployment fraudsters. That worries Turner, the Labor Department watchdog. Without the extension, he told Congress in a late May report, people who stole the benefits may escape justice.Sperling, the White House official, said any future crisis that requires government intervention doesn’t have to be a choice between helping people in need and stopping fraudsters.“The prevention strategy going forward is that in a crisis, you can focus on fast delivery to people in desperate situations without feeling that you can only get that speed by taking down commonsense anti-fraud guardrails,” he said.______

How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted

JOHNSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities continue investigating several&nbsp;"jugging" cases around 95th Street near Quivira in Johnson County, according to Lenexa Police.

A jugging case is when a victim is followed from a bank after making a withdrawal, then runs errands. The thieves will wait for the victim to go into a store, and break into the victim's car to steal the cash.

This is happening in broad daylight, in busy shopping centers. Police reminded, "don't leave cash or valuables inside your car where it is easily accessible. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, and be especially discrete when exiting a bank with a withdrawal."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1685737950565.png" alt="photo Lenexa Police" />
 <figcaption>photo Lenexa Police</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities continue investigating several&nbsp;"jugging" cases around 95th Street near Quivira in Johnson County, according to Lenexa Police.A jugging case is when a victim is followed from a bank after making a withdrawal, then runs errands. The thieves will wait for the victim to go into a store, and break into the victim's car to steal the cash.This is happening in broad daylight, in busy shopping centers. Police reminded, "don't leave cash or valuables inside your car where it is easily accessible. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, and be especially discrete when exiting a bank with a withdrawal."

Police warn of jugging burglaries near Kansas banks

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly on Tuesday announced Walmart will build its first-ever fully owned and operated case-ready beef facility in Olathe, according to a media release from her office.

The retailer will invest $257 million in the plant and create 667 new permanent jobs. Construction of the facility will also create 1,000 design, fabrication, and construction jobs.&nbsp;

“Thanks to our work to make Kansas a top food and agriculture state, companies continue to invest in our communities and create high-paying jobs for Kansans,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “Walmart’s innovative new facility will support a more prosperous future for Olathe, for the Kansas City metro, and for our state as a whole.”&nbsp;

The opening of the 330,000-square-foot facility will further Walmart’s efforts in creating an end-to-end supply chain for high-quality Angus beef while increasing transparency and capacity in its supply chain to deliver high-quality products for its customers in the Midwest.&nbsp;

The new facility is set to break ground later this year. The facility will be designed and built by McCownGordon Construction of Kansas City. Once opened in 2025, the facility will process Angus cuts, supplied by Sustainable Beef LLC, into case-ready beef products such as steaks and roasts to be sold in Walmart stores across the Midwest.&nbsp;

Walmart first announced its ambitions to create an end-to-end supply chain for Angus beef in 2019 and has made numerous strides since then, with the opening of a case-ready beef facility in 2020 and its equity investment and long-term commercial agreement in Sustainable Beef LLC last year.&nbsp;

Walmart customers’ shopping habits have evolved over recent years, and more customers are seeking greater transparency in the supply chain and high-quality offerings available at affordable prices. This case-ready facility will increase needed capacity in the beef industry and allow Walmart to keep up with customer demand.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“At Walmart, enhancing quality is integral to how we innovate,”&nbsp;Walmart Senior Vice President of Deli, Meat, and Seafood David Baskin said. “Once opened, our case-ready beef facility in Olathe will mark an important next step in our journey to create an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain, ensuring our customers have access to the high-quality meats they expect at the everyday low prices they rely on.”&nbsp;

“Since day one of her administration, Governor Kelly has been focused on creating and retaining good-paying jobs in our state,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The Walmart facility will provide solid career opportunities for hundreds of Kansas families in addition to benefitting the entire regional economy.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

“This is such great news,”&nbsp;Olathe Mayor John Bacon said. “We’re thrilled that Walmart chose Olathe for its innovative facility. This huge capital investment will help create more jobs that will greatly benefit the City of Olathe and our entire region.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We couldn’t be more excited about this state-of-the-art facility coming to Olathe,”&nbsp;Olathe Chamber CEO Tim McKee said. “We can’t thank Walmart, the State of Kansas, and the City of Olathe enough for their help in bringing this facility, and so many great jobs, to our city. This is a huge economic development win for our community.”&nbsp;

Walmart operates 83 retail stores and employs 22,178 associates in the state of Kansas. In fiscal year 2022, stores, clubs, and the Walmart Foundation gave $8.8 million in cash and in-kind donations to local Kansas organizations. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686671319386.png" alt="The new facility is set to break ground later this year-photo courtesy Walmart" />
 <figcaption>The new facility is set to break ground later this year-photo courtesy Walmart</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly on Tuesday announced Walmart will build its first-ever fully owned and operated case-ready beef facility in Olathe, according to a media release from her office.The retailer will invest $257 million in the plant and create 667 new permanent jobs. Construction of the facility will also create 1,000 design, fabrication, and construction jobs.&nbsp;“Thanks to our work to make Kansas a top food and agriculture state, companies continue to invest in our communities and create high-paying jobs for Kansans,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “Walmart’s innovative new facility will support a more prosperous future for Olathe, for the Kansas City metro, and for our state as a whole.”&nbsp;The opening of the 330,000-square-foot facility will further Walmart’s efforts in creating an end-to-end supply chain for high-quality Angus beef while increasing transparency and capacity in its supply chain to deliver high-quality products for its customers in the Midwest.&nbsp;The new facility is set to break ground later this year. The facility will be designed and built by McCownGordon Construction of Kansas City. Once opened in 2025, the facility will process Angus cuts, supplied by Sustainable Beef LLC, into case-ready beef products such as steaks and roasts to be sold in Walmart stores across the Midwest.&nbsp;Walmart first announced its ambitions to create an end-to-end supply chain for Angus beef in 2019 and has made numerous strides since then, with the opening of a case-ready beef facility in 2020 and its equity investment and long-term commercial agreement in Sustainable Beef LLC last year.&nbsp;Walmart customers’ shopping habits have evolved over recent years, and more customers are seeking greater transparency in the supply chain and high-quality offerings available at affordable prices. This case-ready facility will increase needed capacity in the beef industry and allow Walmart to keep up with customer demand.&nbsp;&nbsp;“At Walmart, enhancing quality is integral to how we innovate,”&nbsp;Walmart Senior Vice President of Deli, Meat, and Seafood David Baskin said. “Once opened, our case-ready beef facility in Olathe will mark an important next step in our journey to create an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain, ensuring our customers have access to the high-quality meats they expect at the everyday low prices they rely on.”&nbsp;“Since day one of her administration, Governor Kelly has been focused on creating and retaining good-paying jobs in our state,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The Walmart facility will provide solid career opportunities for hundreds of Kansas families in addition to benefitting the entire regional economy.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“This is such great news,”&nbsp;Olathe Mayor John Bacon said. “We’re thrilled that Walmart chose Olathe for its innovative facility. This huge capital investment will help create more jobs that will greatly benefit the City of Olathe and our entire region.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“We couldn’t be more excited about this state-of-the-art facility coming to Olathe,”&nbsp;Olathe Chamber CEO Tim McKee said. “We can’t thank Walmart, the State of Kansas, and the City of Olathe enough for their help in bringing this facility, and so many great jobs, to our city. This is a huge economic development win for our community.”&nbsp;Walmart operates 83 retail stores and employs 22,178 associates in the state of Kansas. In fiscal year 2022, stores, clubs, and the Walmart Foundation gave $8.8 million in cash and in-kind donations to local Kansas organizations.

Walmart to build $257M case-ready beef facility in Kansas

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.

Just after 11p.m. June 9, a sheriff's deputy observed a vehicle driving with only fog lights on and also failed to use a turn signal in the city of Hiawatha, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.

While making contact with the driver Courtney Adamson 36 Reserve, it was discovered that he did not have a valid drivers license. 

While the deputy was placing Adamson under arrest, the passenger, later identified as 36-year-old dJessica Smith of Hiawatha, got out of the passenger seat and got in to the drivers seat and drove away.&nbsp;

A Hiawatha Police Officer stopped Smith for the Brown County deputy.

Deputies arrested Adamson on a requested charge of Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked and Smith was arrested on a requested charge of driving under the influence.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686593835229.png" alt="Adamson-photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Adamson-photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple allegations after a traffic stop.Just after 11p.m. June 9, a sheriff's deputy observed a vehicle driving with only fog lights on and also failed to use a turn signal in the city of Hiawatha, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.While making contact with the driver Courtney Adamson 36 Reserve, it was discovered that he did not have a valid drivers license. While the deputy was placing Adamson under arrest, the passenger, later identified as 36-year-old dJessica Smith of Hiawatha, got out of the passenger seat and got in to the drivers seat and drove away.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686593801027.png" alt="Smith-photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Smith-photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure> A Hiawatha Police Officer stopped Smith for the Brown County deputy. Deputies arrested Adamson on a requested charge of Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked and Smith was arrested on a requested charge of driving under the influence.

Sheriff: Kan. woman drove away during companion's arrest

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall took to social media Sunday to allege President Joe Biden violated federal flag code by hanging from the White House balcony a pair of U.S. flags straddling a colorful flag honoring LGBTQ rights.

Marshall declared on Twitter that Biden appeared more invested in celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month than embracing national patriotism, but the Kansas Republican senator’s analysis didn’t reference the U.S. flag atop the White House nor contents of the flag code.

“This is a disgrace,” Marshall tweeted under an image of the three flags. “Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White House’s incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism.”

Individuals viewing Marshall’s post on Twitter delivered a barrage of responses, including James H. Hill who said the senator’s outrage over a flag representing acceptance and equality was “nothing short of astonishing.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but patriotism isn’t defined by the rigidity of your flag display, but rather by the principles your country stands for,” Hill said. “Last I checked, ‘liberty and justice for all’ was a pretty big one. The social agenda you’re apparently so afraid of is about inclusivity, love and equal rights for all Americans, regardless of who they love. If that’s an ‘incompetence’ in your book, perhaps it’s time for a revision.”

Biden welcomed a crowd of hundreds to the White House on Saturday in celebration of Pride Month amid a movement among conservative state lawmakers to introduce and pass legislation targeting the transgender community. Biden said during the South Lawn event his message, especially aimed at transgender children, was: “You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And, you belong.”

The&nbsp; flurry of Twitter replies to Marshall’s post highlighted a belief Biden didn’t break flag rules because a U.S. flag was flying atop the White House during the LGBTQ event. Rule No. 7 says the nation’s flag ought to be at the center and the highest point of a group when paired with flags of states or localities displayed from staffs.

“Flag code is: American flag at center. The one on the top of the White House is centered. You are absolutely the dumbest doctor alive,” said commentator Keith Olbermann, who has worked for MSNBC, Fox Sports and ESPN.

Others directed attention to flag rule No. 10, which says the commander in chief of U.S. armed forces could alter, modify, repeal or add to rules pertaining to display of the U.S. flag whenever appropriate or desirable.

While some commenting on Twitter shared support for Marshall’s perspective on civil liberties, others blasted the first-term senator for suggesting people advancing LGBTQ rights were not sufficiently patriotic.

Several noted Marshall responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol by voting against certifying results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and Pennsylvania due to unproven theories misconduct contributed to Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump.

More than 90 of Marshall’s colleagues in the Senate voted to affirm Biden’s victory over the incumbent GOP president in those swing states. Marshall subsequently conceded Biden would be sworn in as U.S. president.

“You supported a coup,” said Twitter poster John Oeffinger. “Don’t lecture us on patriotism. You have no standing.”

Marshall served in the U.S. Army Reserve and reached the rank of captain. The Kansas physician was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 and the U.S. Senate in 2020.

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall took to social media Sunday to allege President Joe Biden violated federal flag code by hanging from the White House balcony a pair of U.S. flags straddling a colorful flag honoring LGBTQ rights.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">This is a disgrace. Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White Houses’ incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism. <a href="https://t.co/Hn2jART16m">pic.twitter.com/Hn2jART16m</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1667942869519269890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Marshall declared on Twitter that Biden appeared more invested in celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month than embracing national patriotism, but the Kansas Republican senator’s analysis didn’t reference the U.S. flag atop the White House nor contents of the flag code.“This is a disgrace,” Marshall tweeted under an image of the three flags. “Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White House’s incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism.”Individuals viewing Marshall’s post on Twitter delivered a barrage of responses, including James H. Hill who said the senator’s outrage over a flag representing acceptance and equality was “nothing short of astonishing.”“Sorry to burst your bubble, but patriotism isn’t defined by the rigidity of your flag display, but rather by the principles your country stands for,” Hill said. “Last I checked, ‘liberty and justice for all’ was a pretty big one. The social agenda you’re apparently so afraid of is about inclusivity, love and equal rights for all Americans, regardless of who they love. If that’s an ‘incompetence’ in your book, perhaps it’s time for a revision.”Biden welcomed a crowd of hundreds to the White House on Saturday in celebration of Pride Month amid a movement among conservative state lawmakers to introduce and pass legislation targeting the transgender community. Biden said during the South Lawn event his message, especially aimed at transgender children, was: “You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And, you belong.”The&nbsp; flurry of Twitter replies to Marshall’s post highlighted a belief Biden didn’t break flag rules because a U.S. flag was flying atop the White House during the LGBTQ event. Rule No. 7 says the nation’s flag ought to be at the center and the highest point of a group when paired with flags of states or localities displayed from staffs.“Flag code is: American flag at center. The one on the top of the White House is centered. You are absolutely the dumbest doctor alive,” said commentator Keith Olbermann, who has worked for MSNBC, Fox Sports and ESPN.Others directed attention to flag rule No. 10, which says the commander in chief of U.S. armed forces could alter, modify, repeal or add to rules pertaining to display of the U.S. flag whenever appropriate or desirable.While some commenting on Twitter shared support for Marshall’s perspective on civil liberties, others blasted the first-term senator for suggesting people advancing LGBTQ rights were not sufficiently patriotic.Several noted Marshall responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol by voting against certifying results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and Pennsylvania due to unproven theories misconduct contributed to Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump.More than 90 of Marshall’s colleagues in the Senate voted to affirm Biden’s victory over the incumbent GOP president in those swing states. Marshall subsequently conceded Biden would be sworn in as U.S. president.“You supported a coup,” said Twitter poster John Oeffinger. “Don’t lecture us on patriotism. You have no standing.”Marshall served in the U.S. Army Reserve and reached the rank of captain. The Kansas physician was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 and the U.S. Senate in 2020.

Twitter users denounce  Kan. Senator's claim Biden broke flag rules at White House

MIAMI (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was set to make his first court appearance Tuesday in a historic criminal case charging the former president with hoarding top secret government documents, boastfully displaying them to visitors and trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.

<a href="https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/r01AWvuP8TD0/v0">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;the full indictment&nbsp;

Trump approached his Miami court date with characteristic bravado, insisting as he has done through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But the gravity of the moment is unmistakable as he answers to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">37 felony counts</a>&nbsp;that accuse him of willfully retaining classified records that prosecutors say could have jeopardized national security if exposed.

The case is laden with political implications for Trump, who currently holds the dominant spot in the early days of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it also poses profound legal consequences given the prospect of a years-long prison sentence. Even for a defendant whose post-presidential life has been dominated by investigations, the documents probe has stood out for both the apparent volume of evidence amassed by prosecutors and the severity of the allegations.

It's also a watershed moment for a Justice Department that until last week had never before brought charges against a former president.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/merrick-garland">Attorney General Merrick Garland</a>, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last year to a special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">Jack Smith</a>, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, is the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">faces charges in New York</a>&nbsp;arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/january-6-final-hearing-investigation-wraps-0bceb95826c1c836023d2810ccbeccca">ongoing investigations in Washington</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-york-city-only-on-ap-donald-trump-georgia-266e28c4e47e54731b233e0f770f6729">Atlanta</a>&nbsp;into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race. He's sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking Smith as “deranged,” pledging to stay in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.

“They’re using this because they can’t win the election fairly and squarely,” Trump said Monday in an interview with Americano Media.

The court appearance is also unfolding against the backdrop of potential protests and unrest. Some high-profile backers have used barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself has encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the Miami courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to authorities.

Some Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters. He said the city would divert traffic and possibly block streets depending on crowd size.

Unlike in the New York case, where photographers produced images of a somber-faced Trump at the courtroom defense table, the public's view will limited. Cameras are generally not permitted in federal courts, and a judge Monday night barred reporters from having phones inside the building.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-grand-jury-maralago-pence-jan-6-09630fc5891cc91395975a91314a1a87">federal grand jury in Washington</a>&nbsp;had heard testimony for months in the documents case, but the Justice Department filed it in Florida, where Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred. Though Trump is set to appear Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-government-and-politics-1cc6c63010da10a19fb8cfc8595ffe38">Aileen Cannon</a>, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-criminal-investigations-government-and-politics-16748b82a502c0eec977d3ec51390027">federal appeals panel ultimately</a>&nbsp;overturned her ruling.

It's unclear what defenses Trump is likely to cite as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation on the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-grand-jury-justice-department-623428540a6cff1b5dcdf697cdf45b5d">M. Evan Corcoran</a>, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting that prosecutors may see him as a key witness.

Trump has said he's looking to add to his legal team though no announcements were made Monday. But that matters because, under the rules of the district, defendants are required to have a local lawyer for an arraignment to proceed.

The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-9e8d683afe87389407950af7ccfdbdd6">hundreds of classified documents</a>&nbsp;that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.

Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686358157076.png" alt="This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed Friday, June 9, 2023. (Justice Department via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed Friday, June 9, 2023. (Justice Department via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>MIAMI (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was set to make his first court appearance Tuesday in a historic criminal case charging the former president with hoarding top secret government documents, boastfully displaying them to visitors and trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.<a href="https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/r01AWvuP8TD0/v0">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;the full indictment&nbsp;Trump approached his Miami court date with characteristic bravado, insisting as he has done through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But the gravity of the moment is unmistakable as he answers to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">37 felony counts</a>&nbsp;that accuse him of willfully retaining classified records that prosecutors say could have jeopardized national security if exposed.The case is laden with political implications for Trump, who currently holds the dominant spot in the early days of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it also poses profound legal consequences given the prospect of a years-long prison sentence. Even for a defendant whose post-presidential life has been dominated by investigations, the documents probe has stood out for both the apparent volume of evidence amassed by prosecutors and the severity of the allegations.It's also a watershed moment for a Justice Department that until last week had never before brought charges against a former president.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/merrick-garland">Attorney General Merrick Garland</a>, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last year to a special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">Jack Smith</a>, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, is the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">faces charges in New York</a>&nbsp;arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/january-6-final-hearing-investigation-wraps-0bceb95826c1c836023d2810ccbeccca">ongoing investigations in Washington</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-york-city-only-on-ap-donald-trump-georgia-266e28c4e47e54731b233e0f770f6729">Atlanta</a>&nbsp;into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race. He's sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking Smith as “deranged,” pledging to stay in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.“They’re using this because they can’t win the election fairly and squarely,” Trump said Monday in an interview with Americano Media.The court appearance is also unfolding against the backdrop of potential protests and unrest. Some high-profile backers have used barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself has encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the Miami courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to authorities.Some Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters. He said the city would divert traffic and possibly block streets depending on crowd size.Unlike in the New York case, where photographers produced images of a somber-faced Trump at the courtroom defense table, the public's view will limited. Cameras are generally not permitted in federal courts, and a judge Monday night barred reporters from having phones inside the building.A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-grand-jury-maralago-pence-jan-6-09630fc5891cc91395975a91314a1a87">federal grand jury in Washington</a>&nbsp;had heard testimony for months in the documents case, but the Justice Department filed it in Florida, where Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred. Though Trump is set to appear Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-government-and-politics-1cc6c63010da10a19fb8cfc8595ffe38">Aileen Cannon</a>, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-criminal-investigations-government-and-politics-16748b82a502c0eec977d3ec51390027">federal appeals panel ultimately</a>&nbsp;overturned her ruling.It's unclear what defenses Trump is likely to cite as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation on the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-grand-jury-justice-department-623428540a6cff1b5dcdf697cdf45b5d">M. Evan Corcoran</a>, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting that prosecutors may see him as a key witness.Trump has said he's looking to add to his legal team though no announcements were made Monday. But that matters because, under the rules of the district, defendants are required to have a local lawyer for an arraignment to proceed.The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-9e8d683afe87389407950af7ccfdbdd6">hundreds of classified documents</a>&nbsp;that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over secret documents

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating after a body was found in Wyandotte County Lake on Monday.

Just after 2p.m. Monday, deputies responded to the lake after receiving a call about the body, according to a media release.

First responders recovered the body of a black male in his 20s. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686652861496.png" alt="Google map" />
 <figcaption>Google map</figcaption>
 </figure>WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating after a body was found in Wyandotte County Lake on Monday.Just after 2p.m. Monday, deputies responded to the lake after receiving a call about the body, according to a media release.First responders recovered the body of a black male in his 20s. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

Sheriff: Body found in Kansas lake

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach Friday presented four awards honoring outstanding service to victims of crime to individuals who have made significant contributions toward improving the lives of those who have experienced crime.

“Victims of crime experience so much uncertainty and trauma, and the work of these service award winners on their behalf is truly invaluable,” Kobach said. “Providing justice to crime victims is so much more than prosecuting offenders. Justice includes serving crime victims in their time of need, supporting them throughout the process, and helping to ensure their voices are heard.”

Kobach personally presented the awards to recipients during a luncheon in Topeka. Nominations for the awards were made by their peers, victim families, and other community partners across Kansas.

The awards, which have been presented annually by the Office of the Attorney General for nearly three decades, were presented personally to the recipients by Kobach during a luncheon in Topeka. Nominations for the awards were made by their peers, victim families and other community partners across Kansas.

Community Champion Award - Cristina Janney, Hays Post/Eagle Radio

This award recognizes an individual or group that has made a significant difference for victims of crime. Janney is the editor of the Hays Post/Eagle Radio with almost 30 years of experience working in Kansas media.

In early 2023, Janney wrote a two-part series about reporting and prosecution rates for rape and sexual assault in Ellis County. She also partnered with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, which provides victims advocacy in northwest Kansas, on the “What Were You Wearing?” art exhibit. The exhibit attempts to break the stereotype that what an individual was wearing contributed to their rape.

Jennifer Hecker, the executive director at Options nominated Janney.

“Cristina’s leadership in the community to use her platform is both inspiring and impactful. She uses her time, talents, and influence to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence in our community, never shying away from difficult topics,” Hecker said.

Criminal Justice Award – Lt. Detective Garen Honn, Coffey County Sheriff’s Office

This award recognizes individuals who made a positive contribution regarding the needs of victims or offender accountability within the criminal justice response.

Law enforcement agencies from across Kansas regularly call on Honn for assistance with child sex crimes investigations due to his extensive training, expertise, and leadership skills. A 17-year law enforcement veteran, Honn is known for his ability to create connections with those he talks to, whether it be a perpetrator, family member or victim of the crime. He said his intent is always being someone people can speak to in order to help the family and the case itself, seeking to get justice for victims as much as possible.

Connie Cahoone, Executive Director of SOS, Inc., nominated Honn for the award for his assistance with the child advocacy center’s service delivery for abused children, as well as his leadership in the successful implementation of a Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment protocol for Coffey County in 2022.

“Honn provides outstanding service for local crime victims through his tireless work ethic and an unwavering commitment to protect and serve,” Cahoone said.

Outstanding Community-Based Advocate – Emily Selby, Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center, Manhattan

This award recognizes a community-based victim advocate for outstanding work in improving the lives of crime victims.

Selby is the Director of Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center in Manhattan. She was nominated for her efforts, in part, for increasing the CAC’s service capacity with two additional forensic interviewers/family advocate positions; strengthening and expanding the multi-disciplinary team;&nbsp;developing a partnership with the Fort Riley Army Garrison in order to seamlessly serve Fort Riley child victims and their families through Stepping Stones CAC; and most recently laying the groundwork to establish a multi-disciplinary team in neighboring Geary County.

Carson Kober, executive director of Sunflower Children’s Collective, nominated Selby based on her “amazing” work as a child victim advocate.

“Emily has created a far more trauma-informed agency and continues to search for ways to provide more in the way of advocacy for children interviewed in the child advocacy center and their families,” Kober said.

Outstanding System-Based Advocate – Natassia Records, Special Victims Unit, Investigations Division, Lawrence Police Department

This award recognizes a system-based victim advocate for outstanding work in improving the lives of crime victims.

Records is a victim advocate with the Special Victims Unit at the Lawrence Police Department. She was nominated for her efforts to establish a Domestic Violence Outreach Team, which allowed the department to increase its capacity in supporting victims as they work through the criminal justice system. Records was instrumental in the department’s implementation of a Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment protocol, which focuses on victim safety and connection with resources in the community.

“Natassia’s efforts to establish a Domestic Violence Outreach Team allowed the department to increase our capacity in supporting victims as they work through the criminal justice system, and she is actively bringing community service providers together to produce better long-term outcomes, including prosecution of cases,” said Adam Heffley, Deputy Chief of the Lawrence Police Department.

To find more information and photos of the 2023 Crime Victim Service Award recipients, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/victim-services/crime-victims-service-awards/awards-2023">ag.ks.gov/Victim-Services/2023-Awards</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686596855225.jpeg" alt="Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach presents Hays Post Editor Cristina Janney with the&nbsp;&nbsp;Community Champion Award victims service award during a luncheon Friday in Topeka. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach presents Hays Post Editor Cristina Janney with the&nbsp;&nbsp;Community Champion Award victims service award during a luncheon Friday in Topeka. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach Friday presented four awards honoring outstanding service to victims of crime to individuals who have made significant contributions toward improving the lives of those who have experienced crime.“Victims of crime experience so much uncertainty and trauma, and the work of these service award winners on their behalf is truly invaluable,” Kobach said. “Providing justice to crime victims is so much more than prosecuting offenders. Justice includes serving crime victims in their time of need, supporting them throughout the process, and helping to ensure their voices are heard.”Kobach personally presented the awards to recipients during a luncheon in Topeka. Nominations for the awards were made by their peers, victim families, and other community partners across Kansas.The awards, which have been presented annually by the Office of the Attorney General for nearly three decades, were presented personally to the recipients by Kobach during a luncheon in Topeka. Nominations for the awards were made by their peers, victim families and other community partners across Kansas.Community Champion Award - Cristina Janney, Hays Post/Eagle RadioThis award recognizes an individual or group that has made a significant difference for victims of crime. Janney is the editor of the Hays Post/Eagle Radio with almost 30 years of experience working in Kansas media.In early 2023, Janney wrote a two-part series about reporting and prosecution rates for rape and sexual assault in Ellis County. She also partnered with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, which provides victims advocacy in northwest Kansas, on the “What Were You Wearing?” art exhibit. The exhibit attempts to break the stereotype that what an individual was wearing contributed to their rape.Jennifer Hecker, the executive director at Options nominated Janney.“Cristina’s leadership in the community to use her platform is both inspiring and impactful. She uses her time, talents, and influence to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence in our community, never shying away from difficult topics,” Hecker said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686596897508.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Criminal Justice Award – Lt. Detective Garen Honn, Coffey County Sheriff’s OfficeThis award recognizes individuals who made a positive contribution regarding the needs of victims or offender accountability within the criminal justice response.Law enforcement agencies from across Kansas regularly call on Honn for assistance with child sex crimes investigations due to his extensive training, expertise, and leadership skills. A 17-year law enforcement veteran, Honn is known for his ability to create connections with those he talks to, whether it be a perpetrator, family member or victim of the crime. He said his intent is always being someone people can speak to in order to help the family and the case itself, seeking to get justice for victims as much as possible.Connie Cahoone, Executive Director of SOS, Inc., nominated Honn for the award for his assistance with the child advocacy center’s service delivery for abused children, as well as his leadership in the successful implementation of a Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment protocol for Coffey County in 2022.“Honn provides outstanding service for local crime victims through his tireless work ethic and an unwavering commitment to protect and serve,” Cahoone said.Outstanding Community-Based Advocate – Emily Selby, Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center, ManhattanThis award recognizes a community-based victim advocate for outstanding work in improving the lives of crime victims.Selby is the Director of Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center in Manhattan. She was nominated for her efforts, in part, for increasing the CAC’s service capacity with two additional forensic interviewers/family advocate positions; strengthening and expanding the multi-disciplinary team;&nbsp;developing a partnership with the Fort Riley Army Garrison in order to seamlessly serve Fort Riley child victims and their families through Stepping Stones CAC; and most recently laying the groundwork to establish a multi-disciplinary team in neighboring Geary County.Carson Kober, executive director of Sunflower Children’s Collective, nominated Selby based on her “amazing” work as a child victim advocate.“Emily has created a far more trauma-informed agency and continues to search for ways to provide more in the way of advocacy for children interviewed in the child advocacy center and their families,” Kober said.Outstanding System-Based Advocate – Natassia Records, Special Victims Unit, Investigations Division, Lawrence Police DepartmentThis award recognizes a system-based victim advocate for outstanding work in improving the lives of crime victims.Records is a victim advocate with the Special Victims Unit at the Lawrence Police Department. She was nominated for her efforts to establish a Domestic Violence Outreach Team, which allowed the department to increase its capacity in supporting victims as they work through the criminal justice system. Records was instrumental in the department’s implementation of a Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment protocol, which focuses on victim safety and connection with resources in the community.“Natassia’s efforts to establish a Domestic Violence Outreach Team allowed the department to increase our capacity in supporting victims as they work through the criminal justice system, and she is actively bringing community service providers together to produce better long-term outcomes, including prosecution of cases,” said Adam Heffley, Deputy Chief of the Lawrence Police Department.To find more information and photos of the 2023 Crime Victim Service Award recipients, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/victim-services/crime-victims-service-awards/awards-2023">ag.ks.gov/Victim-Services/2023-Awards</a>.

Hays Post editor awarded attorney general's crime victims service award

BEIRUT (AP) — A helicopter accident in northeastern Syria over the weekend left 22 American service members injured, the U.S. military said Tuesday, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation and that no enemy fire was involved.

The military statement said the service members were receiving treatment and 10 were moved to “higher care facilities” outside the region.

“A helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria resulted in the injuries of various degrees of 22 U.S. service members,” it said. “No enemy fire was reported.”

A spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-us-troops-drone-attack-6194dca97f594e3609914637463c4ce3">There are at least 900 U.S. forces in Syria</a>&nbsp;on average, along with an undisclosed number of contractors. U.S. special operations forces also move in and out of the country, but are usually in small teams and are not included in the official count.

U.S. forces have been in Syria since 2015 to advise and assist the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. Since the extremist group was defeated in Syria in March 2019, U.S. troops have been trying to prevent any comeback by IS, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.

However, IS sleeper cells remain a threat. There are also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-europe-middle-east-syria-prisons-c1a74b4dc864830bf37037a45ec5182e">about 10,000 IS fighters held in detention facilities in Syria</a>&nbsp;and tens of thousands of their family members living in two refugee camps in the country's northeast.

Over the past years, U.S. troops have been subjected to attacks carried out by IS members and Iran-backed fighters there. In late March, a drone attack on a U.S. base killed a contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor. In retaliation, U.S. fighter jets struck several locations around the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the time that the strikes were a response to the drone attack as well as a series of recent attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

In a related development, Syrian Kurdish-led authorities announced Saturday that hundreds of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-syria-sdf-kurds-alhol-628730e580697497696f13855b3931f6">IS fighters held in prisons around the region will be put on trial</a>&nbsp;after their home countries refused to repatriate them.

BEIRUT (AP) — A helicopter accident in northeastern Syria over the weekend left 22 American service members injured, the U.S. military said Tuesday, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation and that no enemy fire was involved.The military statement said the service members were receiving treatment and 10 were moved to “higher care facilities” outside the region.“A helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria resulted in the injuries of various degrees of 22 U.S. service members,” it said. “No enemy fire was reported.”A spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-us-troops-drone-attack-6194dca97f594e3609914637463c4ce3">There are at least 900 U.S. forces in Syria</a>&nbsp;on average, along with an undisclosed number of contractors. U.S. special operations forces also move in and out of the country, but are usually in small teams and are not included in the official count.U.S. forces have been in Syria since 2015 to advise and assist the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. Since the extremist group was defeated in Syria in March 2019, U.S. troops have been trying to prevent any comeback by IS, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.However, IS sleeper cells remain a threat. There are also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-europe-middle-east-syria-prisons-c1a74b4dc864830bf37037a45ec5182e">about 10,000 IS fighters held in detention facilities in Syria</a>&nbsp;and tens of thousands of their family members living in two refugee camps in the country's northeast.Over the past years, U.S. troops have been subjected to attacks carried out by IS members and Iran-backed fighters there. In late March, a drone attack on a U.S. base killed a contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor. In retaliation, U.S. fighter jets struck several locations around the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the time that the strikes were a response to the drone attack as well as a series of recent attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.In a related development, Syrian Kurdish-led authorities announced Saturday that hundreds of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-syria-sdf-kurds-alhol-628730e580697497696f13855b3931f6">IS fighters held in prisons around the region will be put on trial</a>&nbsp;after their home countries refused to repatriate them.

US military: 22 American troops injured after helicopter accident in Syria 

BARTON COUNTY —A fire destroyed a rural Barton County building and put fire crews at risk of injury. Just before 4p.m. on Monday, June 12, the Great Bend Fire Department responded to the 200 block of SE 30 Road for the report of a shed on fire, according to a media release from the Great Bend Fire Department.

First unit on scene found a 40’ x 60’ wood frame metal building fully involved in fire with multiple propane tanks exploding and several more tanks exposed to fire. &nbsp; With a significant amount of fire, crews attacked from the exterior. The fire being out in the county required a water shuttle to be set up with tankers hauling water from Great Bend.

Mutual aid tankers were requested from Ellinwood Fire. Also assisting with the water shuttle were the Barton County Road Department and Haz-Mat Response.

 The building and contents are considered a total loss. The fire was investigated by investigators from the Great Bend Fire Department and was determined to be accidental in nature.&nbsp; There were no injuries reported.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686622117567.jpeg" alt="Photos Great Bend Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>Photos Great Bend Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —A fire destroyed a rural Barton County building and put fire crews at risk of injury. Just before 4p.m. on Monday, June 12, the Great Bend Fire Department responded to the 200 block of SE 30 Road for the report of a shed on fire, according to a media release from the Great Bend Fire Department.First unit on scene found a 40’ x 60’ wood frame metal building fully involved in fire with multiple propane tanks exploding and several more tanks exposed to fire. &nbsp; With a significant amount of fire, crews attacked from the exterior. The fire being out in the county required a water shuttle to be set up with tankers hauling water from Great Bend. Mutual aid tankers were requested from Ellinwood Fire. Also assisting with the water shuttle were the Barton County Road Department and Haz-Mat Response.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686621873197.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure> The building and contents are considered a total loss. The fire was investigated by investigators from the Great Bend Fire Department and was determined to be accidental in nature.&nbsp; There were no injuries reported.

Numerous propane tanks explode in rural Kan. building fire

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects in connection with a liquid meth operation that was transporting illegal drugs from Mexico and Phoenix to Wichita, according to a media release.

After an extensive and lengthy operation of surveillance, Wichita police&nbsp; executed a search warrant at a residence located in the 2000 Block of S. Greenwich in Wicchita.

 The search warrant resulted in the seizure of approximately 28-30 gallons of liquid meth. What the officers seized from this house could have been converted into approximately 300 pounds of crystal meth.

Officers also arrested 37-year-old Oscar Martinez-Ortiz of Wichita and 60-year-old Ignacio Negrete-Diaz on requested charges of Manufacturing a Controlled Substance and Distribution.

The estimated street value of this seizure is approximately $972,857.00.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686592709242.png" alt="Negrete-Diaz-photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Negrete-Diaz-photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects in connection with a liquid meth operation that was transporting illegal drugs from Mexico and Phoenix to Wichita, according to a media release.After an extensive and lengthy operation of surveillance, Wichita police&nbsp; executed a search warrant at a residence located in the 2000 Block of S. Greenwich in Wicchita.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686592679825.png" alt="Martinez-Ortiz-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Martinez-Ortiz-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure> The search warrant resulted in the seizure of approximately 28-30 gallons of liquid meth. What the officers seized from this house could have been converted into approximately 300 pounds of crystal meth.Officers also arrested 37-year-old Oscar Martinez-Ortiz of Wichita and 60-year-old Ignacio Negrete-Diaz on requested charges of Manufacturing a Controlled Substance and Distribution.The estimated street value of this seizure is approximately $972,857.00.

Police in Kan. seize liquid meth with street value of nearly $1 million

MEADE COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 5:30p.m. Monday in Meade County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Dodge Ram driven by Dylan B.&nbsp;Duesing, 27, Meade, was westbound on K Road just east of U.S. 54.

The pickup struck a northbound 1998 Kawasaki&nbsp;KX125 driven by Michael M. Lowry, 15, Meade, who was coming out of a field.&nbsp; 

Lowry was pronounced dead at Meade District Hospital.&nbsp; Duesing who&nbsp; was not wearing a seat belt was not injured.&nbsp; Lowry was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

MEADE COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 5:30p.m. Monday in Meade County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Dodge Ram driven by Dylan B.&nbsp;Duesing, 27, Meade, was westbound on K Road just east of U.S. 54.The pickup struck a northbound 1998 Kawasaki&nbsp;KX125 driven by Michael M. Lowry, 15, Meade, who was coming out of a field.&nbsp; Lowry was pronounced dead at Meade District Hospital.&nbsp; Duesing who&nbsp; was not wearing a seat belt was not injured.&nbsp; Lowry was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

15-year-old Kan. boy dies after pickup, motorcycle crash

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City-area teen faces charges for recklessly causing the death of his friend Dakota Wrightsman by shooting him, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Cooper D. Ashley, 18, faces Involuntary Manslaughter 1st Degree.

According to court records, Lee's Summit officers responded to a residence in Lee's Summit on a report of a shooting.&nbsp; Officer found the victim identified as Wrightsman and life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. 

Officers found a handgun and blood in the lower level of the residence.&nbsp; The victim's father told police he was outside when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim leaving the lower level of the residence. 

Ashley was in the lower level with the victim and others. Ashley said he had picked up the handgun and it fired. A witness told police he saw Ashley with the gun in his hand soon after the shot.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686307607521.png" alt="Ashley-photo Lee's Summit Police" />
 <figcaption>Ashley-photo Lee's Summit Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City-area teen faces charges for recklessly causing the death of his friend Dakota Wrightsman by shooting him, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Cooper D. Ashley, 18, faces Involuntary Manslaughter 1st Degree.According to court records, Lee's Summit officers responded to a residence in Lee's Summit on a report of a shooting.&nbsp; Officer found the victim identified as Wrightsman and life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. Officers found a handgun and blood in the lower level of the residence.&nbsp; The victim's father told police he was outside when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim leaving the lower level of the residence. Ashley was in the lower level with the victim and others. Ashley said he had picked up the handgun and it fired. A witness told police he saw Ashley with the gun in his hand soon after the shot.&nbsp;

Kansas City-area teen charged in fatal shooting  of his friend

JOHNSON COUNTY —Police on Olathe cancelled the Silver Alert for missing 74-year-old George Junior Sewell. He has been located and is safe.

JOHNSON COUNTY – The Olathe Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating 74-year-old, George Junior Sewell, according to a media release from agency. On Saturday evening police&nbsp; received information that indicates he may be traveling east toward South Carolina.

George is described as 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes. He was last seen in the 1400 block of East 123rd Street, wearing a green Army Veteran hat, a light blue shirt, light blue jeans, and black shoes. 

George is believed to be operating a black, 2022, Mitsubishi Outlander displaying a South Carolina handicap tag, 280220W. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686402016880.png" alt="Sewell-photo Olathe Police" />
 <figcaption>Sewell-photo Olathe Police</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Police on Olathe cancelled the Silver Alert for missing 74-year-old George Junior Sewell. He has been located and is safe.-------------JOHNSON COUNTY – The Olathe Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating 74-year-old, George Junior Sewell, according to a media release from agency. On Saturday evening police&nbsp; received information that indicates he may be traveling east toward South Carolina.George is described as 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes. He was last seen in the 1400 block of East 123rd Street, wearing a green Army Veteran hat, a light blue shirt, light blue jeans, and black shoes. George is believed to be operating a black, 2022, Mitsubishi Outlander displaying a South Carolina handicap tag, 280220W.