KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for causing a $1.2&nbsp;&nbsp;million loss to a company by submitting false invoices in connection a performance incentive rewards program, according to the United State's Attorney. The prison sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release, and Cummings is ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Barry Cummings, 52, of Overland Park, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. An energy management company offered a performance-based rewards program as an incentive to non-employee resellers, contractors, and others to sell its products. Participants submitted information regarding sales to earn points they could then redeem for items like airline vouchers, hotel stays, gift cards, and electronic devices.

In 2017, a business in Lenexa, Kansas, hired Cummings, and he enrolled in the victim company’s rewards program through that affiliation. In his plea agreement, Cummings admitted to orchestrating a years-long scheme to defraud the victim company’s rewards program. Cummings admitted to logging into the rewards site and submitting fraudulent sales claims, which falsely represented that he had sold the company’s products. Cummings admitted that he never sold a single one of the company’s products despite the thousands of sales claims he submitted representing that he did.

After his termination from the Lenexa business in April 2018, Cummings continually logged into the rewards website to submit fraudulent invoices and redeem points, using the email he previously had at the Lenexa business. As an example, during a 12-hour period in November 2018, Cummings submitted 834 fraudulent invoices for which he received more than 2.8 million points. In 2019, he submitted 5,543 false claims for 22.5 million points. Cummings used point redemptions to receive more than 2,000 rewards at a value that caused a $1,233,024 loss to the victim company.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case. The victim energy company cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation. 

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for causing a $1.2&nbsp;&nbsp;million loss to a company by submitting false invoices in connection a performance incentive rewards program, according to the United State's Attorney. The prison sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release, and Cummings is ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution.According to court documents, Barry Cummings, 52, of Overland Park, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. An energy management company offered a performance-based rewards program as an incentive to non-employee resellers, contractors, and others to sell its products. Participants submitted information regarding sales to earn points they could then redeem for items like airline vouchers, hotel stays, gift cards, and electronic devices.In 2017, a business in Lenexa, Kansas, hired Cummings, and he enrolled in the victim company’s rewards program through that affiliation. In his plea agreement, Cummings admitted to orchestrating a years-long scheme to defraud the victim company’s rewards program. Cummings admitted to logging into the rewards site and submitting fraudulent sales claims, which falsely represented that he had sold the company’s products. Cummings admitted that he never sold a single one of the company’s products despite the thousands of sales claims he submitted representing that he did.After his termination from the Lenexa business in April 2018, Cummings continually logged into the rewards website to submit fraudulent invoices and redeem points, using the email he previously had at the Lenexa business. As an example, during a 12-hour period in November 2018, Cummings submitted 834 fraudulent invoices for which he received more than 2.8 million points. In 2019, he submitted 5,543 false claims for 22.5 million points. Cummings used point redemptions to receive more than 2,000 rewards at a value that caused a $1,233,024 loss to the victim company.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case. The victim energy company cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.

Prison: Kan. man cheated business incentive rewards program

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This spring homebuying season is shaping up to be more favorable for home shoppers than it's been in recent years — as long as they can afford to buy.

Home prices are rising more slowly. Mortgage rates remain elevated, but have been mostly easing and could be headed lower if the U.S. economic outlook continues to darken over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tariffs">the Trump administration's widespread tariffs,</a>&nbsp;which have rattled financial markets and stoked fears of a recession.

Most importantly, the number of homes on the market is up sharply from a year ago.

While the inventory of homes for sale nationally is still low by historical standards, active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — surged 28.5% last month from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings jumped between 44% and 68% in many large metro areas, including San Diego, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington D.C.

As homes take longer to sell, prices have started dropping in many markets. The median listing price was down last month from a year earlier in most of the nation's biggest 50 metro areas, including a more than 6% drop in Austin, Miami and Kansas City.

These trends should give prospective homebuyers more leverage as they negotiate with sellers this spring, though they are unlikely to be a game-changer for many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market after years of soaring prices.

“It’s a little hard to say that it’s a buyer’s market, but I’d call it a much more balanced market than it’s been in the last couple of years, where it’s really been a predominantly seller’s market,” said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com.

Ryan Vasko and his wife, Whitney, recently navigated both sides of the housing market equation in their move from Oregon to Colorado.

In December, the couple sold their three-bedroom, one-bath house in Portland for $505,000. That was $10,000 below their list price, but still above the $500,000 minimum they hoped to get.

At the same time, the couple searched for a home in the Denver metro area, which is among the markets that’s had the biggest increase in homes for sale this year. Active listings soared 67.3% in March from a year earlier. As listings jumped, the median listing price fell 5.6% to $585,000.

Last month, the Vaskos closed the deal on a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Littleton, Colorado, about 10 miles south of Denver, that had been on the market at least three weeks.

“We got under contract week one, we found out we were pregnant week two and we put an offer on this house week three,” said Vasko, 41, a creative director at an advertising agency.

The price: $680,000, or $5,000 above the list price. Still, the seller agreed to cover the cost of lowering the couple’s 6.9% mortgage rate for the first two years of the loan to 4.9% and 5.9%, respectively.

“It gives us a little wiggle room, if we need it,” said Vasko, noting that he’s hoping to eventually refinance to a lower fixed rate.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>. Easing mortgage rates and more homes on the market nationally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-6b0a5692ad279ee25f106fde04656713">helped drive sales higher in February from the previous month</a>, though they were down year-over-year.

Last year, higher mortgage rates dampened the start of the spring homebuying season. This year, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is down to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-a280c5075139dca518f97d964cae559d">6.6% from</a>&nbsp;just over 7% in mid-January, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, although that’s still elevated relative to the 2-year low of about 6% it fell to in September.

Another plus for buyers: Lower prices. The median listing price fell in March from a year earlier in 32 of the 50 largest metro areas, including Kansas City, San Francisco, Miami and San Diego. Nationally, it was $424,900 last month, unchanged from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.

The market shift may give home shoppers more leverage when sellers ask that buyers waive home inspections. Sellers may also be more willing to pay for closing costs, contribute cash to make repairs or make other concessions, real estate agents say.

“Pretty much every buyer is asking for concessions, unless they know that they are in a multiple offer situation,” said Afton Hartmann, a Redfin agent in Denver.

Such situations, although less common than a few years ago, still exist.

Gilad Hoffman, executive director at a synagogue, knew his home search was over when he spotted a four-bedroom, 2.5-bath house for sale in Escondido, 30 miles northeast of San Diego. He felt the home, listed by the estate of its late owner for $1.079 million, was “severely underpriced.”

Hoffman, 41, paid $13,000 above the asking price for the home in February as he fended off bids from three other prospective buyers -- including one offering to pay all cash.

Elevated mortgage rates didn’t dissuade Hoffman. He accepted a 7% rate in exchange for a credit from his lender to put toward closing costs.

“My philosophy going into the whole thing was: get into something now that you can afford with these high interest rates,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully in two years, they’ll come down and then you can refinance. And that’s still my intention.”

Affordability and uncertainty are still hurdles

Despite some buyer-friendly trends, the housing market remains largely out of reach for many Americans, especially first-time buyers who don't have home equity gains to put toward a new home. While home price growth has been slowing, the decline is negligible against the 47% gain in prices over the last five years.

And while home listings are up, many more are needed to return the market to more of a balance between buyers and sellers. Consider, there were 1.24 million unsold homes on the market at the end of February. While up 17% from a year earlier, that's still about 44% below the 2.21 million monthly average going back to 1999, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

As of January, a household earning the median U.S. annual income of $79,223 would have to spend 47% of that to cover payments on a home at the median price of $390,333. That share of income matches the highest it has ever been on records going back to 2005, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. When the annual cost of homeownership exceeds 30% of the median U.S. household income, it’s considered unaffordable by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If the decline in mortgage rates accelerates in coming months, that would boost homebuyers' purchasing power.

Economic forecasts generally have the average rate on a 30-year mortgage staying around 6.5% this year, but those forecasts may be outdated now.

A sharp downward move last week in the 10-year Treasury yield as bond investors reacted to rapidly escalating trade war between the U.S. and nations around the globe points to lower mortgage rates.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which banks use as a guide to pricing home loans, dropped to 4.01% Friday, its lowest level since October, as global trade tensions escalated.

Still, tariffs are typically inflationary, and the 10-year Treasury yield tends to rise on expectations of higher inflation. That could keep mortgage rates where they are, or nudge them higher.

If the trade war worries do pave the way for further mortgage rate drops, “those lower rates may be cold comfort to prospective buyers who are increasingly worried about job security and inflation,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659001075252.jpeg" alt="File AP photo" />
 <figcaption>File AP photo</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — This spring homebuying season is shaping up to be more favorable for home shoppers than it's been in recent years — as long as they can afford to buy.Home prices are rising more slowly. Mortgage rates remain elevated, but have been mostly easing and could be headed lower if the U.S. economic outlook continues to darken over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tariffs">the Trump administration's widespread tariffs,</a>&nbsp;which have rattled financial markets and stoked fears of a recession.Most importantly, the number of homes on the market is up sharply from a year ago.While the inventory of homes for sale nationally is still low by historical standards, active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — surged 28.5% last month from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings jumped between 44% and 68% in many large metro areas, including San Diego, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington D.C.As homes take longer to sell, prices have started dropping in many markets. The median listing price was down last month from a year earlier in most of the nation's biggest 50 metro areas, including a more than 6% drop in Austin, Miami and Kansas City.These trends should give prospective homebuyers more leverage as they negotiate with sellers this spring, though they are unlikely to be a game-changer for many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market after years of soaring prices.“It’s a little hard to say that it’s a buyer’s market, but I’d call it a much more balanced market than it’s been in the last couple of years, where it’s really been a predominantly seller’s market,” said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com.Ryan Vasko and his wife, Whitney, recently navigated both sides of the housing market equation in their move from Oregon to Colorado.In December, the couple sold their three-bedroom, one-bath house in Portland for $505,000. That was $10,000 below their list price, but still above the $500,000 minimum they hoped to get.At the same time, the couple searched for a home in the Denver metro area, which is among the markets that’s had the biggest increase in homes for sale this year. Active listings soared 67.3% in March from a year earlier. As listings jumped, the median listing price fell 5.6% to $585,000.Last month, the Vaskos closed the deal on a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Littleton, Colorado, about 10 miles south of Denver, that had been on the market at least three weeks.“We got under contract week one, we found out we were pregnant week two and we put an offer on this house week three,” said Vasko, 41, a creative director at an advertising agency.The price: $680,000, or $5,000 above the list price. Still, the seller agreed to cover the cost of lowering the couple’s 6.9% mortgage rate for the first two years of the loan to 4.9% and 5.9%, respectively.“It gives us a little wiggle room, if we need it,” said Vasko, noting that he’s hoping to eventually refinance to a lower fixed rate.<h2>A mixed market</h2>The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>. Easing mortgage rates and more homes on the market nationally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-6b0a5692ad279ee25f106fde04656713">helped drive sales higher in February from the previous month</a>, though they were down year-over-year.Last year, higher mortgage rates dampened the start of the spring homebuying season. This year, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is down to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-a280c5075139dca518f97d964cae559d">6.6% from</a>&nbsp;just over 7% in mid-January, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, although that’s still elevated relative to the 2-year low of about 6% it fell to in September.Another plus for buyers: Lower prices. The median listing price fell in March from a year earlier in 32 of the 50 largest metro areas, including Kansas City, San Francisco, Miami and San Diego. Nationally, it was $424,900 last month, unchanged from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.The market shift may give home shoppers more leverage when sellers ask that buyers waive home inspections. Sellers may also be more willing to pay for closing costs, contribute cash to make repairs or make other concessions, real estate agents say.“Pretty much every buyer is asking for concessions, unless they know that they are in a multiple offer situation,” said Afton Hartmann, a Redfin agent in Denver.Such situations, although less common than a few years ago, still exist.Gilad Hoffman, executive director at a synagogue, knew his home search was over when he spotted a four-bedroom, 2.5-bath house for sale in Escondido, 30 miles northeast of San Diego. He felt the home, listed by the estate of its late owner for $1.079 million, was “severely underpriced.”Hoffman, 41, paid $13,000 above the asking price for the home in February as he fended off bids from three other prospective buyers -- including one offering to pay all cash.Elevated mortgage rates didn’t dissuade Hoffman. He accepted a 7% rate in exchange for a credit from his lender to put toward closing costs.“My philosophy going into the whole thing was: get into something now that you can afford with these high interest rates,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully in two years, they’ll come down and then you can refinance. And that’s still my intention.”<h2>Affordability and uncertainty are still hurdles</h2>Despite some buyer-friendly trends, the housing market remains largely out of reach for many Americans, especially first-time buyers who don't have home equity gains to put toward a new home. While home price growth has been slowing, the decline is negligible against the 47% gain in prices over the last five years.And while home listings are up, many more are needed to return the market to more of a balance between buyers and sellers. Consider, there were 1.24 million unsold homes on the market at the end of February. While up 17% from a year earlier, that's still about 44% below the 2.21 million monthly average going back to 1999, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.As of January, a household earning the median U.S. annual income of $79,223 would have to spend 47% of that to cover payments on a home at the median price of $390,333. That share of income matches the highest it has ever been on records going back to 2005, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. When the annual cost of homeownership exceeds 30% of the median U.S. household income, it’s considered unaffordable by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.If the decline in mortgage rates accelerates in coming months, that would boost homebuyers' purchasing power.Economic forecasts generally have the average rate on a 30-year mortgage staying around 6.5% this year, but those forecasts may be outdated now.A sharp downward move last week in the 10-year Treasury yield as bond investors reacted to rapidly escalating trade war between the U.S. and nations around the globe points to lower mortgage rates.The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which banks use as a guide to pricing home loans, dropped to 4.01% Friday, its lowest level since October, as global trade tensions escalated.Still, tariffs are typically inflationary, and the 10-year Treasury yield tends to rise on expectations of higher inflation. That could keep mortgage rates where they are, or nudge them higher.If the trade war worries do pave the way for further mortgage rate drops, “those lower rates may be cold comfort to prospective buyers who are increasingly worried about job security and inflation,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

Signs of a more buyer-friendly housing market emerge for the spring homebuying season

KANSAS CITY (AP) —The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather.

The weather service has “paused” the translations because its contract with the provider has lapsed, NWS spokesperson Michael Musher said. He declined further comment.

Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-weather-cuts-tornado-dangerous-staff-warnings-aa7db3e0d0009d99c143742ab722c40a">cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>&nbsp;that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices.

NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment.

Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data.

Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence.

He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-tennessee-missouri-e1ae21e0b7521c28411f8c360b756700">deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021.</a>&nbsp;A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn’t understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said.

“It saved their life,” said Trujillo-Falcón.

Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be “completely overwhelming” on top of their forecasting duties.

The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast.

Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies.

“If they don’t have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody,” said Mendoza-Denton.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/about/standards-for-working-with-outside-groups/" target="_blank">standards</a>&nbsp;for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/discover/Supporting-AP" target="_blank">AP.org</a>.

BY&nbsp;ISABELLA O’MALLEYKANSAS CITY (AP) —The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather.The weather service has “paused” the translations because its contract with the provider has lapsed, NWS spokesperson Michael Musher said. He declined further comment.Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-weather-cuts-tornado-dangerous-staff-warnings-aa7db3e0d0009d99c143742ab722c40a">cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>&nbsp;that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices.NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment.Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data.Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence.He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-tennessee-missouri-e1ae21e0b7521c28411f8c360b756700">deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021.</a>&nbsp;A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn’t understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said.“It saved their life,” said Trujillo-Falcón.Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be “completely overwhelming” on top of their forecasting duties.The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast.Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies.“If they don’t have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody,” said Mendoza-Denton.___The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/about/standards-for-working-with-outside-groups/" target="_blank">standards</a>&nbsp;for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/discover/Supporting-AP" target="_blank">AP.org</a>.

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has been alerted of a scam impacting incarcerated individuals and their families where callers are identifying themselves as FBOP employees to secure money for community placement services. 

The FBOP will not contact individuals to request personal information or money. Also, there appear to be other scams affecting incarcerated individuals and their families. Specifically, callers are identifying as “Federal Bureau of Prisons Reentry Division Services” to gain personal information or money for early release and/or community placement services.

Individuals who are contacted by persons purporting to be employees of the FBOP requesting money and/or compensation should report these calls to the Federal Trade Commission online <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">by clicking here</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 1-877-382-4357 (9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712245575011.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has been alerted of a scam impacting incarcerated individuals and their families where callers are identifying themselves as FBOP employees to secure money for community placement services. The FBOP will not contact individuals to request personal information or money. Also, there appear to be other scams affecting incarcerated individuals and their families. Specifically, callers are identifying as “Federal Bureau of Prisons Reentry Division Services” to gain personal information or money for early release and/or community placement services.Individuals who are contacted by persons purporting to be employees of the FBOP requesting money and/or compensation should report these calls to the Federal Trade Commission online <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">by clicking here</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 1-877-382-4357 (9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.).

Federal Bureau of Prisons alerts public to a scam

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/marysanchez/">Mary Sanchez</a>

Evenezer Cortez Martinez is back on U.S. soil, landing in Kansas City Tuesday afternoon after being deported.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/DACA" target="_blank">DACA</a>&nbsp;recipient and Kansas father of three feared that he wouldn’t be able to return from Mexico, a country he left at the age of 4. His Roeland Park family embraced in a tearful and joyful reunion at Kansas City International airport.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had stopped Cortez Martinez at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport more than two weeks ago, after he took a short trip to Mexico to visit his grandfather’s grave.

Instead, he was detained and questioned, then put back on a plane to Mexico City on March 23.

Cortez Martinez is a recipient of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

He had never been back to his birth nation, having been brought to the U.S. by his parents as a toddler. His farmworker father tended grapevines in California.

Prior to his scheduled trip to Mexico, Cortez Martinez had applied for and received permission to travel and return to the U.S., a process called “advance parole.”

His case is an example of an immigrant who “did everything the right way” and still ran into problems, said&nbsp;<a href="https://sharma-crawford.com/" target="_blank">Rekha Sharma-Crawford</a>, the Kansas City-based immigration attorney who filed a lawsuit April 2 on behalf of Cortez Martinez with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas. The case,&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/04/03/kansas-man-deported-after-visiting-grandfathers-grave-in-mexico/" target="_blank">first reported by The Beacon</a>, drew national attention.

“The lawsuit has been dismissed because you are home and that was really the point of the lawsuit,” Sharma-Crawford told her client at the airport.

The government had asked for time to respond, indicating that the issue could be resolved without the judge hearing the case, said Sharma-Crawford.

There seemed to be some confusion at the time when he was detained in Dallas, Cortez Martinez recalled, because a supervisor had been called over.

Still, Cortez Martinez said he was told that he’d been ordered removed in absentia on June 11, 2024, and that his documents allowing him to travel had been issued in error.

Cortez Martinez said he was never made aware of that order.

“I never got any notice,” he said. “I check everything because there is all of the paper that we get for DACA renewal.”

His current DACA is valid until October 2026.

Cortez Martinez will now have an opportunity to resolve the re-calendaring of removal proceedings in Kansas City’s immigration court, said Sharma-Crawford.

“I trust you,” Cortez Martinez said to Sharma-Crawford. “Let’s talk as soon as possible.”

His children carried a poster they’d made, each signing a note to their father.

They also brought mylar “Happy Birthday” balloons.

Cortez Martinez turned 40 while he was gone. Several other family members also had recent birthdays.

Laughing, Cortez Martinez hugged his wife and declared, “We’ll have one single party.”

This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/04/08/daca-recipient-deported-after-visiting-mexico-back-in-kansas-city/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1744549104964.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/marysanchez/">Mary Sanchez</a>Evenezer Cortez Martinez is back on U.S. soil, landing in Kansas City Tuesday afternoon after being deported.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/DACA" target="_blank">DACA</a>&nbsp;recipient and Kansas father of three feared that he wouldn’t be able to return from Mexico, a country he left at the age of 4. His Roeland Park family embraced in a tearful and joyful reunion at Kansas City International airport.U.S. Customs and Border Protection had stopped Cortez Martinez at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport more than two weeks ago, after he took a short trip to Mexico to visit his grandfather’s grave.He was trying to return to Kansas City.Instead, he was detained and questioned, then put back on a plane to Mexico City on March 23.Cortez Martinez is a recipient of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.He had never been back to his birth nation, having been brought to the U.S. by his parents as a toddler. His farmworker father tended grapevines in California.Prior to his scheduled trip to Mexico, Cortez Martinez had applied for and received permission to travel and return to the U.S., a process called “advance parole.”His case is an example of an immigrant who “did everything the right way” and still ran into problems, said&nbsp;<a href="https://sharma-crawford.com/" target="_blank">Rekha Sharma-Crawford</a>, the Kansas City-based immigration attorney who filed a lawsuit April 2 on behalf of Cortez Martinez with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas. The case,&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/04/03/kansas-man-deported-after-visiting-grandfathers-grave-in-mexico/" target="_blank">first reported by The Beacon</a>, drew national attention.“The lawsuit has been dismissed because you are home and that was really the point of the lawsuit,” Sharma-Crawford told her client at the airport.The government had asked for time to respond, indicating that the issue could be resolved without the judge hearing the case, said Sharma-Crawford.There seemed to be some confusion at the time when he was detained in Dallas, Cortez Martinez recalled, because a supervisor had been called over.Still, Cortez Martinez said he was told that he’d been ordered removed in absentia on June 11, 2024, and that his documents allowing him to travel had been issued in error.Cortez Martinez said he was never made aware of that order.“I never got any notice,” he said. “I check everything because there is all of the paper that we get for DACA renewal.”His current DACA is valid until October 2026.Cortez Martinez will now have an opportunity to resolve the re-calendaring of removal proceedings in Kansas City’s immigration court, said Sharma-Crawford.“I trust you,” Cortez Martinez said to Sharma-Crawford. “Let’s talk as soon as possible.”His children carried a poster they’d made, each signing a note to their father.They also brought mylar “Happy Birthday” balloons.Cortez Martinez turned 40 while he was gone. Several other family members also had recent birthdays.Laughing, Cortez Martinez hugged his wife and declared, “We’ll have one single party.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/04/08/daca-recipient-deported-after-visiting-mexico-back-in-kansas-city/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

Man deported after visiting family grave in Mexico is back in Kansas City

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Trump administration late said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-stock-market-china-recession-deals-e8e54a68397e6829e1d27552a1d7bfb9">reciprocal tariffs</a>, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S.

It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung and chip makers like Nvidia, setting the stage for a likely tech stock rally on Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify for the exemption. Machines used to make semiconductors are excluded too. That means they won’t be subject to the current&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-trump-tariffs-2e05057e973e1e26d1b95c5be003b4cd">145% tariffs levied on China</a>&nbsp;or the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-pause-businesses-reaction-a61a1adcaf6332f6188ae1d70664b898">10% baseline tariffs elsewhere</a>.

It's the latest tariff change by the Trump administration, which has made&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-trump-tariffs-2e05057e973e1e26d1b95c5be003b4cd">several U-turns</a>&nbsp;in their massive plan to put tariffs in place on goods from most countries.

The exemption seemed to reflect the president’s realization that his China tariffs are unlikely to shift more manufacturing of smartphones, computers and other gadgets to the U.S. any time soon, if ever, despite the administration’s predictions that the trade war prod Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. for the first time.

But that was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-trump-china-tariffs-iphone-f50e1c6ba8f8cbb7c4b463720e65f3c4">an unlikely scenario</a>&nbsp;after Apple spent decades building up a finely calibrated supply chain in China. What’s more, It would take several years and cost billions of dollars to build new plants in the U.S., and then confront Apple with economic forces that could triple the price of an iPhone, threatening to torpedo sales of its marquee product.

Trump’s decision to exempt the iPhone and other popular electronics made in China mirrors the similar relief that he gave those products during the trade war of his first term in the White House. But Trump began his second term seemingly determined to impose the tariffs more broad this time, triggering a meltdown in the market values of Apple and other technology powerhouses.

The turmoil battered the stocks of tech’s “Magnificent Seven” -- Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta Platforms. At one point earlier this week, the combined Magnificent Seven’s combined market value had plunged by $2.1 trillion, or 14%, from April 2 when Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on a wide range of countries.

Some of the losses eased this past Wednesday when Trump paused the tariffs outside of China, paring the lost value in the Magnificent Seven to $644 billion, or a 4% decline, from April 2. Now, the stage is set for another tech rally Monday when trading resumes in the U.S. stock market, with Apple likely leading the way because the iPhones made in China remain the company’s biggest money maker.

The electronics exemption also should relieve consumer worries that the China tariffs would result in hefty price hikes on smartphones and other devices that have become essential tools of modern living,

It’s the kind of friendly treatment that industry was envisioning when Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-tech-billionaires-zuckerberg-musk-wealth-0896bfc3f50d941d62cebc3074267ecd">assembled behind the president</a>&nbsp;during his Jan. 20 inauguration. That united display of fealty reflected Big Tech’s hopes that Trump would be more accommodating than President Joe Biden’s administration’s and help propel an already booming industry to even greater heights.

Apple won praise from Trump in late February when the Cupertino, California, company committed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/apple-us-investment-texas-factory-78c761e50f3f3f8186db99899efefb7c">to invest $500 billion</a>&nbsp;and add 20,000 jobs in the U.S. during the next four years. The pledge was an echo of a $350 billion investment commitment in the U.S. that Apple made during Trump’s first term when the iPhone was exempted from China tariffs.

The move takes off “a huge black cloud overhang for now over the tech sector and the pressure facing U.S. Big Tech,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a research note.

In a statement issued Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not address the exemptions specifically but indicated the administration still plans to push for tech companies to move manufacturing to the U.S.

“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops," Leavitt said in an emailed statement.

She said the administration has secured U.S. investments from tech companies including Apple, TSMC and Nvidia and these companies are "hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”

Neither Apple nor Samsung responded to a request for comment Saturday. Nvidia declined to comment.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Trump administration late said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-stock-market-china-recession-deals-e8e54a68397e6829e1d27552a1d7bfb9">reciprocal tariffs</a>, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S.It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung and chip makers like Nvidia, setting the stage for a likely tech stock rally on Monday.U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify for the exemption. Machines used to make semiconductors are excluded too. That means they won’t be subject to the current&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-trump-tariffs-2e05057e973e1e26d1b95c5be003b4cd">145% tariffs levied on China</a>&nbsp;or the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-pause-businesses-reaction-a61a1adcaf6332f6188ae1d70664b898">10% baseline tariffs elsewhere</a>.It's the latest tariff change by the Trump administration, which has made&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-trump-tariffs-2e05057e973e1e26d1b95c5be003b4cd">several U-turns</a>&nbsp;in their massive plan to put tariffs in place on goods from most countries.The exemption seemed to reflect the president’s realization that his China tariffs are unlikely to shift more manufacturing of smartphones, computers and other gadgets to the U.S. any time soon, if ever, despite the administration’s predictions that the trade war prod Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. for the first time.But that was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-trump-china-tariffs-iphone-f50e1c6ba8f8cbb7c4b463720e65f3c4">an unlikely scenario</a>&nbsp;after Apple spent decades building up a finely calibrated supply chain in China. What’s more, It would take several years and cost billions of dollars to build new plants in the U.S., and then confront Apple with economic forces that could triple the price of an iPhone, threatening to torpedo sales of its marquee product.Trump’s decision to exempt the iPhone and other popular electronics made in China mirrors the similar relief that he gave those products during the trade war of his first term in the White House. But Trump began his second term seemingly determined to impose the tariffs more broad this time, triggering a meltdown in the market values of Apple and other technology powerhouses.The turmoil battered the stocks of tech’s “Magnificent Seven” -- Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta Platforms. At one point earlier this week, the combined Magnificent Seven’s combined market value had plunged by $2.1 trillion, or 14%, from April 2 when Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on a wide range of countries.Some of the losses eased this past Wednesday when Trump paused the tariffs outside of China, paring the lost value in the Magnificent Seven to $644 billion, or a 4% decline, from April 2. Now, the stage is set for another tech rally Monday when trading resumes in the U.S. stock market, with Apple likely leading the way because the iPhones made in China remain the company’s biggest money maker.The electronics exemption also should relieve consumer worries that the China tariffs would result in hefty price hikes on smartphones and other devices that have become essential tools of modern living,It’s the kind of friendly treatment that industry was envisioning when Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-tech-billionaires-zuckerberg-musk-wealth-0896bfc3f50d941d62cebc3074267ecd">assembled behind the president</a>&nbsp;during his Jan. 20 inauguration. That united display of fealty reflected Big Tech’s hopes that Trump would be more accommodating than President Joe Biden’s administration’s and help propel an already booming industry to even greater heights.Apple won praise from Trump in late February when the Cupertino, California, company committed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/apple-us-investment-texas-factory-78c761e50f3f3f8186db99899efefb7c">to invest $500 billion</a>&nbsp;and add 20,000 jobs in the U.S. during the next four years. The pledge was an echo of a $350 billion investment commitment in the U.S. that Apple made during Trump’s first term when the iPhone was exempted from China tariffs.The move takes off “a huge black cloud overhang for now over the tech sector and the pressure facing U.S. Big Tech,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a research note.In a statement issued Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not address the exemptions specifically but indicated the administration still plans to push for tech companies to move manufacturing to the U.S.“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops," Leavitt said in an emailed statement.She said the administration has secured U.S. investments from tech companies including Apple, TSMC and Nvidia and these companies are "hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”Neither Apple nor Samsung responded to a request for comment Saturday. Nvidia declined to comment.___

See what electronics are excluded from Trump reciprocal tariffs

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are searching for the driver of an ATV who drove over and critically injured Kansas City, Missouri Police officer.

Just before 7p.m. on Saturday, police responded to a disturbance involving an officer at E. Truman Road and S. Main Street, according to KCPD Officer Alyana Gonzalez.

First responders found the driver of an ATV had attempted to avoid tire deflation devices. The driver popped a wheelie and struck the officer who set the devices. The impact caused the officer to fall to the ground before the ATV drove over him and sped off.

The officer was transported to a hospital for treatment of a critical head injury.&nbsp;

Anyone with information about the incident should report it to the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are searching for the driver of an ATV who drove over and critically injured Kansas City, Missouri Police officer.Just before 7p.m. on Saturday, police responded to a disturbance involving an officer at E. Truman Road and S. Main Street, according to KCPD Officer Alyana Gonzalez.First responders found the driver of an ATV had attempted to avoid tire deflation devices. The driver popped a wheelie and struck the officer who set the devices. The impact caused the officer to fall to the ground before the ATV drove over him and sped off.The officer was transported to a hospital for treatment of a critical head injury.&nbsp;Anyone with information about the incident should report it to the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Kansas City Police Officer hospitalized after struck by ATV

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/lindsay-whitehurst">LINDSAY WHITEHURST</a>&nbsp;and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday sided with the Trump administration in allowing immigration agents to conduct enforcement operations at houses of worship despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arrests-church-ban-lawsuit-trump-administration-7e0f3060033fc25c5982bc583587562c">a lawsuit filed by religious groups</a>&nbsp;over the new policy.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.

She found that only a handful of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-el-salvador-humanitarian-parole-registry-37ea881c165081c207be0c9d521d5108">immigration enforcement actions</a>&nbsp;have been conducted in or around churches or other houses of worship and that the evidence doesn’t show “that places of worship are being singled out as special targets.”

The groups argued the policy violated the right to practice their religion. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, attendance has declined significantly, with some areas showing double-digit percentage drops, they said.

The judge, though, found that the groups had not shown their drops were definitively linked to the church policy specifically, as opposed to broader increased actions by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a>&nbsp;or other agencies.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739901900435.png" alt="Photo Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photo Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/lindsay-whitehurst">LINDSAY WHITEHURST</a>&nbsp;and MICHAEL KUNZELMANWASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday sided with the Trump administration in allowing immigration agents to conduct enforcement operations at houses of worship despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arrests-church-ban-lawsuit-trump-administration-7e0f3060033fc25c5982bc583587562c">a lawsuit filed by religious groups</a>&nbsp;over the new policy.U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.She found that only a handful of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-el-salvador-humanitarian-parole-registry-37ea881c165081c207be0c9d521d5108">immigration enforcement actions</a>&nbsp;have been conducted in or around churches or other houses of worship and that the evidence doesn’t show “that places of worship are being singled out as special targets.”The groups argued the policy violated the right to practice their religion. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, attendance has declined significantly, with some areas showing double-digit percentage drops, they said.The judge, though, found that the groups had not shown their drops were definitively linked to the church policy specifically, as opposed to broader increased actions by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a>&nbsp;or other agencies.

Federal judge allows immigration raids in houses of worship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man who was falsely accused of being among the shooters who opened fire at a rally celebrating the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-d9f4466b69cbb2dfe0f007414aebe730">Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory</a>&nbsp;last year has died, his attorney said.

Denton Loudermill Jr., of Olathe, was briefly handcuffed but was never charged in the chaos that followed the deadly shooting. He later&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-lawmakers-lawsuit-e7fe8d9910c0a9518155c71ff2e7d558">filed lawsuits</a>&nbsp;against three Republican Missouri state senators and a Tennessee congressman who shared social media posts that falsely implicated him.

Those cases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-lawmakers-lawsuit-417e1c19a86c7983e3e36246c9f70e90">were all dismissed,</a>&nbsp;largely on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-congressman-lawsuit-aa35b46b43f502ed1da51c9659bb18c6">jurisdictional issues.</a>

Attorney LaRonna Lassiter Saunders confirmed Loudermill’s death&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=636412692729347&amp;id=100090818664168&amp;rdid=2xtrNZmyrf3QQl4B#">in a statement Friday</a>&nbsp;but gave no details on the circumstances. Loudermill was 49.

“More details will be provided in time, but for now, we ask that you honor the family’s need for privacy as they come together to grieve this tremendous loss,” she wrote.

The Feb. 14, 2024, shooting outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, killed a well-known DJ and injured more than 20 others, many of them children.

Loudermill’s lawsuits said he froze when the gunfire erupted, standing in the middle of the chaos so long that police had put up crime scene tape by the time he finally started to walked away. As he tried to leave, officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow.” They handcuffed him and put him on a curb, where people began taking pictures and posting them on social media, the lawsuits said.

Loudermill ultimately was led away and told he was free to go. But soon posts began appearing on X that included a picture of Loudermill, a car wash employee who was born and raised in the U.S. The posts called him an “illegal alien” and a “shooter,” even though he had no involvement, the lawsuits said.

Three men were ultimately charged with murder, and several other people faced other charges stemming from the shootings, which authorities said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-charge-ac4527e5290fccb3d20d9d7f69233040">stemmed from a dispute</a>&nbsp;between two groups of people.

Lassiter Saunders said she would continue fighting to clear Loudermill's name.

“While the family takes this time to mourn, we want to make it clear that this is not over. Mr. Loudermill should not have spent his final days burdened with stress and chasing down a lie that went viral due to the careless and heartless actions of a Congressman, Missouri senators, and social media influencers, who couldn’t be bothered to verify the truth before destroying a man’s life.

"If you thought we were determined before, you haven’t seen anything yet!” she concluded.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708018861457.jpeg" alt="Police clear the area following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Multiple people were injured, a fire official said.(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)." />
 <figcaption>Police clear the area following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Multiple people were injured, a fire official said.(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann).</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man who was falsely accused of being among the shooters who opened fire at a rally celebrating the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-d9f4466b69cbb2dfe0f007414aebe730">Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory</a>&nbsp;last year has died, his attorney said.Denton Loudermill Jr., of Olathe, was briefly handcuffed but was never charged in the chaos that followed the deadly shooting. He later&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-lawmakers-lawsuit-e7fe8d9910c0a9518155c71ff2e7d558">filed lawsuits</a>&nbsp;against three Republican Missouri state senators and a Tennessee congressman who shared social media posts that falsely implicated him.Those cases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-lawmakers-lawsuit-417e1c19a86c7983e3e36246c9f70e90">were all dismissed,</a>&nbsp;largely on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-congressman-lawsuit-aa35b46b43f502ed1da51c9659bb18c6">jurisdictional issues.</a>Attorney LaRonna Lassiter Saunders confirmed Loudermill’s death&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=636412692729347&amp;id=100090818664168&amp;rdid=2xtrNZmyrf3QQl4B#">in a statement Friday</a>&nbsp;but gave no details on the circumstances. Loudermill was 49.“More details will be provided in time, but for now, we ask that you honor the family’s need for privacy as they come together to grieve this tremendous loss,” she wrote.The Feb. 14, 2024, shooting outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, killed a well-known DJ and injured more than 20 others, many of them children.Loudermill’s lawsuits said he froze when the gunfire erupted, standing in the middle of the chaos so long that police had put up crime scene tape by the time he finally started to walked away. As he tried to leave, officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow.” They handcuffed him and put him on a curb, where people began taking pictures and posting them on social media, the lawsuits said.Loudermill ultimately was led away and told he was free to go. But soon posts began appearing on X that included a picture of Loudermill, a car wash employee who was born and raised in the U.S. The posts called him an “illegal alien” and a “shooter,” even though he had no involvement, the lawsuits said.Three men were ultimately charged with murder, and several other people faced other charges stemming from the shootings, which authorities said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-parade-shooting-charge-ac4527e5290fccb3d20d9d7f69233040">stemmed from a dispute</a>&nbsp;between two groups of people.Lassiter Saunders said she would continue fighting to clear Loudermill's name.“While the family takes this time to mourn, we want to make it clear that this is not over. Mr. Loudermill should not have spent his final days burdened with stress and chasing down a lie that went viral due to the careless and heartless actions of a Congressman, Missouri senators, and social media influencers, who couldn’t be bothered to verify the truth before destroying a man’s life."If you thought we were determined before, you haven’t seen anything yet!” she concluded.

Kan. man falsely accused of being a shooter at Chiefs Super Bowl rally has died

KANSAS CITY —A woman who was identified by SAVE KC as high-risk for violence, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for her involvement in a double homicide that took place in south Kansas City last year, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2566/LINDA-ATER-PLEA-AGREEMENT">Linda Ater, 18,&nbsp; pled guilty</a>&nbsp;to 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. She received 18 years for 2nd Degree Murder and 15 years for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, which will be served at the same time. She also received a three-year sentence for Armed Criminal Action, which will run consecutively, for a total of 21 years.&nbsp;

SAVE KC is a focused deterrence strategy involving the Prosecutor’s Office, the Kansas City Police Department, the City, and service providers, targeting those at-risk of violence. The identified clients are invited to a call-in where they are warned about enhanced enforcement and consequences if they continue engaging in criminal activity. Clients are offered services including housing support, job placement, mental health counseling, and more.&nbsp;

While the defendant was on the SAVE KC target list and was invited to a call-in, she did not attend.

“SAVE KC’s message is clear: give up crime, accept help, or face the full weight of prosecution. There are some, including the defendant, who do not heed our warnings and reject help. As a result, this young woman will spend the rest of her young years in prison,”&nbsp;said Prosecutor Johnson. “As we explain to SAVE KC clients, we care about your future, but violence will never be tolerated.”

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2567/LINDA-ATER-PCREDACTED">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were dispatched to the 6000 block of Blue Hills Road on Dec. 9 and located a man&nbsp; in the driver’s seat of a Nissan Sentra and a woman on the ground near the vehicle both suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Both victims were confirmed deceased.&nbsp;

Video surveillance shows the Nissan pulling into the apartment complex parking lot and park in front of the building. An individual, later identified as Ater, exits the Nissan holding a firearm with an extended magazine. Just a minute later, the defendant fires in the direction of the victim in the driver’s seat and then retreats into another vehicle, which flees the scene.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1744318371060.png" alt="Ater photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Ater photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A woman who was identified by SAVE KC as high-risk for violence, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for her involvement in a double homicide that took place in south Kansas City last year, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2566/LINDA-ATER-PLEA-AGREEMENT">Linda Ater, 18,&nbsp; pled guilty</a>&nbsp;to 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. She received 18 years for 2nd Degree Murder and 15 years for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, which will be served at the same time. She also received a three-year sentence for Armed Criminal Action, which will run consecutively, for a total of 21 years.&nbsp;SAVE KC is a focused deterrence strategy involving the Prosecutor’s Office, the Kansas City Police Department, the City, and service providers, targeting those at-risk of violence. The identified clients are invited to a call-in where they are warned about enhanced enforcement and consequences if they continue engaging in criminal activity. Clients are offered services including housing support, job placement, mental health counseling, and more.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1733792910134.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>While the defendant was on the SAVE KC target list and was invited to a call-in, she did not attend.“SAVE KC’s message is clear: give up crime, accept help, or face the full weight of prosecution. There are some, including the defendant, who do not heed our warnings and reject help. As a result, this young woman will spend the rest of her young years in prison,”&nbsp;said Prosecutor Johnson. “As we explain to SAVE KC clients, we care about your future, but violence will never be tolerated.”<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2567/LINDA-ATER-PCREDACTED">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were dispatched to the 6000 block of Blue Hills Road on Dec. 9 and located a man&nbsp; in the driver’s seat of a Nissan Sentra and a woman on the ground near the vehicle both suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Both victims were confirmed deceased.&nbsp;Video surveillance shows the Nissan pulling into the apartment complex parking lot and park in front of the building. An individual, later identified as Ater, exits the Nissan holding a firearm with an extended magazine. Just a minute later, the defendant fires in the direction of the victim in the driver’s seat and then retreats into another vehicle, which flees the scene.&nbsp;

 Security camera showed KC teen commit murder

SCOTT COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just before 10a.m. Saturday in Scott County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Subaru Tribeca driven by Sye Micheal Voth, 31, Scott City, was southbound on Eagle Road at Road 160 approximately one mile north of Kansas 96.

The driver failed to yield right way to an eastbound 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Kenneth Lloyd Lee&nbsp;Crow, 39, Scott City.&nbsp; &nbsp;The pickup collided with the SUV.&nbsp; After impact both vehicles came to a rest in a field south of Road 160.

Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp;Price &amp; Sons Funeral Home. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

SCOTT COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just before 10a.m. Saturday in Scott County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Subaru Tribeca driven by Sye Micheal Voth, 31, Scott City, was southbound on Eagle Road at Road 160 approximately one mile north of Kansas 96.The driver failed to yield right way to an eastbound 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Kenneth Lloyd Lee&nbsp;Crow, 39, Scott City.&nbsp; &nbsp;The pickup collided with the SUV.&nbsp; After impact both vehicles came to a rest in a field south of Road 160.Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp;Price &amp; Sons Funeral Home. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

Two Kansas men dead after pickup, SUV crash

KANSAS CITY (AP) —The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. declined for the third week in a row, another positive move for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the housing market’s busy season.

The rate fell to 6.62% from 6.64% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.88%.

The average rate has mostly trended lower since reaching just over 7% in mid-January. When mortgage rates decline, they boost homebuyers’ purchasing power.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, were unchanged from last week. The average rate remained at 5.82%, but is down 6.16% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions and bond market investors’ expectations for future inflation.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage loosely follows moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The yield, which has mostly fallen this year after climbing to around 4.8% in mid-January, has been volatile of late as bond investors reacted to the Trump administration’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tariffs-timeline-trade-war-trump-canada-mexico-china-a9d714eea677488ef9397547d838dbd0">escalate U.S. tariffs on goods imported from nations around the world.</a>

After sliding to just 4.01% at the end of last week, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to nearly 4.5% Wednesday morning. It was at 4.36% in afternoon trading Thursday following the White House’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-stock-market-china-recession-deals-e8e54a68397e6829e1d27552a1d7bfb9">temporarily pause the new tariffs</a>&nbsp;on most nations, even while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-response-us-tariffs-104-d40d497f6e07ee4163d88443cb75ab3f">increasing import taxes on China.</a>

The latest drop in mortgage rates partially reflects the bond market’s uncertainty over the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff policy, which is likely to keep mortgage rates volatile, said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

“All of the uncertainty in the economy and in the mortgage market is making it difficult for prospective homebuyers to know what to do,” she said. “Should they buy now or wait until later this year and hope that rates will come down further?”

Recent forecasts by housing economists generally called for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain around 6.5% this year.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>.

Easing mortgage rates and more homes on the market nationally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-6b0a5692ad279ee25f106fde04656713">helped drive sales higher in February from the previous month</a>, though they were down year-over-year.

Still, home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates may benefit from more buyer-friendly trends this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/real-estate-housing-mortgage-rates-home-prices-c845172a7bcb8b5866dc4802361caf9e">spring homebuying season</a>, including a sharp increase in home listings and lower asking prices in some metro areas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659001075252.jpeg" alt="File AP photo" />
 <figcaption>File AP photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By ALEX VEIGAKANSAS CITY (AP) —The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. declined for the third week in a row, another positive move for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the housing market’s busy season.The rate fell to 6.62% from 6.64% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.88%.The average rate has mostly trended lower since reaching just over 7% in mid-January. When mortgage rates decline, they boost homebuyers’ purchasing power.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, were unchanged from last week. The average rate remained at 5.82%, but is down 6.16% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions and bond market investors’ expectations for future inflation.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage loosely follows moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.The yield, which has mostly fallen this year after climbing to around 4.8% in mid-January, has been volatile of late as bond investors reacted to the Trump administration’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tariffs-timeline-trade-war-trump-canada-mexico-china-a9d714eea677488ef9397547d838dbd0">escalate U.S. tariffs on goods imported from nations around the world.</a>After sliding to just 4.01% at the end of last week, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to nearly 4.5% Wednesday morning. It was at 4.36% in afternoon trading Thursday following the White House’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-stock-market-china-recession-deals-e8e54a68397e6829e1d27552a1d7bfb9">temporarily pause the new tariffs</a>&nbsp;on most nations, even while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-response-us-tariffs-104-d40d497f6e07ee4163d88443cb75ab3f">increasing import taxes on China.</a>The latest drop in mortgage rates partially reflects the bond market’s uncertainty over the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff policy, which is likely to keep mortgage rates volatile, said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.“All of the uncertainty in the economy and in the mortgage market is making it difficult for prospective homebuyers to know what to do,” she said. “Should they buy now or wait until later this year and hope that rates will come down further?”Recent forecasts by housing economists generally called for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain around 6.5% this year.The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-b7645724538b7a860c1d739e8b05380d">lowest level in nearly 30 years</a>.Easing mortgage rates and more homes on the market nationally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-home-sales-real-estate-home-prices-6b0a5692ad279ee25f106fde04656713">helped drive sales higher in February from the previous month</a>, though they were down year-over-year.Still, home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates may benefit from more buyer-friendly trends this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/real-estate-housing-mortgage-rates-home-prices-c845172a7bcb8b5866dc4802361caf9e">spring homebuying season</a>, including a sharp increase in home listings and lower asking prices in some metro areas.

Average rate on a 30-year mortgage is down for 3rd consecutive week

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. House on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-save-act-citizenship-voting-elections-a37c139461d11eb5f82086680b67ffe7">approved legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-congress-citizenship-voter-id-republicans-88342cf09d01b0555851aa3d64c45432">proof of U.S. citizenship</a>&nbsp;for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans.

The requirement has been a top election-related&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-elections-trump-executive-order-4e9edb53f47e61e241a43ceef8164022">priority for President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and House Republicans, who argue it’s needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70">rare</a>&nbsp;and, as numerous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/noncitizen-voting-republicans-prosecutions-2024-election-ohio-ae9dafeeb47ea8941bf82f5988b269ef">state cases</a>&nbsp;have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It’s already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.

The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-elections-citizenship-voter-id-republicans-17c6e7877b7ba63a08b68a771c92da92">the SAVE Act</a>, now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain because Republicans don’t have a large enough majority to avoid a filibuster.

Here’s a look at key issues in the debate over a proof of citizenship requirement for voting:

Who would be affected if the bill becomes law?

If it eventually becomes the law, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately and apply to all voter registration applications.

“This has no impact on individuals that are currently registered to vote,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been advocating for the bill.

Voting rights groups say there is more to the story. The law would affect voters who already are registered if they move, change their name or otherwise need to update their registration. That was acknowledged to some extent by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, during a recent hearing on the legislation.

“The idea here is that for individuals to be able to continue to vote if they are registered,” Roy said. “If they have an intervening event or if the states want to clean the rolls, people would come forward to register to demonstrate their citizenship so we could convert our system over some reasonable time to a citizenship-based registration system.”

What documents would be required to register?

The SAVE Act compels states to reject any voter registration application in which the applicant has not presented “documentary proof of United States citizenship.”

Among the acceptable documents for demonstrating proof of citizenship are:

— A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license that “indicates the applicant is a citizen.”

— A military ID card with a military record of service that lists the applicant’s birthplace as in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID that shows the applicant’s birthplace was in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID presented with a document such as a certified birth certificate that shows the birthplace was in the U.S.

What if my driver’s license doesn’t list my birthplace or indicate I’m a US citizen?

In general, driver’s licenses do not list a birthplace or indicate that the card holder is a citizen – even many that are REAL ID-compliant.

REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005 to set minimum standards for IDs such as driver’s licenses and requires applicants to provide a Social Security number and demonstrate lawful status either as a citizen or legal resident.

After years of delays, any driver’s license used for identification to pass through airport security will have to be REAL ID-compliant beginning May 7. U.S. passports will still be acceptable.

Although states designate REAL ID compliance on driver’s licenses with a marking such as a gold or black star, that alone would not indicate U.S. citizenship. People who are legal residents but not citizens also can obtain a REAL ID.

States are currently not required to label IDs with a “citizen” mark, although a handful of states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington) offer a citizen-only REAL ID alternative that might meet SAVE Act requirements. Republicans say they hope more states will move in the direction of IDs that indicate citizenship.

“The structure is put in place now to -- I think there’s at least five states that do have the citizenship status as part of the REAL ID -- encourage more states to do so,” Roy said. “That would be part of the goal here.”

Adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by the Department of Homeland Security.

What about people who can’t access birth or marriage certificates?

Voting rights group say the list of documents doesn’t consider the realities facing millions of Americans who do not have easy access to their birth certificates and the roughly half who do not have a U.S. passport.

They also worry about additional hurdles for women whose birth certificates don’t match their current IDs because they changed their name after getting married. There were examples of this during local elections last month in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/save-act-voting-proof-citizenship-new-hampshire-5105986c3fc354d3d61ec3480b49c788">New Hampshire</a>, which recently implemented a proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

Republicans say there is a provision in the SAVE Act that directs states to develop a process for accepting supplemental documents such as a marriage certificate, which could establish the connection between a birth certificate and a government-issued ID.

They argue the process is similar to obtaining a U.S. passport or REAL ID-compliant driver’s license.

“We have mechanisms giving the state fairly significant deference to make determinations as to how to structure the situation where an individual does have a name change,” Roy said. “The process is specifically contemplated in this legislation.”

Democrats counter that the bill should have specified how this was to be done, rather than creating the potential to have 50 different rules.

The legislation says applicants who submit the federal voter registration form by mail must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person to their local election office under a deadline set by their state.

Voting rights groups have noted this would be a huge barrier for people who live in more rural parts of the country, where the nearest election office might be hours away by car.

The SAVE Act directs states, in consultation with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are made to allow individuals with disabilities who submit the form to provide proof of citizenship to their election official.

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. House on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-save-act-citizenship-voting-elections-a37c139461d11eb5f82086680b67ffe7">approved legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-congress-citizenship-voter-id-republicans-88342cf09d01b0555851aa3d64c45432">proof of U.S. citizenship</a>&nbsp;for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans.The requirement has been a top election-related&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-elections-trump-executive-order-4e9edb53f47e61e241a43ceef8164022">priority for President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and House Republicans, who argue it’s needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70">rare</a>&nbsp;and, as numerous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/noncitizen-voting-republicans-prosecutions-2024-election-ohio-ae9dafeeb47ea8941bf82f5988b269ef">state cases</a>&nbsp;have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It’s already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-elections-citizenship-voter-id-republicans-17c6e7877b7ba63a08b68a771c92da92">the SAVE Act</a>, now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain because Republicans don’t have a large enough majority to avoid a filibuster.Here’s a look at key issues in the debate over a proof of citizenship requirement for voting:<h2>Who would be affected if the bill becomes law?</h2>If it eventually becomes the law, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately and apply to all voter registration applications.“This has no impact on individuals that are currently registered to vote,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been advocating for the bill.Voting rights groups say there is more to the story. The law would affect voters who already are registered if they move, change their name or otherwise need to update their registration. That was acknowledged to some extent by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, during a recent hearing on the legislation.“The idea here is that for individuals to be able to continue to vote if they are registered,” Roy said. “If they have an intervening event or if the states want to clean the rolls, people would come forward to register to demonstrate their citizenship so we could convert our system over some reasonable time to a citizenship-based registration system.”<h2>What documents would be required to register?</h2>The SAVE Act compels states to reject any voter registration application in which the applicant has not presented “documentary proof of United States citizenship.”Among the acceptable documents for demonstrating proof of citizenship are:— A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license that “indicates the applicant is a citizen.”— A valid U.S. passport.— A military ID card with a military record of service that lists the applicant’s birthplace as in the U.S.— A valid government-issued photo ID that shows the applicant’s birthplace was in the U.S.— A valid government-issued photo ID presented with a document such as a certified birth certificate that shows the birthplace was in the U.S.<h2>What if my driver’s license doesn’t list my birthplace or indicate I’m a US citizen?</h2>In general, driver’s licenses do not list a birthplace or indicate that the card holder is a citizen – even many that are REAL ID-compliant.REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005 to set minimum standards for IDs such as driver’s licenses and requires applicants to provide a Social Security number and demonstrate lawful status either as a citizen or legal resident.After years of delays, any driver’s license used for identification to pass through airport security will have to be REAL ID-compliant beginning May 7. U.S. passports will still be acceptable.Although states designate REAL ID compliance on driver’s licenses with a marking such as a gold or black star, that alone would not indicate U.S. citizenship. People who are legal residents but not citizens also can obtain a REAL ID.States are currently not required to label IDs with a “citizen” mark, although a handful of states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington) offer a citizen-only REAL ID alternative that might meet SAVE Act requirements. Republicans say they hope more states will move in the direction of IDs that indicate citizenship.“The structure is put in place now to -- I think there’s at least five states that do have the citizenship status as part of the REAL ID -- encourage more states to do so,” Roy said. “That would be part of the goal here.”Adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by the Department of Homeland Security.<h2>What about people who can’t access birth or marriage certificates?</h2>Voting rights group say the list of documents doesn’t consider the realities facing millions of Americans who do not have easy access to their birth certificates and the roughly half who do not have a U.S. passport.They also worry about additional hurdles for women whose birth certificates don’t match their current IDs because they changed their name after getting married. There were examples of this during local elections last month in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/save-act-voting-proof-citizenship-new-hampshire-5105986c3fc354d3d61ec3480b49c788">New Hampshire</a>, which recently implemented a proof of citizenship requirement for voting.Republicans say there is a provision in the SAVE Act that directs states to develop a process for accepting supplemental documents such as a marriage certificate, which could establish the connection between a birth certificate and a government-issued ID.They argue the process is similar to obtaining a U.S. passport or REAL ID-compliant driver’s license.“We have mechanisms giving the state fairly significant deference to make determinations as to how to structure the situation where an individual does have a name change,” Roy said. “The process is specifically contemplated in this legislation.”Democrats counter that the bill should have specified how this was to be done, rather than creating the potential to have 50 different rules.<h2>How do people submit their documents?</h2>The legislation says applicants who submit the federal voter registration form by mail must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person to their local election office under a deadline set by their state.Voting rights groups have noted this would be a huge barrier for people who live in more rural parts of the country, where the nearest election office might be hours away by car.The SAVE Act directs states, in consultation with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are made to allow individuals with disabilities who submit the form to provide proof of citizenship to their election official.The legislation also considers that some states permit same-day voter registration and says, in those cases, voters must present proof of citizenship at their polling location “not later than the date of the election.”That would mean that people who do not have such proof with them would have to return with their documents before polls close to be registered and have their ballot counted.It’s less clear what this means for those states that have online voter registration systems or automatic voter registration set up through their state’s motor vehicle agency. Democratic state election officials have raised concerns that the legislation means these processes would no longer be operational under the proposal.The legislation says anyone registering through a state motor vehicle agency also is required to provide proof of citizenship. It directs the Election Assistance Commission to issue guidance to state election officials about implementing the law’s requirements.<h2>Why did Republicans bring this up?</h2>Republicans say any instance of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70">voting by noncitizens</a>, no matter how rare, is unacceptable and undermines confidence in U.S. elections.Democrats respond by saying that voting by noncitizens is already illegal in federal elections —those for president and Congress — and penalties can result in fines and deportation. They say Congress should be more focused on helping states improve their ability to identify and remove any noncitizens who might end up on voter lists instead of forcing everyone to prove citizenship beforehand.A recent review in Michigan identified 15 people who appear to be noncitizens who voted in the 2024 general election, out of more than 5.7 million ballots cast in the state. Of those, 13 were referred to the attorney general for potential criminal charges. One involved a voter who has since died, and the final case remains under investigation.“Our careful review confirms what we already knew – that this illegal activity is very rare,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement. “While we take all violations of election law very seriously, this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections.”