DOUGLAS COUNTY—Law enforcement on Tuesday shared a unique video of an arrest after a chase following a crash on a Kansas highway.

On Monday night, sheriff's deputies used a drone to locate a suspect in a field near the unincorporated Douglas County community of Vinland, according to the Douglas County Sheriff.

He had fled from a crash into a ditch in a vehicle that identified as involved in an earlier pursuit with another agency.

DOUGLAS COUNTY—Law enforcement on Tuesday shared a unique video of an arrest after a chase following a crash on a Kansas highway.On Monday night, sheriff's deputies used a drone to locate a suspect in a field near the unincorporated Douglas County community of Vinland, according to the Douglas County Sheriff.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Deputies on Monday night used a drone to locate a suspect in a field near Vinland. He had fled from a crash into a ditch. Deputies identified the vehicle as one involved in an earlier pursuit with another agency. <a href="https://t.co/BdpKqBt8Rq">pic.twitter.com/BdpKqBt8Rq</a>&mdash; Douglas Co. Sheriff (@DGSOSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DGSOSheriff/status/1957904224886403179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>He had fled from a crash into a ditch in a vehicle that identified as involved in an earlier pursuit with another agency.

🎥 Kan. deputies use a drone to capture suspect hiding in a field

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning.

The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.

A Defense Department official confirmed that the military assets have been assigned to the region in support of counter narcotics efforts. The official, who was not authorized to comment about military planning, said the vessels would be deployed “over the course of several months.”

The deployment of U.S. destroyers and personnel comes as Trump has pushed for using the U.S. military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities and for perpetuating violence in some U.S. cities.

Trump has also pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cartels-trump-administration-bondi-justice-department-712bdb8f99522ee72ec357492cfa393b">Mexico’s cartels</a>. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-us-drug-cartels-terrorist-organizations-8f010b9762964417039b65a10131ff64">Mexico’s sovereignty</a>, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military.

Trump in February&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cartels-foreign-terrorist-organizations-eb35567b69fc66f13f7f79fb90906a50">designated</a>&nbsp;Venezuela’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tren-de-aragua-gang-venezuela-trump-40ec0390047c2b17e961dd029da02e65">Tren de Aragua</a>, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations. His Republican administration has also stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.

The designation is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/drug-cartels">the Latin American cartels</a>.

But the Trump administration argues the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation.

Earlier this month, the Trump government announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-fbi-bondi-justice-department-0e618369ca68b79b1a2143a95955344a">doubling to $50 million</a>&nbsp;a reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine.

The press office of Venezuela’s government did not respond to a request for comment from the AP on the deployment of the destroyers. But without mentioning the ships, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil in a statement Tuesday characterized the U.S. government’s drug-trafficking accusations against Venezuela.

“Washington’s accusing Venezuela of drug trafficking reveals its lack of credibility and the failure of its policies in the region,” Gil said. “While Washington threatens, Venezuela steadily advances in peace and sovereignty, demonstrating that true effectiveness against crime is achieved by respecting the independence of its peoples. Every aggressive statement confirms the inability of imperialism to subdue a free and sovereign people.”

The statement was followed by the government’s decision to temporarily ban the purchase, sale and operation of drones in Venezuela’s airspace. In 2018, drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-ba6e6ef53ea34030b1e1b4c5fca79a6d">in an apparent assassination attempt</a>&nbsp;while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television.

On Monday, Maduro said the U.S. had increased its threats against Venezuela and announced the planned deployment of more than 4.5 million militia members around the country. The militias were created by then-President Hugo Chávez to incorporate volunteers who could assist the armed forces in the defense of external and domestic attacks.

“The empire has gone mad and has renewed its threats to Venezuela’s peace and tranquility,” Maduro said at an event in Caracas, without mentioning any specific action.

Maduro was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.

Rueda reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano contributed to this report from Mexico City.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755651756653.png" alt="Earlier this month, the Trump government announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-fbi-bondi-justice-department-0e618369ca68b79b1a2143a95955344a">doubling to $50 million</a>&nbsp;a reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine." />
 <figcaption>Earlier this month, the Trump government announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-fbi-bondi-justice-department-0e618369ca68b79b1a2143a95955344a">doubling to $50 million</a>&nbsp;a reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Whoa… The US currently has warships and 4,000 marines on rout to Venezuela Karoline Leavitt says the Venezuelan President is not the legitimate president and is a Narco Terrorist.. wanted for trafficking drugs into the United States<a href="https://t.co/Y8rb66Y4hI">https://t.co/Y8rb66Y4hI</a> <a href="https://t.co/5KeYk4qxnf">pic.twitter.com/5KeYk4qxnf</a>&mdash; MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJTruthUltra/status/1957913503672471746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.A Defense Department official confirmed that the military assets have been assigned to the region in support of counter narcotics efforts. The official, who was not authorized to comment about military planning, said the vessels would be deployed “over the course of several months.”The deployment of U.S. destroyers and personnel comes as Trump has pushed for using the U.S. military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities and for perpetuating violence in some U.S. cities.Trump has also pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cartels-trump-administration-bondi-justice-department-712bdb8f99522ee72ec357492cfa393b">Mexico’s cartels</a>. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-us-drug-cartels-terrorist-organizations-8f010b9762964417039b65a10131ff64">Mexico’s sovereignty</a>, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military.Trump in February&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cartels-foreign-terrorist-organizations-eb35567b69fc66f13f7f79fb90906a50">designated</a>&nbsp;Venezuela’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tren-de-aragua-gang-venezuela-trump-40ec0390047c2b17e961dd029da02e65">Tren de Aragua</a>, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations. His Republican administration has also stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.The designation is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/drug-cartels">the Latin American cartels</a>.But the Trump administration argues the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation.Earlier this month, the Trump government announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-fbi-bondi-justice-department-0e618369ca68b79b1a2143a95955344a">doubling to $50 million</a>&nbsp;a reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine.The press office of Venezuela’s government did not respond to a request for comment from the AP on the deployment of the destroyers. But without mentioning the ships, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil in a statement Tuesday characterized the U.S. government’s drug-trafficking accusations against Venezuela.“Washington’s accusing Venezuela of drug trafficking reveals its lack of credibility and the failure of its policies in the region,” Gil said. “While Washington threatens, Venezuela steadily advances in peace and sovereignty, demonstrating that true effectiveness against crime is achieved by respecting the independence of its peoples. Every aggressive statement confirms the inability of imperialism to subdue a free and sovereign people.”The statement was followed by the government’s decision to temporarily ban the purchase, sale and operation of drones in Venezuela’s airspace. In 2018, drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-ba6e6ef53ea34030b1e1b4c5fca79a6d">in an apparent assassination attempt</a>&nbsp;while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television.On Monday, Maduro said the U.S. had increased its threats against Venezuela and announced the planned deployment of more than 4.5 million militia members around the country. The militias were created by then-President Hugo Chávez to incorporate volunteers who could assist the armed forces in the defense of external and domestic attacks.“The empire has gone mad and has renewed its threats to Venezuela’s peace and tranquility,” Maduro said at an event in Caracas, without mentioning any specific action.Maduro was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.___Rueda reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano contributed to this report from Mexico City.

US deploys warships near Venezuela to pressure drug cartels

JOHNSON COUNTY — A man admitted his role in a drug overdose death.

On August 14, Joseph Thomas Miller pleaded guilty to distribution of drugs causing death in connection with he death of 33-year-old Mason Findley of Wellsville in August of 2024, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.&nbsp;

In February,&nbsp; police found and arrested Miller in Kansas City in connection with the alleged crime, according to Jackson County court records.&nbsp;

In August of 2024, Miller sold a controlled substance to Findley which ultimately caused his death, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Johnson County, Kansas District Attorney's office.

Miller of Blue Springs was extradited to Kansas to face justice. He is scheduled for sentencing on October 8.&nbsp; <a href="https://memorials.brucefuneralhome.com/mason-findley/5476330/">Click here to read Mason Findley's obituary.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755639317775.png" alt="Mason Findley is survived by a wife and three children. Photo courtesy Bruce Funeral Home" />
 <figcaption>Mason Findley is survived by a wife and three children. Photo courtesy Bruce Funeral Home</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY — A man admitted his role in a drug overdose death.On August 14, Joseph Thomas Miller pleaded guilty to distribution of drugs causing death in connection with he death of 33-year-old Mason Findley of Wellsville in August of 2024, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755391331093.png" alt="Miller photo Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Miller photo Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>In February,&nbsp; police found and arrested Miller in Kansas City in connection with the alleged crime, according to Jackson County court records.&nbsp;In August of 2024, Miller sold a controlled substance to Findley which ultimately caused his death, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Johnson County, Kansas District Attorney's office.Miller of Blue Springs was extradited to Kansas to face justice. He is scheduled for sentencing on October 8.&nbsp; <a href="https://memorials.brucefuneralhome.com/mason-findley/5476330/">Click here to read Mason Findley's obituary.</a>

Suspect admits selling drugs that killed Kansas man

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. gymnastics world was only just recovering from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-0c2c815aa329494ea687d11db4c4653d">devastating sexual abuse scandal</a>&nbsp;when a promising young coach moved from Mississippi to Iowa to take a job in 2018 at an elite academy known for training Olympic champions.

Liang “Chow” Qiao, the owner of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, thought highly enough of his new hire, Sean Gardner, to put him in charge of the club's premier junior event and to coach some of its most promising girls.

But four years later, Gardner was gone from Chow’s with little notice.

USA Gymnastics, the organization rocked by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-lansing-in-state-wire-3b446f2430674bafb5b6909549ea8142">Larry Nassar sex-abuse crisis</a>&nbsp;that led to the creation of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, had been informed by the watchdog group that Gardner was suspended from all contact with gymnasts.

The reason for Gardner’s removal wasn’t disclosed. But court records obtained exclusively by The Associated Press show the coach was accused of sexually abusing at least three young gymnasts at Chow’s and secretly recording others undressing in a gym bathroom at his prior job in Mississippi.

Last week, more than three years after being suspended from coaching, the FBI arrested Gardner, 38, on a federal child pornography charge. But his disciplinary case has still not been resolved by SafeSport, which handles sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports.

In cases like Gardner’s, the public can be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-sex-abuse-safesport-nassar-dff194c817ea985fe7f94055edbeb0b7">in the dark for years while SafeSport investigates</a>&nbsp;and sanctions coaches. SafeSport requires that allegations be reported to police to ensure abusers don’t run unchecked outside of sports, but critics say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/butt-slap-safesport-swimming-olympics-sexual-abuse-3699dae4adc281696ae1fbb5f7b76c6a">system is a slow, murky process.</a>

“From an outward operational view, it seems that if SafeSport is involved in any way, the situation turns glow-in-the-dark toxic,” said attorney Steve Silvey, a longtime SafeSport critic who has represented people in cases involving the center.

While acknowledging there can be delays as its investigations unfold, SafeSport defended its temporary suspensions in a statement as “a unique and valuable intervention” when there are concerns of a risk to others.

Nevertheless, in 2024, Gardner was able to land a job helping care for surgical patients at an Iowa hospital — two years after the abuse allegations against him were reported to SafeSport and the police.

And it was not until late May that West Des Moines police executed a search warrant at his home, eventually leading to the recovery of a trove of photos and videos on his computer and cellphone of nude young girls, court records show.

Authorities in Iowa sealed the court documents after the AP asked about the investigation earlier this month, before details of the federal charge were made public Friday. Gardner, Qiao and Gardner’s former employer in Mississippi did not respond to AP requests for comment.

Chow’s Gymnastics is best known as the academy where U.S. gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas trained before becoming gold medalists at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Qiao opened the gym in 1998 after starring on the Chinese national team and moving to the United States to coach at the University of Iowa. The gym became a draw for top youth gymnasts, with some families moving to Iowa to train there.

Gardner moved to Iowa in September 2018, jumping at the opportunity to coach under Qiao.

“This is the job that I’ve always wanted. Chow is really someone I have looked up to since I’ve been coaching,” Gardner told the ABC affiliate WOI-TV in 2019. “And you can tell when you step foot in the gym, just even from coaching the girls, the culture that he’s built. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful.”

A year later, Gardner was promoted to director of Chow’s Winter Classic, an annual meet that draws more than 1,000 gymnasts to Iowa. He also coached a junior Olympics team during his four-year tenure at Chow’s.

Several of his students earned college gymnastics scholarships, but Gardner said he had bigger goals.

“You want to leave a thumbprint on their life, so when they go off hopefully to school, to bigger and better things, that they remember Chow’s as family,” he said in a 2020 interview with WOI-TV.

Coach accused of sexual misconduct in Iowa and Mississippi

Gardner is accused of abusing his position at Chow’s and his former job at Jump’In Gymnastics in Mississippi to prey on girls under his tutelage, according to a nine-page FBI affidavit released Friday that summarizes the allegations against him.

A girl reported to SafeSport in March 2022 that Gardner used “inappropriate spotting techniques” in which he would put his hands between her legs and touch her vagina, the affidavit said.

It said she alleged Gardner would ask girls if they were sexually active and call them “idiots, sluts, and whores.” She said this behavior began after his hiring in 2018 and continued until she left the gym in 2020 and provided the names of six other potential victims.

SafeSport suspended Gardner in July 2022 – four months after the girl's report – a provisional step it can take in severe cases with “sufficient evidentiary support” as investigations proceed.

A month after that, the center received a report from another girl alleging additional “sexual contact and physical abuse,” including that Gardner similarly fondled her during workouts, the FBI affidavit said. The girl said that he once dragged her across the carpet so hard that it burned her buttocks, the affidavit said.

SafeSport shared the reports with West Des Moines police, in line with its policy requiring adults who interact with youth athletes to disclose potential criminal cases to law enforcement.

While SafeSport's suspension took Gardner out of gymnastics, the criminal investigation quickly hit a roadblock.

Police records show a detective told SafeSport to urge the alleged victims to file criminal complaints, but only one of their mothers contacted police in 2022. That woman said her daughter did not want to pursue criminal charges, and police suspended the investigation.

Victims of abuse are often reluctant to cooperate with police, said Ken Lang, a retired detective and associate professor of criminal justice at Milligan University.

“In this case you have the prestige of this facility,” he said. “Do they want to associate their name with that, in that way, when their aspirations were to succeed in gymnastics?”

Police suspended the investigation, even as Gardner was on probation for his second-offense of driving while intoxicated.

A dormant case reopened, and a year later, an arrest

The case stayed dormant until April 2024 when another former Chow’s student came forward to the West Des Moines Police Department to report abuse allegations, according to a now-sealed affidavit signed by police detective Jeff Lyon. The AP is not identifying the student in line with its policy of not naming victims of alleged sexual abuse.

The now 18-year-old told police she began taking lessons from Gardner when she was 11 or 12 in 2019, initially seeing him as a “father figure” who tried to help her get through her parents’ divorce. He told her she could tell him “anything,” the affidavit said.

When she moved in 2021, she told police, he gave her a hug and said she could text and follow him on Instagram and other social media sites, where he went by the nickname “Coach Seanie,” because gym policy barring such contact no longer applied.

According to a summary of her statement provided in Lyon’s affidavit, she said Gardner fondled her during exercises, repeatedly touching her vagina; rubbed her back and butt and discussed his sex life; and made her do inappropriate stretches that exposed her privates.

She told police she suspected he used his cellphone to film her in that position.

Reached by the AP, the teen’s mother declined comment. The mother told police she was interested in a monetary settlement with Chow’s because the gym “had been made aware of the complaints and they did nothing to stop them,” according to Lyon’s affidavit. The gym didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.

It took 16 months after the teen’s 2024 report for the FBI to arrest Gardner, who made an initial court appearance in Des Moines on Friday on a charge of producing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which can carry up to 30 years in prison. A public defender assigned to represent him didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.

It’s unclear why the case took so long to investigate and also when the FBI, which had to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/larry-nassar-justice-department-settlement-3b760f3d317cbe18209aa02a611a298f">pay $138 million to Nassar’s victims</a>&nbsp;for botching that investigation, got involved in the case.

Among evidence seized by investigators in late May were a cellphone, laptop and a desktop computer along with handwritten notes between Gardner and his former pupils, according to the sealed court documents.

They found images of girls, approximately 6 to 14 years in age, who were nude, using the toilet or changing into leotards, those documents show. Those images appear to have come from a hidden camera in a restroom.

They also uncovered 50 video files and 400 photos, including some that appeared to be child pornography, according to the FBI affidavit. One video allegedly shows Gardner entering the bathroom and turning off the camera.

Investigators also found images of an adult woman secretly filmed entering and exiting a bathtub, and identified her as Gardner’s ex-girlfriend. That woman as well as the gym’s owner, Candi Workman, told investigators the images appeared to come from Jump’In Gymnastics’ facility in Purvis, Mississippi, which has since been closed.

SafeSport has long touted that it can deliver sanctions in cases where criminal charges are not pursued as key to its mission. However, Gardner’s ability to land a job in health care illustrates the limits of that power: It can ban people from sports but that sanction is not guaranteed to reach the general public.

While not commenting about Gardner’s case directly, it said in a statement provided to AP that a number of issues factor into why cases can take so long to close, including the 8,000 reports it receives a year with only around 30 full-time investigators. It has revamped&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-abuse-safesport-1685e2e20397de86a28b6479793b47c3">some procedures, it said,</a>&nbsp;in an attempt to become more efficient.

“While the Center is able and often does cooperate in law enforcement investigations,” it said, “law enforcement is not required to share information, updates, or even confirm an investigation is ongoing.”

USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung called the center’s task “really tough, difficult to navigate.”

“I would like to see more consistency with their outcomes and sanctions,” Leung said. “I would like to see more standardization on things. I would like to see more communication, more transparency from their side.”

A case that lingers, even after the SafeSport ban

As the investigation proceeded, Gardner said on his Facebook page he had landed a new job in May 2024 as a surgical technologist at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center. It's a role that calls for positioning patients on the operating room table, and assisting with procedures and post-surgery care.

Asked about Gardner’s employment, hospital spokesman Todd Mizener told the AP: “The only information I can provide is that he is no longer" at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the case lingers, leaving lives in limbo more than three years after the SafeSport Center and police first learned of it.

“SafeSport is now part of a larger problem rather than a solution, if it was ever a solution,” said attorney Silvey. “The most fundamental professional task such as coordination with local or federal law enforcement gets botched on a daily basis, hundreds of times a year now.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755612703063.png" alt="Gardner photo Iowa Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Gardner photo Iowa Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>By RYAN J. FOLEY and EDDIE PELLS&nbsp;IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. gymnastics world was only just recovering from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-0c2c815aa329494ea687d11db4c4653d">devastating sexual abuse scandal</a>&nbsp;when a promising young coach moved from Mississippi to Iowa to take a job in 2018 at an elite academy known for training Olympic champions.Liang “Chow” Qiao, the owner of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, thought highly enough of his new hire, Sean Gardner, to put him in charge of the club's premier junior event and to coach some of its most promising girls.But four years later, Gardner was gone from Chow’s with little notice.USA Gymnastics, the organization rocked by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-lansing-in-state-wire-3b446f2430674bafb5b6909549ea8142">Larry Nassar sex-abuse crisis</a>&nbsp;that led to the creation of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, had been informed by the watchdog group that Gardner was suspended from all contact with gymnasts.The reason for Gardner’s removal wasn’t disclosed. But court records obtained exclusively by The Associated Press show the coach was accused of sexually abusing at least three young gymnasts at Chow’s and secretly recording others undressing in a gym bathroom at his prior job in Mississippi.Last week, more than three years after being suspended from coaching, the FBI arrested Gardner, 38, on a federal child pornography charge. But his disciplinary case has still not been resolved by SafeSport, which handles sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports.In cases like Gardner’s, the public can be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-sex-abuse-safesport-nassar-dff194c817ea985fe7f94055edbeb0b7">in the dark for years while SafeSport investigates</a>&nbsp;and sanctions coaches. SafeSport requires that allegations be reported to police to ensure abusers don’t run unchecked outside of sports, but critics say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/butt-slap-safesport-swimming-olympics-sexual-abuse-3699dae4adc281696ae1fbb5f7b76c6a">system is a slow, murky process.</a>“From an outward operational view, it seems that if SafeSport is involved in any way, the situation turns glow-in-the-dark toxic,” said attorney Steve Silvey, a longtime SafeSport critic who has represented people in cases involving the center.While acknowledging there can be delays as its investigations unfold, SafeSport defended its temporary suspensions in a statement as “a unique and valuable intervention” when there are concerns of a risk to others.Nevertheless, in 2024, Gardner was able to land a job helping care for surgical patients at an Iowa hospital — two years after the abuse allegations against him were reported to SafeSport and the police.And it was not until late May that West Des Moines police executed a search warrant at his home, eventually leading to the recovery of a trove of photos and videos on his computer and cellphone of nude young girls, court records show.Authorities in Iowa sealed the court documents after the AP asked about the investigation earlier this month, before details of the federal charge were made public Friday. Gardner, Qiao and Gardner’s former employer in Mississippi did not respond to AP requests for comment.<h2>‘The job that I’ve always wanted’</h2>Chow’s Gymnastics is best known as the academy where U.S. gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas trained before becoming gold medalists at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.Qiao opened the gym in 1998 after starring on the Chinese national team and moving to the United States to coach at the University of Iowa. The gym became a draw for top youth gymnasts, with some families moving to Iowa to train there.Gardner moved to Iowa in September 2018, jumping at the opportunity to coach under Qiao.“This is the job that I’ve always wanted. Chow is really someone I have looked up to since I’ve been coaching,” Gardner told the ABC affiliate WOI-TV in 2019. “And you can tell when you step foot in the gym, just even from coaching the girls, the culture that he’s built. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful.”A year later, Gardner was promoted to director of Chow’s Winter Classic, an annual meet that draws more than 1,000 gymnasts to Iowa. He also coached a junior Olympics team during his four-year tenure at Chow’s.Several of his students earned college gymnastics scholarships, but Gardner said he had bigger goals.“You want to leave a thumbprint on their life, so when they go off hopefully to school, to bigger and better things, that they remember Chow’s as family,” he said in a 2020 interview with WOI-TV.<h2>Coach accused of sexual misconduct in Iowa and Mississippi</h2>Gardner is accused of abusing his position at Chow’s and his former job at Jump’In Gymnastics in Mississippi to prey on girls under his tutelage, according to a nine-page FBI affidavit released Friday that summarizes the allegations against him.A girl reported to SafeSport in March 2022 that Gardner used “inappropriate spotting techniques” in which he would put his hands between her legs and touch her vagina, the affidavit said.It said she alleged Gardner would ask girls if they were sexually active and call them “idiots, sluts, and whores.” She said this behavior began after his hiring in 2018 and continued until she left the gym in 2020 and provided the names of six other potential victims.SafeSport suspended Gardner in July 2022 – four months after the girl's report – a provisional step it can take in severe cases with “sufficient evidentiary support” as investigations proceed.A month after that, the center received a report from another girl alleging additional “sexual contact and physical abuse,” including that Gardner similarly fondled her during workouts, the FBI affidavit said. The girl said that he once dragged her across the carpet so hard that it burned her buttocks, the affidavit said.SafeSport shared the reports with West Des Moines police, in line with its policy requiring adults who interact with youth athletes to disclose potential criminal cases to law enforcement.While SafeSport's suspension took Gardner out of gymnastics, the criminal investigation quickly hit a roadblock.Police records show a detective told SafeSport to urge the alleged victims to file criminal complaints, but only one of their mothers contacted police in 2022. That woman said her daughter did not want to pursue criminal charges, and police suspended the investigation.Victims of abuse are often reluctant to cooperate with police, said Ken Lang, a retired detective and associate professor of criminal justice at Milligan University.“In this case you have the prestige of this facility,” he said. “Do they want to associate their name with that, in that way, when their aspirations were to succeed in gymnastics?”Police suspended the investigation, even as Gardner was on probation for his second-offense of driving while intoxicated.<h2>A dormant case reopened, and a year later, an arrest</h2>The case stayed dormant until April 2024 when another former Chow’s student came forward to the West Des Moines Police Department to report abuse allegations, according to a now-sealed affidavit signed by police detective Jeff Lyon. The AP is not identifying the student in line with its policy of not naming victims of alleged sexual abuse.The now 18-year-old told police she began taking lessons from Gardner when she was 11 or 12 in 2019, initially seeing him as a “father figure” who tried to help her get through her parents’ divorce. He told her she could tell him “anything,” the affidavit said.When she moved in 2021, she told police, he gave her a hug and said she could text and follow him on Instagram and other social media sites, where he went by the nickname “Coach Seanie,” because gym policy barring such contact no longer applied.According to a summary of her statement provided in Lyon’s affidavit, she said Gardner fondled her during exercises, repeatedly touching her vagina; rubbed her back and butt and discussed his sex life; and made her do inappropriate stretches that exposed her privates.She told police she suspected he used his cellphone to film her in that position.Reached by the AP, the teen’s mother declined comment. The mother told police she was interested in a monetary settlement with Chow’s because the gym “had been made aware of the complaints and they did nothing to stop them,” according to Lyon’s affidavit. The gym didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.It took 16 months after the teen’s 2024 report for the FBI to arrest Gardner, who made an initial court appearance in Des Moines on Friday on a charge of producing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which can carry up to 30 years in prison. A public defender assigned to represent him didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.It’s unclear why the case took so long to investigate and also when the FBI, which had to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/larry-nassar-justice-department-settlement-3b760f3d317cbe18209aa02a611a298f">pay $138 million to Nassar’s victims</a>&nbsp;for botching that investigation, got involved in the case.Among evidence seized by investigators in late May were a cellphone, laptop and a desktop computer along with handwritten notes between Gardner and his former pupils, according to the sealed court documents.They found images of girls, approximately 6 to 14 years in age, who were nude, using the toilet or changing into leotards, those documents show. Those images appear to have come from a hidden camera in a restroom.They also uncovered 50 video files and 400 photos, including some that appeared to be child pornography, according to the FBI affidavit. One video allegedly shows Gardner entering the bathroom and turning off the camera.Investigators also found images of an adult woman secretly filmed entering and exiting a bathtub, and identified her as Gardner’s ex-girlfriend. That woman as well as the gym’s owner, Candi Workman, told investigators the images appeared to come from Jump’In Gymnastics’ facility in Purvis, Mississippi, which has since been closed.<h2>SafeSport’s power has limits</h2>SafeSport has long touted that it can deliver sanctions in cases where criminal charges are not pursued as key to its mission. However, Gardner’s ability to land a job in health care illustrates the limits of that power: It can ban people from sports but that sanction is not guaranteed to reach the general public.While not commenting about Gardner’s case directly, it said in a statement provided to AP that a number of issues factor into why cases can take so long to close, including the 8,000 reports it receives a year with only around 30 full-time investigators. It has revamped&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-abuse-safesport-1685e2e20397de86a28b6479793b47c3">some procedures, it said,</a>&nbsp;in an attempt to become more efficient.“While the Center is able and often does cooperate in law enforcement investigations,” it said, “law enforcement is not required to share information, updates, or even confirm an investigation is ongoing.”USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung called the center’s task “really tough, difficult to navigate.”“I would like to see more consistency with their outcomes and sanctions,” Leung said. “I would like to see more standardization on things. I would like to see more communication, more transparency from their side.”<h2>A case that lingers, even after the SafeSport ban</h2>As the investigation proceeded, Gardner said on his Facebook page he had landed a new job in May 2024 as a surgical technologist at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center. It's a role that calls for positioning patients on the operating room table, and assisting with procedures and post-surgery care.Asked about Gardner’s employment, hospital spokesman Todd Mizener told the AP: “The only information I can provide is that he is no longer" at the hospital.Meanwhile, the case lingers, leaving lives in limbo more than three years after the SafeSport Center and police first learned of it.“SafeSport is now part of a larger problem rather than a solution, if it was ever a solution,” said attorney Silvey. “The most fundamental professional task such as coordination with local or federal law enforcement gets botched on a daily basis, hundreds of times a year now.”___

FBI arrests ex-coach at renowned US gymnastics academy 

WABAUNSEE COUNTY—Two law enforcement officers were injured during a domestic violence arrest on Monday in Wabaunsee County.

Just before 7:30p.m. Monday, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the 36000 block of K-99 Highway, Wamego, Wabaunsee County Kansas on report of an active Domestic Violence Incident in progress, according to a media release.

 After arriving on scene while attempting to place the suspect in custody, the suspect struck and kicked officers in active resistance to arrest. Sheriff Eric Kirsch took a hit to the head.

Sheriff Kirsch and Detective Rorabaugh received several kicks to the body. The suspect unsuccessfully attempted to grab Sheriff Kirsch's holstered Taser. 

The suspect was successfully subdued with minimal use of force via lawful physical control prior to being safely placed in handcuffs without further incident. 

Officers suffered minor injuries. The suspect did not require medical treatment.

The suspect identified as 23-year-old Abigail Ross, was transported from the scene to the Wabaunsee County Jail where she is being held on requested charges of charged of Domestic Battery Battery LEO (x2) Interference LEO and Resisting Arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755619292786.png" alt="-Photo Wabaunsee County" />
 <figcaption>-Photo Wabaunsee County</figcaption>
 </figure>WABAUNSEE COUNTY—Two law enforcement officers were injured during a domestic violence arrest on Monday in Wabaunsee County.Just before 7:30p.m. Monday, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the 36000 block of K-99 Highway, Wamego, Wabaunsee County Kansas on report of an active Domestic Violence Incident in progress, according to a media release. After arriving on scene while attempting to place the suspect in custody, the suspect struck and kicked officers in active resistance to arrest. Sheriff Eric Kirsch took a hit to the head.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755619273319.png" alt="-Photo Wabaunsee County" />
 <figcaption>-Photo Wabaunsee County</figcaption>
 </figure>Sheriff Kirsch and Detective Rorabaugh received several kicks to the body. The suspect unsuccessfully attempted to grab Sheriff Kirsch's holstered Taser. The suspect was successfully subdued with minimal use of force via lawful physical control prior to being safely placed in handcuffs without further incident. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755619653654.png" alt="Ross photo Wabaunsee Co." />
 <figcaption>Ross photo Wabaunsee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers suffered minor injuries. The suspect did not require medical treatment.The suspect identified as 23-year-old Abigail Ross, was transported from the scene to the Wabaunsee County Jail where she is being held on requested charges of charged of Domestic Battery Battery LEO (x2) Interference LEO and Resisting Arrest.

Wabaunsee Co. officers injured during domestic violence arrest

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a violent robbery in Manhattan.

Just&nbsp; before 6p.m. Monday, officers filed a report for aggravated assault and aggravated robbery in the 700 block of Riley Lane in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

&nbsp;An 18-year-old man and a 14-year-old man reported that a 43-year-old suspect identified as Steven Renner of Manhattan threatened them with a crowbar and took a moped. 

Police later arrested Renner on requested charges of aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and a Riley County District Court warrant for failure to appear. Renner remains jailed on a bond of $50,250.

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a violent robbery in Manhattan.Just&nbsp; before 6p.m. Monday, officers filed a report for aggravated assault and aggravated robbery in the 700 block of Riley Lane in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.&nbsp;An 18-year-old man and a 14-year-old man reported that a 43-year-old suspect identified as Steven Renner of Manhattan threatened them with a crowbar and took a moped. Police later arrested Renner on requested charges of aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and a Riley County District Court warrant for failure to appear. Renner remains jailed on a bond of $50,250.

RCPD: Suspect threatened victims with crowbar during robbery

COWLEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating two suspects for an alleged sex assault kidnapping in Cowley County.&nbsp; U.S. Department of Homeland Security was also looking for one of the men.

Just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a kidnapping in the 1600 block of South Sixth Street in Arkansas City, according to a media release.

 The reporting party stated that the involved vehicle, a gray SUV, was traveling northbound on South Sixth Street. Officers located the vehicle a short time later in the 400 block of South Eighth Street.

Upon making contact, officers identified two men and one woman in the vehicle.

 The woman reported that she had been taken against her will from the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla. She further stated that she was sexually assaulted by both male suspects and that the assaults continued while traveling through ArkansasCity. 

The suspects were identified as 35-year-old Luis Miguel Dominguez and 24-year-old Jose Fernando-Lux Morales both of Arkansas City,

The victim was treated by the Arkansas City Fire/EMS Department on scene and transported to a hospital for further medical care.

Both suspects were arrested and transported to the Cowley County Jail.• Jose Morales is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; Aggravated Kidnapping&nbsp; on a $500,000 bond.

Luis Dominguez is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; Rape, Aggravated Criminal Sodomy, and Aggravated Kidnapping. He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

Officers also learned that Dominguez is subject to an immigration detainer from the Department of Homeland Security.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755531304119.png" alt="Morales photo Cowley County" />
 <figcaption>Morales photo Cowley County</figcaption>
 </figure>COWLEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating two suspects for an alleged sex assault kidnapping in Cowley County.&nbsp; U.S. Department of Homeland Security was also looking for one of the men.Just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a kidnapping in the 1600 block of South Sixth Street in Arkansas City, according to a media release. The reporting party stated that the involved vehicle, a gray SUV, was traveling northbound on South Sixth Street. Officers located the vehicle a short time later in the 400 block of South Eighth Street.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755531263019.png" alt="Dominguez photo Cowley County" />
 <figcaption>Dominguez photo Cowley County</figcaption>
 </figure>Upon making contact, officers identified two men and one woman in the vehicle. The woman reported that she had been taken against her will from the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla. She further stated that she was sexually assaulted by both male suspects and that the assaults continued while traveling through ArkansasCity. The suspects were identified as 35-year-old Luis Miguel Dominguez and 24-year-old Jose Fernando-Lux Morales both of Arkansas City,The victim was treated by the Arkansas City Fire/EMS Department on scene and transported to a hospital for further medical care.Both suspects were arrested and transported to the Cowley County Jail.• Jose Morales is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; Aggravated Kidnapping&nbsp; on a $500,000 bond.Luis Dominguez is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; Rape, Aggravated Criminal Sodomy, and Aggravated Kidnapping. He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.Officers also learned that Dominguez is subject to an immigration detainer from the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS was looking for suspect who is accused of sex crimes in Kansas

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.

Just after 12:15a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 1700 block of E 97th Street in Kansas City, Missouri on a reported sound of shots, according to Officer&nbsp; Alayna Gonzalez.

As they approached the scene, &nbsp;a bystander flagged down &nbsp;officers and reports several people were involved in an altercation that lead to gunfire in a nearby parking lot.

 All involved individuals were observed fleeing in unknown directions prior to police arrival. Officers were notified that a 14-year-old boy and a girl under age 16 arrived to an area hospital suffering from gunshot wounds

The boy, identified as Teandre Gibson was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The girl had non-life threatening injuries. 

Police had no details indicating what lead up to the shooting and have not reported an arrest.. This incident is being investigated as a homicide.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755433938342.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.Just after 12:15a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 1700 block of E 97th Street in Kansas City, Missouri on a reported sound of shots, according to Officer&nbsp; Alayna Gonzalez.As they approached the scene, &nbsp;a bystander flagged down &nbsp;officers and reports several people were involved in an altercation that lead to gunfire in a nearby parking lot.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755434009656.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure> All involved individuals were observed fleeing in unknown directions prior to police arrival. Officers were notified that a 14-year-old boy and a girl under age 16 arrived to an area hospital suffering from gunshot woundsThe boy, identified as Teandre Gibson was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The girl had non-life threatening injuries. Police had no details indicating what lead up to the shooting and have not reported an arrest.. This incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Homicide: 14-year-old KC boy dead, girl hospitalized 

DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

On August 14, deputies with the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ryan Matthew Roth, 38, of Enterprise, Kansas on a warrant for aggravated internet trading in child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

In April, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office began the investigation after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.&nbsp; During the investigation, a search warrant was executed at a residence in the 500 Block of Court Street, Enterprise, Kansas. &nbsp;Additional search warrants were executed and the warrant was then issued for the arrest of Roth.&nbsp; Roth is being held on a $250,000 bond in the Dickinson County Detention Facility, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755281097517.png" alt="Roth photo Dickinson County" />
 <figcaption>Roth photo Dickinson County</figcaption>
 </figure>DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.On August 14, deputies with the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ryan Matthew Roth, 38, of Enterprise, Kansas on a warrant for aggravated internet trading in child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In April, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office began the investigation after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.&nbsp; During the investigation, a search warrant was executed at a residence in the 500 Block of Court Street, Enterprise, Kansas. &nbsp;Additional search warrants were executed and the warrant was then issued for the arrest of Roth.&nbsp; Roth is being held on a $250,000 bond in the Dickinson County Detention Facility, according to online jail records.

Kansas man accused of trading child porn online

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/melania-trump">Melania Trump</a>&nbsp;took the unique step of crafting a letter that calls for peace in Ukraine, having her husband President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;hand-deliver it to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their Friday meeting in Alaska.

The letter did not specifically name Ukraine, which Putin’s forces invaded in 2022, but beseeched him to think of children and “an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.” Nor did the American first lady discuss the fighting other than to say to Putin that he could “singlehandedly restore” the “melodic laughter” of children who have been caught in the conflict.

“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself,” she wrote on White House stationery.

A copy of the letter was first obtained by Fox News Digital and later posted on social media by supporters of the U.S. president, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The first lady said that Putin could help these children with the stroke of a pen.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6">taking Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;out of their country so that they can be raised as Russian. The Associated Press documented the grabbing of Ukrainian children in 2022, after which the International Criminal Court said it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253">had issued an arrest warrant</a>&nbsp;for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741143400386.png" alt="First Lady Melania Trump-image from White House video" />
 <figcaption>First Lady Melania Trump-image from White House video</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/melania-trump">Melania Trump</a>&nbsp;took the unique step of crafting a letter that calls for peace in Ukraine, having her husband President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;hand-deliver it to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their Friday meeting in Alaska.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755386458134.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>The letter did not specifically name Ukraine, which Putin’s forces invaded in 2022, but beseeched him to think of children and “an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.” Nor did the American first lady discuss the fighting other than to say to Putin that he could “singlehandedly restore” the “melodic laughter” of children who have been caught in the conflict.“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself,” she wrote on White House stationery.A copy of the letter was first obtained by Fox News Digital and later posted on social media by supporters of the U.S. president, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.The first lady said that Putin could help these children with the stroke of a pen.Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6">taking Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;out of their country so that they can be raised as Russian. The Associated Press documented the grabbing of Ukrainian children in 2022, after which the International Criminal Court said it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253">had issued an arrest warrant</a>&nbsp;for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Read the letter the First Lady had the President deliver to Putin

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Monday in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shifted to saying an overall peace agreement – and not a ceasefire -- was the next step in ending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ukraine#">the 3 1/2-year-old war.</a>

Trump’s abrupt reversal, aligning himself with a position held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, came in a social media post on Saturday, hours after they concluded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-summit-alaska-russia-ukraine-a7b167f17a3e06fbce2f583c93f8bae1">a summit in Alaska</a>&nbsp;that produced no agreement to halt the fighting. Putin has long said that Moscow is not interested in a temporary truce, and instead is seeking a long-term settlement that takes the Kremlin’s interests into account.

After calls with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump posted that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”

In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire, saying they “welcomed President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace.”

Trump and Ukraine’s European allies had been calling for a ceasefire ahead of any negotiations.

Trump’s statement that a peace agreement should be reached before a ceasefire appears to indicate Trump’s thinking is “shifting towards Putin,” an approach that would allow Moscow to keep fighting while negotiating, said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday. He said they would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war” on Monday.

It will be Zelenskyy’s first visit to the U.S. since Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-security-guarantees-trump-meeting-washington-eebdf97b663c2cdc9e51fa346b09591d">berated him publicly for being “disrespectful”</a>&nbsp;during an extraordinary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-zelenskyy-oval-office-ukraine-russia-blowup-8aa63e55c859e8fea963911478c376ee">Oval Office meeting</a>&nbsp;on Feb. 28.

Trump, who also held calls with European leaders Saturday, confirmed the White House meeting and said that “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.”

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-summit-greeting-adc0e52a159bbf21dd582e101b5257db">rolled out the red carpet</a>&nbsp;on Friday for Putin, who was in the U.S. for the first time in a decade and since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But he gave little concrete detail afterward of what was discussed. On Saturday, he posted on social media that it “went very well.”

Trump had warned ahead of the summit of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-8-13-2025">“very severe consequences”</a>&nbsp;for Russia if Putin doesn’t agree to end&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">the war</a>.

Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not at the summit.

“It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America,” he said. “We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.”

He didn’t elaborate, but Zelenskyy previously has said that European partners put on hold a proposal to establish a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-willing-force-trump-ukraine-russia-0c0261cc370c8c0157d03d01fdfe6be2">foreign troop presence</a>&nbsp;in Ukraine to deter Russian aggression because it lacked an American backstop.

Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump one-on-one and then in a call with other European leaders. In total, the conversations lasted over 90 minutes.

Trump said in Alaska that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”

During an interview with Fox News Channel before returning to Washington, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.

In their statement after speaking to Trump, major European leaders said they were ready to work with Trump and Zelenskyy toward “a trilateral summit with European support.”

The statement from French, German, Italian, British, Finnish, Polish and European Union said that “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees” and welcomed U.S. readiness to provide them.

“It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory,” they said. “International borders must not be changed by force.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,” noting that Moscow launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met.

“Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing,” she said.

Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Since spring, Russian troops have accelerated their gains, capturing the most territory since the opening stages of the war.

“Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war,” said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. “He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.”

Zelenskyy voiced support for Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting with the U.S. and Russia. He said that “key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.”

But Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state television Saturday that a possible three-way meeting “has not been touched upon yet” in U.S.-Russia discussions.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that he told Trump that "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.“

Russian officials and media struck a largely positive tone, with some describing Friday’s meeting as a symbolic end to Putin’s isolation in the West.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, praised the summit as a breakthrough in restoring high-level dialogue between Moscow and Washington, describing the talks as “calm, without ultimatums and threats.”

Putin has “broken out of international isolation” and back on the world stage as one of two global leaders, and “wasn’t in the least challenged” by Trump, who also ignored an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court, said Laurie Bristow, who was British ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020.

“Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop," Bristow told The Associated Press. “That’s the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit.”

Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, using one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones, 61 of which were shot down, Ukraine’s air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Sea of Azov overnight.

Morton reported from London. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Emma Burrows in London contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755292993508.png" alt="Photo courtesy&nbsp; White House" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy&nbsp; White House</figcaption>
 </figure>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Monday in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shifted to saying an overall peace agreement – and not a ceasefire -- was the next step in ending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ukraine#">the 3 1/2-year-old war.</a><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/RtC9wBBtim">pic.twitter.com/RtC9wBBtim</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1956718970951635391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump’s abrupt reversal, aligning himself with a position held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, came in a social media post on Saturday, hours after they concluded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-summit-alaska-russia-ukraine-a7b167f17a3e06fbce2f583c93f8bae1">a summit in Alaska</a>&nbsp;that produced no agreement to halt the fighting. Putin has long said that Moscow is not interested in a temporary truce, and instead is seeking a long-term settlement that takes the Kremlin’s interests into account.After calls with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump posted that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire, saying they “welcomed President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace.”Trump and Ukraine’s European allies had been calling for a ceasefire ahead of any negotiations.Trump’s statement that a peace agreement should be reached before a ceasefire appears to indicate Trump’s thinking is “shifting towards Putin,” an approach that would allow Moscow to keep fighting while negotiating, said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday. He said they would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war” on Monday.It will be Zelenskyy’s first visit to the U.S. since Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-security-guarantees-trump-meeting-washington-eebdf97b663c2cdc9e51fa346b09591d">berated him publicly for being “disrespectful”</a>&nbsp;during an extraordinary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-zelenskyy-oval-office-ukraine-russia-blowup-8aa63e55c859e8fea963911478c376ee">Oval Office meeting</a>&nbsp;on Feb. 28.Trump, who also held calls with European leaders Saturday, confirmed the White House meeting and said that “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.”Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-summit-greeting-adc0e52a159bbf21dd582e101b5257db">rolled out the red carpet</a>&nbsp;on Friday for Putin, who was in the U.S. for the first time in a decade and since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But he gave little concrete detail afterward of what was discussed. On Saturday, he posted on social media that it “went very well.”Trump had warned ahead of the summit of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-8-13-2025">“very severe consequences”</a>&nbsp;for Russia if Putin doesn’t agree to end&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">the war</a>.<h2>Zelenskyy seeks European involvement</h2>Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not at the summit.“It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America,” he said. “We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.”He didn’t elaborate, but Zelenskyy previously has said that European partners put on hold a proposal to establish a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-willing-force-trump-ukraine-russia-0c0261cc370c8c0157d03d01fdfe6be2">foreign troop presence</a>&nbsp;in Ukraine to deter Russian aggression because it lacked an American backstop.Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump one-on-one and then in a call with other European leaders. In total, the conversations lasted over 90 minutes.<h2>Trump puts onus on Zelenskyy and Europe</h2>Trump said in Alaska that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”During an interview with Fox News Channel before returning to Washington, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.In their statement after speaking to Trump, major European leaders said they were ready to work with Trump and Zelenskyy toward “a trilateral summit with European support.”The statement from French, German, Italian, British, Finnish, Polish and European Union said that “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees” and welcomed U.S. readiness to provide them.“It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory,” they said. “International borders must not be changed by force.”EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,” noting that Moscow launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met.“Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing,” she said.Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Since spring, Russian troops have accelerated their gains, capturing the most territory since the opening stages of the war.“Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war,” said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. “He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.”<h2>Questions on a trilateral meeting</h2>Zelenskyy voiced support for Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting with the U.S. and Russia. He said that “key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.”But Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state television Saturday that a possible three-way meeting “has not been touched upon yet” in U.S.-Russia discussions.Zelenskyy wrote on X that he told Trump that "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.“Russian officials and media struck a largely positive tone, with some describing Friday’s meeting as a symbolic end to Putin’s isolation in the West.Former President Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, praised the summit as a breakthrough in restoring high-level dialogue between Moscow and Washington, describing the talks as “calm, without ultimatums and threats.”Putin has “broken out of international isolation” and back on the world stage as one of two global leaders, and “wasn’t in the least challenged” by Trump, who also ignored an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court, said Laurie Bristow, who was British ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020.“Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop," Bristow told The Associated Press. “That’s the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit.”Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, using one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones, 61 of which were shot down, Ukraine’s air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked.Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Sea of Azov overnight.___Morton reported from London. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Emma Burrows in London contributed.

President Trump explains next steps after meeting with Putin

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating an alleged road rage shooting and have made an arrest.

Just before 5p.m. Friday, police &nbsp;Grain Valley Police officers were dispatched to a report of road rage on Main Street south of 40 Highway in Grain Valley, according to a media release.&nbsp;

 Responding officers determined a suspect had fired a weapon at another driver. There were no injuries were reported. The suspect fled the scene but was quickly located at a residence and taken into custody without incident. Police have not released the suspect's name or additional details.

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating an alleged road rage shooting and have made an arrest.Just before 5p.m. Friday, police &nbsp;Grain Valley Police officers were dispatched to a report of road rage on Main Street south of 40 Highway in Grain Valley, according to a media release.&nbsp; Responding officers determined a suspect had fired a weapon at another driver. There were no injuries were reported. The suspect fled the scene but was quickly located at a residence and taken into custody without incident. Police have not released the suspect's name or additional details.

Suspect jailed after alleged KC area road rage shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887">border czar Tom Homan</a>&nbsp;visited Capitol Hill just weeks after Inauguration Day, with other administration officials and a singular message: They&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-security-defense-senate-budget-plan-4549502882410e4cf1caf99bc04419df">needed money</a>&nbsp;for the White House's border security and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/immigration">mass deportation agenda</a>.

By summer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-beautiful-gop-taxes-ced365c347de9320eef2ccb8df16dda2">Congress delivered</a>.

The Republican Party’s big bill of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inside-trump-republican-spending-bill-provisions-details-06eb10bad4fd2a7ea2ac236e6535e61d">tax breaks and spending cuts</a>&nbsp;that Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-sign-tax-cut-bill-july-4-3804df732e461a626fd8c2b43413c3f0">signed into law July 4</a>&nbsp;included what's arguably the biggest boost of funds yet to the Department of Homeland Security —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-budget-congress-trump-bill-e37bb0a5c5ca883438db349239a6c251">nearly $170 billion</a>, almost double its annual budget.

The staggering sum is powering the nation's sweeping new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-immigration-crime-ice-criminal-dangerous-violent-99557d9d68642004193a9f4b7668162e">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a>&nbsp;operations, delivering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-raids-detainee-families-los-angeles-651d8bba4752553a67eb53db084677b2">gripping scenes</a>&nbsp;of people being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-arrests-ice-los-angeles-0de11b5bc6ef962b79e084fb9e648a87">pulled off city streets</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-farm-immigration-raid-cannabis-fbcf4620675523aa7630599331777ec5">from job sites</a>&nbsp;across the nation — the cornerstone of Trump's promise for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-california-immigration-customs-enforcement-newsom-0482a8935419d88986b890b18db5cc03">the largest domestic deportation operation</a>&nbsp;in American history. Homeland Security confirmed over the weekend ICE is working to set up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-detention-deportation-kristi-noem-a27916786c732c8f784a1d388a10e752">detention sites at certain military bases</a>.

“We’re getting them out at record numbers,” Trump said at the White House bill signing ceremony. “We have an obligation to, and we’re doing it.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-cuts-bill-deportations-asylum-fee-68e358a73e01941af50984de8c85ea31">The crush of new money</a>&nbsp;is setting off alarms in Congress and beyond, raising questions from lawmakers in both major political parties who are expected to provide oversight. The bill text provided general funding categories — almost $30 billion for ICE officers, $45 billion for detention facilities, $10 billion for the office of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kristi-noem">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem</a>&nbsp;— but few policy details or directives. Homeland Security recently announced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-hiring-trump-border-mass-deportations-ed1580c3f5c0c2a2b5c1ebd621574365">$50,000 ICE hiring bonuses</a>.

And it’s not just the big bill’s fresh infusion of funds fueling the president's agenda of 1 million deportations a year.

In the months since Trump took office, his administration has been shifting as much as $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other accounts to pay for immigration enforcement and deportation operations, lawmakers said.

“Your agency is out of control,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Noem during a Senate committee hearing in the spring.

The senator warned that Homeland Security would “go broke” by July.

Noem quickly responded that she always lives within her budget.

But Murphy said later in a letter to Homeland Security, objecting to its repurposing funds, that ICE was being directed to spend at an “indefensible and unsustainable rate to build a mass deportation army,” often without approval from Congress.

This past week, the new Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, along with a subcommittee chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, requested a briefing from Noem on the border security components of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, which included $46 billion over the next four years for Trump’s long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“We write today to understand how the Department plans to outlay this funding to deliver a strong and secure homeland for years to come,” the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to the homeland security secretary, noting border apprehensions are at record lows.

“We respectfully request that you provide Committee staff with a briefing on the Department’s plan to disburse OBBBA funding," they wrote, seeking a response by Aug. 22.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Associated Press the department is in daily discussions with the committee “to honor all briefing requests including the spend plan for the funds allocated" through the new law.

“ICE is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity,” she said. “This process does include housing detainees at certain military bases, including Fort Bliss.”

All together, it’s what observers on and off Capitol Hill see as a fundamental shift in immigration policy — enabling DHS to reach far beyond the U.S. southern border and deep into communities to conduct raids and stand up detention facilities as holding camps for immigrants.

The Defense Department, the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies are being enlisted in what Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, calls a “whole of government” approach.

“They’re orienting this huge shift,” Bush-Joseph said, as deportation enforcement moves "inward."

The flood of cash comes when Americans'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-polling-trump-deportation-d138992f803e2d0b5b399aa9eaa36581">views on immigration are shifting</a>. Polling showed 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a “good thing” for the country, having jumped substantially from 64% a year ago, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx">Gallup</a>. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now.

At the same time, Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/trumps-approval-rating-on-immigration-and-government-spending-has-slipped-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/">approval rating</a>&nbsp;on immigration has slipped. According to a July&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/trumps-approval-rating-on-immigration-and-government-spending-has-slipped-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/">AP-NORC poll</a>, 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of his handling of immigration, down slightly from 49%&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-poll-immigration-tariffs-trade-b7a430909606d6b8b27cfbc5049a32b4">in March</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-arrests-ice-los-angeles-0de11b5bc6ef962b79e084fb9e648a87">Americans are watching</a>&nbsp;images of often masked officers arresting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/badar-khan-suri-georgetown-immigration-case-c598f7ff6a7bda7a948e793b14770a43">college students</a>, people at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-los-angeles-trojan-horse-penske-1b86bc5f2ff716b89f4aba3320a96979">Home Depot</a>&nbsp;lots,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-mothers-deported-d8c5c0353c18e9ee0c228ea15e02d759">parents</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arrest-landscaper-marine-son-orange-county-304c7e5b1ac240d640b95ffe2e3cac9d">workers</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-california-tunisian-musician-04b368eefbdad48ce76df3612a59be61">a Tunisian musician</a>. Stories abound of people being whisked off to detention facilities, often without allegations of wrongdoing beyond being unauthorized to remain in the U.S.

Detention centers are being stood up, from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-immigration-alligator-alcatraz-8d0b59a59251a79136667dc2804d107c">“Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida</a>&nbsp;to the repurposed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-detention-centers-ice-deportations-trump-e92b67a388f041b84593d7a29fd93c54">federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas,</a>&nbsp;and the proposed new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pato-oward-indycar-ice-106baa57f854ffcf86c654f0ff8987b7">“Speedway Slammer” in Indiana</a>. Flights are ferrying migrants not just home or to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison but far away to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-sudan-djibouti-deport-supreme-court-50f9162cff680b5c8729873e11d514e9">Africa</a>&nbsp;and beyond.

Homan has insisted in recent interviews those being detained and deported are the “worst of the worst,” and he dismissed as “garbage” the reports showing many of those being removed have not committed violations beyond their irregular immigration status.

“There’s no safe haven here,” Homan said recently outside the White House. “We’re going to do exactly what President Trump has promised the American people he’d do.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750038378079.png" alt="Photo Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photo Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887">border czar Tom Homan</a>&nbsp;visited Capitol Hill just weeks after Inauguration Day, with other administration officials and a singular message: They&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-security-defense-senate-budget-plan-4549502882410e4cf1caf99bc04419df">needed money</a>&nbsp;for the White House's border security and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/immigration">mass deportation agenda</a>.By summer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-beautiful-gop-taxes-ced365c347de9320eef2ccb8df16dda2">Congress delivered</a>.The Republican Party’s big bill of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inside-trump-republican-spending-bill-provisions-details-06eb10bad4fd2a7ea2ac236e6535e61d">tax breaks and spending cuts</a>&nbsp;that Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-sign-tax-cut-bill-july-4-3804df732e461a626fd8c2b43413c3f0">signed into law July 4</a>&nbsp;included what's arguably the biggest boost of funds yet to the Department of Homeland Security —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-budget-congress-trump-bill-e37bb0a5c5ca883438db349239a6c251">nearly $170 billion</a>, almost double its annual budget.The staggering sum is powering the nation's sweeping new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-immigration-crime-ice-criminal-dangerous-violent-99557d9d68642004193a9f4b7668162e">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a>&nbsp;operations, delivering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-raids-detainee-families-los-angeles-651d8bba4752553a67eb53db084677b2">gripping scenes</a>&nbsp;of people being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-arrests-ice-los-angeles-0de11b5bc6ef962b79e084fb9e648a87">pulled off city streets</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-farm-immigration-raid-cannabis-fbcf4620675523aa7630599331777ec5">from job sites</a>&nbsp;across the nation — the cornerstone of Trump's promise for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-california-immigration-customs-enforcement-newsom-0482a8935419d88986b890b18db5cc03">the largest domestic deportation operation</a>&nbsp;in American history. Homeland Security confirmed over the weekend ICE is working to set up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-detention-deportation-kristi-noem-a27916786c732c8f784a1d388a10e752">detention sites at certain military bases</a>.“We’re getting them out at record numbers,” Trump said at the White House bill signing ceremony. “We have an obligation to, and we’re doing it.”<h2>Money flows, and so do questions</h2><a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-cuts-bill-deportations-asylum-fee-68e358a73e01941af50984de8c85ea31">The crush of new money</a>&nbsp;is setting off alarms in Congress and beyond, raising questions from lawmakers in both major political parties who are expected to provide oversight. The bill text provided general funding categories — almost $30 billion for ICE officers, $45 billion for detention facilities, $10 billion for the office of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kristi-noem">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem</a>&nbsp;— but few policy details or directives. Homeland Security recently announced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-hiring-trump-border-mass-deportations-ed1580c3f5c0c2a2b5c1ebd621574365">$50,000 ICE hiring bonuses</a>.And it’s not just the big bill’s fresh infusion of funds fueling the president's agenda of 1 million deportations a year.In the months since Trump took office, his administration has been shifting as much as $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other accounts to pay for immigration enforcement and deportation operations, lawmakers said.“Your agency is out of control,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Noem during a Senate committee hearing in the spring.The senator warned that Homeland Security would “go broke” by July.Noem quickly responded that she always lives within her budget.But Murphy said later in a letter to Homeland Security, objecting to its repurposing funds, that ICE was being directed to spend at an “indefensible and unsustainable rate to build a mass deportation army,” often without approval from Congress.This past week, the new Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, along with a subcommittee chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, requested a briefing from Noem on the border security components of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, which included $46 billion over the next four years for Trump’s long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall.“We write today to understand how the Department plans to outlay this funding to deliver a strong and secure homeland for years to come,” the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to the homeland security secretary, noting border apprehensions are at record lows.“We respectfully request that you provide Committee staff with a briefing on the Department’s plan to disburse OBBBA funding," they wrote, seeking a response by Aug. 22.DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Associated Press the department is in daily discussions with the committee “to honor all briefing requests including the spend plan for the funds allocated" through the new law.“ICE is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity,” she said. “This process does include housing detainees at certain military bases, including Fort Bliss.”<h2>Deportations move deep into communities</h2>All together, it’s what observers on and off Capitol Hill see as a fundamental shift in immigration policy — enabling DHS to reach far beyond the U.S. southern border and deep into communities to conduct raids and stand up detention facilities as holding camps for immigrants.The Defense Department, the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies are being enlisted in what Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, calls a “whole of government” approach.“They’re orienting this huge shift,” Bush-Joseph said, as deportation enforcement moves "inward."The flood of cash comes when Americans'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-polling-trump-deportation-d138992f803e2d0b5b399aa9eaa36581">views on immigration are shifting</a>. Polling showed 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a “good thing” for the country, having jumped substantially from 64% a year ago, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx">Gallup</a>. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now.At the same time, Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/trumps-approval-rating-on-immigration-and-government-spending-has-slipped-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/">approval rating</a>&nbsp;on immigration has slipped. According to a July&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/trumps-approval-rating-on-immigration-and-government-spending-has-slipped-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/">AP-NORC poll</a>, 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of his handling of immigration, down slightly from 49%&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-poll-immigration-tariffs-trade-b7a430909606d6b8b27cfbc5049a32b4">in March</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-arrests-ice-los-angeles-0de11b5bc6ef962b79e084fb9e648a87">Americans are watching</a>&nbsp;images of often masked officers arresting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/badar-khan-suri-georgetown-immigration-case-c598f7ff6a7bda7a948e793b14770a43">college students</a>, people at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-los-angeles-trojan-horse-penske-1b86bc5f2ff716b89f4aba3320a96979">Home Depot</a>&nbsp;lots,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-mothers-deported-d8c5c0353c18e9ee0c228ea15e02d759">parents</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arrest-landscaper-marine-son-orange-county-304c7e5b1ac240d640b95ffe2e3cac9d">workers</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-california-tunisian-musician-04b368eefbdad48ce76df3612a59be61">a Tunisian musician</a>. Stories abound of people being whisked off to detention facilities, often without allegations of wrongdoing beyond being unauthorized to remain in the U.S.<h2>A new era of detention centers</h2>Detention centers are being stood up, from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-immigration-alligator-alcatraz-8d0b59a59251a79136667dc2804d107c">“Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida</a>&nbsp;to the repurposed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-detention-centers-ice-deportations-trump-e92b67a388f041b84593d7a29fd93c54">federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas,</a>&nbsp;and the proposed new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pato-oward-indycar-ice-106baa57f854ffcf86c654f0ff8987b7">“Speedway Slammer” in Indiana</a>. Flights are ferrying migrants not just home or to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison but far away to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-sudan-djibouti-deport-supreme-court-50f9162cff680b5c8729873e11d514e9">Africa</a>&nbsp;and beyond.Homan has insisted in recent interviews those being detained and deported are the “worst of the worst,” and he dismissed as “garbage” the reports showing many of those being removed have not committed violations beyond their irregular immigration status.“There’s no safe haven here,” Homan said recently outside the White House. “We’re going to do exactly what President Trump has promised the American people he’d do.”Back in February, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Budget Committee, emerged from their private meeting saying Trump administration officials were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-security-defense-senate-budget-plan-4549502882410e4cf1caf99bc04419df">“begging for money.”</a>As Graham got to work, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a leading deficit hawk, proposed an alternative border package, at $39 billion, a fraction of the size.