Hutchinson voters approved a proposed city sales tax Tuesday in a closely contested special election.

According to unofficial results from the Reno County Clerk’s Office, the measure passed with 2,316 votes in favor and 2,166 votes opposed, a margin of 150 votes. Just over 16 percent of the registered voters voted in the election.&nbsp;

Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across the city for the election, which determined whether the sales tax proposal would move forward. The vote followed weeks of public discussion and community debate surrounding the measure.

The vote totals released Tuesday night are considered unofficial until the Reno County Board of Canvassers completes its review and certifies the results in the coming days.

Voters approve Hutchinson sales tax 

Wichita voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed city sales tax increase Tuesday, dealing a decisive defeat to a measure city leaders said would have funded a range of community improvements.

According to unofficial election results, 41,097 voters cast ballots against the proposal, compared with 9,143 voting in favor.

The measure would have implemented a new city sales tax aimed at funding various municipal priorities. Supporters argued the tax would provide needed revenue for infrastructure, public safety and other city projects, while opponents raised concerns about the added cost to consumers and the overall tax burden.

With the proposal failing by a wide margin, the city will now have to reassess how to address the funding needs that were tied to the tax plan.

The results represent a clear message from Wichita voters, with more than four out of five ballots cast opposing the measure.

Final results will be certified following the completion of the official canvass by election officials.

Wichita sales tax soundly defeated

 Voters in the McPherson school district approved both questions in a two-part bond proposal aimed at funding facility upgrades and long-term improvements across the district.

According to unofficial results Tuesday night, Question 1 passed with 2,290 votes in favor and 1,313 opposed, while Question 2 was approved by a vote of 2,172 to 1,435.

District officials said the proposal represents a significant step toward implementing the district’s Long Range Facility Plan, which the McPherson Board of Education adopted in December 2025.

The first bond question authorizes $62.5 million to renovate and renew McPherson High School, install secure entrances at Lincoln and Roosevelt elementary schools, and pay off existing leases for HVAC and energy improvements as well as the high school turf field and track facility.

District leaders previously noted the first bond question would not increase the current property tax rate, because it relies on a mill levy already being collected for an existing bond.

The second bond question, totaling about $27 million, includes a 4.75 mill property tax increase. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the district estimated the increase would cost about $9.10 per month.

Projects included in the second question call for additions and renovations at Eisenhower Elementary School so it can be converted into a new middle school, along with improvements at Lincoln, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools. The proposal also includes plans to add restrooms, concessions and additional bleachers at the athletic field at McPherson High School.

District officials said the two questions were linked, meaning Question 1 had to pass for Question 2 to move forward.

With both questions approved, the district is expected to begin planning and implementing the projects outlined in the long-range facilities plan. School officials have said the upgrades are designed to address aging infrastructure, improve security and expand space to meet the district’s future needs.

McPherson School bond questions pass

Voters in Newton USD 373 have approved a $50 million school bond aimed at addressing aging infrastructure and safety improvements across the district.

Unofficial results show the bond passed with 2,197 votes in favor and 1,219 votes opposed.

District officials said the bond focuses primarily on what they describe as “end-of-life issues,” including replacing aging roofing systems and heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment in several school buildings.

The measure also includes safety and security upgrades throughout the district. Plans call for strengthening existing storm shelters at elementary schools and constructing new multi-use spaces designed to serve as storm shelters during severe weather.

Those new spaces are planned for Cooper Early Education Center, Chisholm Middle School and Newton High School.

District officials said the new facilities will be used for school activities and programs but will also function as storm shelters during severe weather events.

Newton voters pass USD 373 bond issue

MARION COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating alleged child sex crimes involving a teacher.

On February 23, the Marion County Sheriff's office Lt. Detective Aaron Christner received a report on inappropriate communication between a student and a teacher from Peabody-Burns High School, according to a media release from the sheriff's office.

The investigation revealed the teacher had sexual contact with a student. With assistance from the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children's Task Force, further evidence was discovered. On Tuesday, 30-year-old Brett T.&nbsp; McGee was arrested. He was booked into jail just before noon Wednesday, according to online jail records.&nbsp; &nbsp;He is listed as the&nbsp;Vocational Agriculture teacher at Peabody-Burns USD 398, according to the school web site.

The Marion County Sheriff asked that anyone with additional information on the case or any other mistreatment of a child to call them.

Kansas teacher jailed for alleged sexual contact with a student

Early results in the Wichita sales tax election show a 4 to 1 difference between votes against the tax increased compared those in favor.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Early results showing defeat in Wichita sales tax question

The initial vote totals for the City of Hutchinson have been released.&nbsp;&nbsp;

We will update this story when more results are released by the Reno County Election Office.&nbsp;

Sales tax election results

RAFAEL GARCIA K-State News and Communications Services

It may be months or even years before the long-term geopolitical ramifications of this weekend's airstrikes in Iran become clear, but a Kansas State University agricultural economist says gas prices are likely to spike in the coming weeks.

Gregg Ibendahl, associate professor of agricultural economics, specializes in agricultural production and finance, especially fuel pricing seasonality and impacts to the ag industry.

As a region, the Middle East is the world's leading producer of oil, and any uncertainty in the stability of the region's governments, economies and shipping capacity has typically resulted in price shocks, Ibendahl said.

Following airstrikes on Saturday that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and subsequent reciprocal strikes, crude oil futures had already risen 8%, from $67 per barrel on Friday to $72 on Monday morning.

What history suggests about pump prices

By analyzing 20 years of oil and gas price data, Ibendahl found that in the immediate term, gas prices typically go up about 2.4 cents per gallon for every $1 increase in oil's price per barrel.

"Prior to this weekend, U.S. regular gasoline averaged $2.98 per gallon nationally," Ibendahl said. "With the baseline $6 per barrel increase, prices could rise to between $3.10 and $3.16 within a month. Remember too, oil prices rose to $130 per barrel shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to gas prices of $5 per gallon."

Spikes in crude oil prices usually lead to a similar change in gasoline prices in the subsequent week, Ibendahl said. But crucially, crude oil movements can influence pump prices for more than a month, especially when uncertainty remains about the future stability of an oil-producing region.

Gas prices could climb even higher

Ibendahl's forecast, he pointed out, does not take into account other factors, such as extended violence or suspended traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — an Iranian-controlled 21-mile chokepoint through which about 20% of globally traded oil passes.

A shutdown of the strait could lead to oil prices that are well over $100 per barrel, or even more if warfare in the region starts targeting oil production facilities.

At that point, gas prices at the pump quickly start approaching $4 per gallon — or even more, if oil prices follow a similar trajectory to the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Longer term, the price increase could be 4.2 cents per gallon for every dollar per barrel," Ibendahl said. "While conflict may be occurring in the Persian Gulf, the resulting impact on gas prices will be felt at stations nationwide before the end of the month."

Gregg Ibendahl is an associate professor of agricultural economics, specializes in agricultural production and finance, especially fuel pricing seasonality and impacts to the ag industry at Kansas State University.

Will gas hit $4? K-State economist breaks down the numbers

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Pavement marking removal and replacement to begin in Reno County

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ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

just after 2p.m. March 1, police arrested&nbsp;Steven L. Crockett, 70, Atchison, was arrested at 2:15PM on Sunday in the 300 block Santa Fe Street, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

Crockett was arrested&nbsp;on a Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear in court and was subsequently found to be in possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia.&nbsp; He remains in custody and is due to make a court appearance this week, according to online jail records.

Police: Kan. man who skipped court was also carrying fentanyl

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kristi-noem">Kristi Noem</a>&nbsp;defended her department’s immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged two protesters killed by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

It was Noem’s first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of the two protesters galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration is executing its mass deportation agenda, a centerpiece policy of President Donald Trump’s second term. At the time, Noem portrayed the protesters, two U.S. citizens, as armed agitators, although accounts from local officials and bystander video contradicted assertions from her and other administration officials.

In the hearing, Noem defended her agency’s treatment of immigrants caught up in enforcement activities, and blamed activists and others for attacks against officers.

“I want to address the dangerous environment that our ICE officers face on the streets today,” Noem said. “They are facing a serious and escalating threat as a result of deliberate mischaracterizations of their heroic work and rhetoric that demonizes our law enforcement.”

Since the deaths in Minneapolis, the administration has taken steps meant to tone down tensions, including drawing down the operation there. But the administration has continued pressing restrictions against both legal and illegal immigration, has been buying up warehouses for immigration detention and persisting in federal enforcement in areas around the country. Noem said about 650 investigators remain in Minnesota as part of a broader fraud probe.

The immigration tactics of Noem’s department have triggered a clash in Congress over its routine funding, which remains unresolved, although a spending bill passed last year granted it a significant infusion of cash for the Republican administration’s mass deportation policy. Noem called the partial shutdown “reckless” and blamed Democrats for putting national security at risk.

Her appearance in front of the Judiciary Committee also comes after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/austin-texas-bar-shooting-7690f931ba00f950c1828cef25399bb6">a weekend shooting</a>&nbsp;at a bar in Texas that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, leading to concerns that the escalating conflict in Iran could have repercussions for security in the U.S.

Noem blames chaotic situation for her characterization of killed protesters

In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, Homeland Security sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by protesters who organized marches, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity with whistles and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.

<a href="https://apnews.com/video/the-family-of-renee-good-talk-about-her-life-more-than-a-month-after-she-was-killed-in-minneapolis-9539004139804334b833384fd0e4db28">Renee Good</a>, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, setting off intense protests demanding pushing an end to the operation. Then on Jan. 24, Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire on another Minnesota resident,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-protester-alex-pretti-15ade7de6e19cb0291734e85dac763dc">Alex Pretti</a>, who had been filming enforcement operations.

Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem, whose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-administration-alex-pretti-their-own-words-27b7233380c68306a64317b3bf2aa4a3">initial comments</a>&nbsp;portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors, has come under withering criticism by Democrats and even some Republicans, who have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-shootings-kristi-noem-ice-congress-add9ac7b90f5677621009e8a603c0141">called for her to resign</a>.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, repeatedly questioned Noem about her initial comments and called on her to apologize.

“You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, domestic terrorists,” Durbin said. “We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.”

Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed “violent protesters” for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.

“I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene, as you’ve seen in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” she said.

After public outrage over the deaths, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations on the ground there. Homan has since announced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/homan-immigration-agents-minnesota-enforcement-operation-drawdown-5a7940eb9b5100d46efc33a97f524da0">a drawdown</a>&nbsp;of the ICE and CBP officers who had been sent to Minnesota to carry out what had been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, although he’s been adamant that the president’s mass deportation agenda will continue.

Republicans largely kept the focus on the large numbers of migrants who came into the country under former President Joe Biden, portraying Noem as cleaning up the former administration’s mess.

Noem also faced some Republican criticism

Noem did face sharp criticism from one Republican, Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana, who pushed her to explain why her department paid more than $200 million for an ad campaign she appeared in last year encouraging migrants to leave the country voluntarily and questioned whether Trump knew about the price tag ahead of time.

Noem defended those ads, saying they were effective and went through the regular department bidding process.

“Well, they were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy said pointedly.

Homeland Security officials have often blamed conflicts in places where it’s carrying out immigration enforcement activities, like Minneapolis and Chicago, as the fault of Democratic politicians who, they say, encourage people to oppose officers as they try to make arrests.

Noem is also slated to appear Wednesday in front of a House committee.

🎥Hot seat: Senators grill DHS Secretary on immigration enforcement

By&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/konstantin-toropin">KONSTANTIN TOROPIN</a> Associated Press

The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed in the Iran war, saying they died in a drone strike in Kuwait.

All four Army Reserve soldiers were killed Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. That was just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran, which has launched retailatory strikes.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, lowa.

Killed were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa.

Pentagon releases names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iran conflict

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/julia-frankel">JULIA FRANKEL</a>

JERUSALEM (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-03-2026">unfolding war</a>&nbsp;in the Middle East has ricocheted across the region, with nearly every country sustaining damage from missile hits or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-03-2026#0000019c-b486-d9be-a19f-b6be8ec80000">key embassies</a>, economic engines and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/strait-hormuz-iran-energy-war-5b60e82ef2fc68e2b43aa570a32404dd">passageways</a>&nbsp;closing down.

Foreign governments are urging their citizens to leave on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-travel-airlines-mideast-flights-93f2559eb57f05989fb1de8fda7f21ec">any available commercial flight</a>&nbsp;as Gulf airspaces largely close, cruise ships can’t pass through the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/strait-hormuz-iran-energy-war-5b60e82ef2fc68e2b43aa570a32404dd">Strait of Hormuz</a>, and major airlines&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-middle-east-travel-7fa70acc92e8250c36b64d7809ef013c">cancel flights</a>. The U.S. State Department says it has evacuated nonemergency personnel and families in six nations, adding the United Arab Emirates to its list on Tuesday. It also has advised citizens from 14 countries to leave. Governments from Russia to Germany and France also scrambled to run repatriation flights.

Here’s a country-by-country breakdown of the impact of the war so far.

All airspace information is from the real-time flight-tracking service Flightradar 24, as of Tuesday, or national authorities.

Damage and casualties: Iran has by far the highest reported death toll of countries in the region. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the U.S.-Israeli operation has killed at least 787 people. That includes more than 160 the state-run IRNA news agency says were killed by a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/all-girls-school-in-iran-struck-by-us-israeli-strike-over-100-casualties-78cead1fc4ba4ac39d57e8a0f53b0bf2">strike on an elementary school</a>&nbsp;in Minab. Israel says it was not involved in the incident. When asked by reporters about it, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not have details but that the U.S. would not deliberately target a school.

U.S.-Israeli strikes have targeted nuclear infrastructure, missile launchers, government buildings in Tehran and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top military officials.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-trump-nuclear-natanz-israel-enrichment-uranium-e42a4711f6d350d14c10e5f9981eca46">Satellite images</a>&nbsp;of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility taken Monday show several damaged buildings, compared with imagery from the previous day, along with additional damage across the facility’s complex.

Damage and casualties:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/iran-israel-us-missiles-photos-5d5d519aef16d124bd11d361f8e0d9ad">Several locations</a>&nbsp;have been hit by Iranian missiles, killing 11 people. The extent of damage to Israeli military bases and other sensitive locations is unknown; the military does not reveal that information.

Damage and casualties: The Iranian-supported&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-hezbollahisrael-lebanon-b4daa0a6084df27099cef45b59120034">militant group Hezbollah</a>&nbsp;fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate. At least 52 people have been killed and 154 wounded, Lebanese authorities said.

Israel hit Beirut with more airstrikes early Tuesday, saying it was targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities,” and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-airstrikes-beirut-rockets-troops-f3b27b80b54699f58deebf35c7b09fd2">sent ground troops</a>&nbsp;into southern Lebanon border areas. Hezbollah also said it launched drones targeting an Israeli air base. The Israeli military said it downed two drones.

Israel and Hezbollah fought&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-war-numbers-hezbollah-military-6f1a651ebba0a88fbdb7ca59a57acd1e">a war for more than a year</a>, ending with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-lebanon-hezbollah-11-26-2024-aa165645d900a3d681ad127e05b0c561">November 2024 ceasefire</a>&nbsp;that left the militant group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-hezbollah-weapons-disarmament-israel-e5421702925f68040ee354fb7b06e368">greatly weakened</a>.

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said Tuesday it was closing to the public until further notice.

Airspace: Lebanon’s airspace is not fully closed. Flights are coming and going, but many airlines have canceled flights.

Damage and casualties: Iran&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-03-2026-8755877b603e46ed3df8107689c1ee23">struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s</a>&nbsp;capital early Tuesday. The attack from two drones on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire” and minor damage, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery also came under attack from drones, but its defenses downed the aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.

Airspace: Partially closed in the area bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

Damage and casualties: On Monday, the U.S. Embassy compound in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-jets-downed-kuwait-friendly-fire-iran-f15-1151e092db4597e93e83c04f3b44bddc">Kuwait</a>&nbsp;was struck. On Tuesday, it announced it was closing to the public until further notice.

Six U.S. soldiers in a logistics unit were killed by a strike in Kuwait, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry said Sunday that one person was killed and 32 injured in an Iranian strike, all migrant workers from unnamed countries.

Damage and casualties: Three people were killed in the UAE — foreign workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The city of Dubai, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-dubai-emirates-tourism-attack-b256f514b290c987b3004cc87744f038">a global reputation</a>&nbsp;as the safest place in the Middle East and a hub for global investment, has sustained damage to its international airport and, according to CENTCOM, hotels along its coastline. Iran also targeted two Amazon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amazon-aws-data-center-uae-iran-bahrain-71066b0a822c4cfd88b61e3fe79af917">data centers</a>&nbsp;in the UAE, the company said Tuesday.

Airspace: Closed for commercial flights. Some evacuation flights began Monday.

Damage and casualties: The ripple effects of the war have hit Egypt’s struggling economy, as global shipping firms decided to reroute vessel fleets away from the Suez Canal.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/suez-canal-egypt-gaza-houthis-israel-5a5fe98a74f64144f7aab9ceca9d87d3">The canal</a>, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is a major source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped country.

Airspace: Commercial flights are leaving the country, though there have been cancellations, and most countries are recommending residents travel through Taba and Sharm al-Sheikh instead of Cairo.

Damage and casualties: Jordanian police announced Sunday that five people were injured by falling shrapnel after Iranian projectiles were intercepted in the kingdom’s airspace.

Airspace: The Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority said the airspace will be closed from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily until further notice.

Damage and casualties: Iran has hit energy facilities in Qatar.

Airspace:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/disruption-at-qatars-doha-airport-as-attack-on-iran-affects-flights-across-middle-east-and-beyond-f96b624323634b7bbe421440bf8031ca">Closed</a>.

Damage and casualties: Strikes on Iranian proxy sites by the U.S. or Israel have killed militia members. Multiple drone and missile attacks have been launched at the U.S. bases and consulate in Irbil, and protesters attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil said Tuesday that it would stop production in a key oil field because of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, causing crude&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-oil-prices-energy-strait-of-hormuz-21e634acba4c35801d28dfdbcc53824a">oil prices to surge worldwide</a>. The ministry cited a shortage of tankers entering the Gulf, forcing them to “stop production and pumping” from the southern Rumaila fields near the city of Basra.

Damage and casualties: Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said fire from a strike killed one Asian worker and seriously wounded two others early Monday morning. There was also a drone impact near an Amazon data center, the company said Tuesday.

Damage and casualties: Several people, including children, suffered minor injuries in the countryside outside Damascus from Iranian missile debris, Syria’s state news agency SANA said. Some areas in Syria’s southern provinces also saw missile debris fall from Iranian projectiles fired toward Israel, with no additional injuries or material damage reported, SANA said.

Damage and casualties: Oman has been attacked by drones multiple times since the Iran war started. The attacks targeted the country’s largest port of Salalah, as well as Duqm port. At least one vessel also was hit off the country’s coast.

Airspace: Open, but many commercial flights are canceled.

AP writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

Country by country, here’s how the unfolding war is affecting the Middle East

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating another fatal shooting in Wichita and have made an arrest.

Just after 7:30p.m. Monday, police responded to report of a shooting in the parking lot of the&nbsp; American Legion in the 1300 Block of North Hydraulic in Wichita. According to an online statement from police, the suspect called 911 and reported he had just shot someone.

First responders found the&nbsp; shooting victim,&nbsp;56-year-old Darnell Guiden of Wichita,&nbsp;inside a 1998 Chevrolet pickup. EMS transported him to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased just before 8p.m.

The suspect, identified from county booking records as 40-year-old Tristan D. Miles, was taken into custody without incident. He had previously been banned from the business from a previous incident, according to police.

He is being held on requested charges of first-degree premeditated murder and criminal discharge of a firearm.&nbsp; The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Police: Kan. homicide suspect called 911 to report he shot someone

NEW YORK (AP) — A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and hit Wall Street Tuesday, while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-oil-gas-gallon-aaa-e2daee318b8e3e6a1124713909a410e4">oil prices</a>&nbsp;climbed even higher on worries about the widening&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-03-2026-8755877b603e46ed3df8107689c1ee23">war with Iran</a>. But the big moves that rocked markets in the morning eased substantially as the day progressed.

By the end of trading, the S&amp;P 500 had sunk 0.9%. That would be a solid loss on a typical day, but the index had been down as much as 2.5% in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-economy-inflation-trump-b45192677b0751ec3550e363cdeb256a">damage to the economy</a>&nbsp;than feared.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 403 points, or 0.8%, after plunging more than 1,200 points earlier in the morning. The Nasdaq composite pared its loss to 1%.

It was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-oil-gold-iran-trump-25fd9bfa1b20549a6cbbdee61b2ea05f">just a day earlier</a>&nbsp;that U.S. stocks opened the morning with a sharp loss, only to recover all of it and end the day with a tiny gain. Helping to drive that rebound was a record showing that past wars and conflicts in the Middle East have not usually meant long-term pain for U.S. stocks.

But that was with the caveat that oil prices did not jump too high, like above $100 per barrel. On Tuesday, oil prices rose again and raised more alarms. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly leaped above $84.

The jump lessened through the day, though, which helped moderate the losses for stocks. Brent settled at $81.40, up 4.7%. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.7% to $74.56.

The moves showed oil prices, and how much they’re set to worsen inflation, are among the central fears for investors. More expensive fuel will mean less money for U.S. and other households to spend. It would also raise expenses for companies worldwide, which would likewise hurt their profits. And corporate profits are the lifeblood of stock markets.

Tuesday’s climb for oil prices came after Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, part of a widening of targets that also includes areas critical to the world’s oil and natural gas production. Worries are particularly high about the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/strait-hormuz-iran-energy-war-5b60e82ef2fc68e2b43aa570a32404dd">Strait of Hormuz</a>&nbsp;off the coast of Iran, a narrow passageway where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Iranian Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, vowed that any ships that passed through the strait would be set on fire.

The fears about oil prices ebbed a bit later in the day as President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy could begin escorting tankers through the strait, “if necessary,” to “ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”

Making things uncertain for markets is the question about how long this war may continue.

A major attack by the United States and Israel has already killed Iranian&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>, but Trump said late Monday night on his social media network, “Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully” with the supply of munitions that the United States possesses.

Some professional investors said again Tuesday they don’t think this is the beginning of a long-term down market and that stocks could rebound if the war doesn’t last that long. But they acknowledge it could take a while for that to become clear, and Tuesday’s swings for markets show how uncertain things are.

Tuesday’s sell-off started in Asia, where the Kospi stock index in South Korea, a big energy importer, plunged 7.2% as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday. That was its worst day since two summers ago, and it had been setting records recently.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.1%, even as analysts said Japan has a sizable stockpile lasting more than 200 days. In Europe, where prices for natural gas have soared because of the war, France’s CAC 40 lost 3.5%.

On Wall Street, nearly three out of every four stocks within the S&amp;P 500 dropped. Unlike a day before, influential Big Tech stocks weren’t able to prop up indexes, and Nvidia fell 1.3%.

Among the winners on Wall Street was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/target-earnings-sales-quarter-b3afa6d07912511f87e00af59c008d18">Target</a>, which rose 6.7% after the retailer reported a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

All told, the S&amp;P 500 fell 64.99 points to 6,816.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 403.51 to 48,501.27, and the Nasdaq composite sank 232.17 to 22,516.69.

In the bond market, Treasury yields leaped in the morning with worries about inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly rose above 4.10% before pulling back just below 4.06%. It was at 4.05% late Monday and just 3.97% on Friday.

Higher yields can make it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money, affecting everything from mortgages to bond issuances. They also put downward pressure on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

When Treasurys are paying more in interest, they can also undercut the price of gold, which pays its investors nothing. Gold fell 3.5% Tuesday to settle at $5,123.70 per ounce, halting a strong run that had taken it above $5,300 as investors looked for safer places to park their money.

High inflation could also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-trump-powell-inflation-c13913c9e007981f075fb3b22d4a4cec">tie the Federal Reserve’s hands</a>&nbsp;and keep it from cutting interest rates. The Fed lowered rates several times last year and indicated more cuts were to come in 2026. That would help boost the economy and job market, but lower rates can also worsen inflation.

Traders are now pushing back their forecasts further into the summer for when the Fed could resume cutting rates, according to data from CME Group. That’s even though Trump has been calling for Fed officials in angry and personal terms to cut rates now.

Dow trims early plunge of 1,200 as oil prices climb even higher

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —Police have released the names of the victims in Sunday’s early morning two-vehicle crash at 10th and Quindaro.

Tiera Laster, 30 and Ashli McGough, 37, both residents of Kansas City, Kan., died from their injuries, according to a statement from Kansas City, Kansas Police.

Based on video obtained from the scene, the driver of the eastbound vehicle on Quindaro Boulevard crossed the double yellow line into the west bound lane and struck the vehicle driven by Laster. The driver and sole occupant of the eastbound vehicle and three passengers from Laster’s vehicle remain hospitalized in serious to critical condition.

This incident remains under investigation by the KCKPD Traffic Division. 

Police ID two Kansas women who died in wrong-way crash

By:<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">Sherman Smith</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>

LAWRENCE — Attorneys will argue Friday in court over whether a judge should delay enforcement of a state law that invalidates driver’s licenses and birth certificates for those who changed their gender marker and restricts bathroom use based on sex assigned at birth.

Two trans men from Lawrence&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/27/trans-men-file-lawsuit-over-kansas-law-that-restricts-bathroom-use-and-invalidates-drivers-licenses/">filed a lawsuit last week</a>&nbsp;in Douglas County District Court to challenge&nbsp;<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb244/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 244</a>, which took effect Feb. 26. The unnamed plaintiffs say the law violates constitutional rights to personal autonomy, privacy, equity, due process and expression, could subject them to harassment and violence, and would jeopardize their mental health and employment.

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Philadelphia-based Ballard Spahr law firm, which represent the plaintiffs, appeared by Zoom for a scheduling conference Tuesday in Douglas County District Court with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and other attorneys for the state. Journalists from Kansas Reflector and the Kansas City Star and an attorney from the University of Kansas observed the hearing from an otherwise empty courtroom.

Douglas County District Judge James McCabria told attorneys they needed to find a time this week to hold oral arguments on a motion by plaintiffs for a temporary restraining order, which would block enforcement of the law. He set the hearing for Friday afternoon.

McCabria could rule quickly on the motion. He acknowledged a restraining order would be an “extraordinary remedy” for a law that has “broad application.” He noted the ruling would not be “a determination of final merits” in the case, and that he could continue to “weigh things later.”

The plaintiffs in the case are identified in court documents as Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe. During Tuesday’s hearing, the judge questioned Kobach about the use of pseudonyms. Kobach said it wasn’t typical but that he wouldn’t object, “just to make this thing move along.”

McCabria, who was appointed to the bench by Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014, said the use of pseudonyms “raises some questions,” and that he was concerned about the public’s right to know. He said he would wait until Friday to see if a news outlet objects to the plaintiffs’ request to proceed unnamed.

“I do see a reasonable and articulated reason for the request,” McCabria said.

The GOP-led Legislature fast-tracked passage of the law this year while bending rules to avoid public input and silence debate. Every Republican except Emporia Rep. Mark Schreiber voted to pass the law and to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto, despite objections from Democrats about the cost to local governments, harm to transgender people, unclear provisions in the law, and constitutional problems.

Republicans argued, without evidence, that the bathroom provision of the law was necessary to ensure the safety of women. They ignored the reality that the law now requires trans men to use women’s facilities.

The law contains a bounty-style provision that allows individuals who feel “aggrieved” by someone’s bathroom use to sue the individuals for monetary gain. Any public entity that fails to properly police bathrooms could be subject to a $25,000 fine on first offense and $125,000 fines on subsequent offenses.

The Kansas Department of Revenue&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/26/trans-kansans-struggle-with-reality-of-legislatures-cruelty-as-drivers-licenses-are-invalidated/">sent a letter to trans people</a>&nbsp;shortly before the law took effect to inform them their driver’s licenses were invalid. However,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/kansas-republicans-sb-244-trans-drivers-licenses" target="_blank">independent journalist Marisa Kabas</a>&nbsp;reported&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ejihld4sywvvqwe67cdkn4jq/post/3mfucyhno7s2z" target="_blank">an internal KDOR memo</a>&nbsp;to DMVs says no records have been invalidated.

The memo also says the agency sent a letter to 300 Kansans, although the agency has publicly said 1,700 records were affected.

Zach Denney, a KDOR spokesman, told Kansas Reflector that while the new law invalidates licenses immediately,&nbsp;agency employees must look at each record to determine why the gender marker was changed, as some could have been changed because of data entry errors. He encouraged individuals to check their status on the KDOR website.

“The KDOR driver’s license status check page accurately reflects KDOR’s internal system, and what law enforcement entities will see if they check a license,” he said. “The system is being updated, and as it is, the status check website will reflect changes made within the system.”

Kansas judge orders Friday hearing on whether to tap brakes on anti-trans law

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man accused of sexually assaulting a teen while she was waiting for a school bus in Wichita is due back in court Tuesday afternoon.&nbsp;

Gonzalo Ramirez, 31, will appear in Judge Rodger Woods courtroom for a preliminary hearing, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney' office.

He was charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent solicitation of a child..&nbsp; The judge will determine if there is evidence to move the case forward.

Just before 6a.m. on Sept. 15, police were dispatched to a report of a sexual assault of a minor that occurred in the 1500 block of South Kansas in Wichita, according to a media release.

The investigation revealed that a minor was waiting for the school bus when they were approached by a 31-year-old male suspect, not known to her.&nbsp; The suspect, identified according to Sedgwick County booking records as Gonzalo Ramirez, lured the minor into a vehicle and committed the assault.

Officers quickly located Ramirez who was taken into custody and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail.&nbsp; He remains in custody on a $500,000.00 bond, according to online jail records.

Preliminary hearing for suspect in Kan. school bus stop sex assault

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man who gave his teenage son the gun he's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-high-school-lockdown-3969d34cf6a7adc787facf21c469ef4d">accused of using to kill two students and two teachers</a>&nbsp;at a high school was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday.

Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray now joins a growing number of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-parents-charged-bbe07bf6f882fd44f893639dc36c0825">parents being held responsible in court after children were accused</a>&nbsp;in shootings across the country.

Colin Gray was found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Another teacher and eight other students were wounded. Gray was also convicted of multiple counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to children.

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