DOUGLAS COUNTY —Three Lawrence city leaders received disturbing notices on their front porches last week, according to a statement from Lawrence Police Department spokesperson Laura McCabe.

 Vice Mayor Mike Dever and Commissioners Brad Finkeldei and Lisa Larsen each received a paper bag with a brick and a note inside when they got home from the Commission meeting.&nbsp;

The notes all read, “We know you are violating your own law to displace and kill the homeless. We know that on April 15th you intend to change that law in order to cover up and justify your violations. We strongly advise you to end your abuses of the homeless, stop destroying their camps, and cease your plans to permanently displace and remove them from this city." 

All appear to have been left during the City Commission meeting Tuesday night. Separate police officers responded to each of the homes and circumstances at each home varied, but the disturbing delivery was the same. One commissioner’s home was empty when the bag was delivered, and it was untouched when officers arrived. One had family visiting from out of town, and another had a family member discover the frightening message and bring it inside.&nbsp;

“We simply have enough division on the streets,” said Chief Rich Lockhart. “There is no room for turning political differences into a potentially criminal act. There is a forum to voice your political beliefs and disrupting the feeling of safety and security of our leaders’ families does nothing to unite our community or advance any cause.”

Mayor Bart Littlejohn added, "As City Commissioners, we condemn the recent harassment tactics targeting our colleagues, as they do not align with the values of civil discourse and mutual respect in our community. Such actions are counterproductive and will not be tolerated as we work together to address homelessness and ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all."

Officers collected the bricks and other materials and brought it all to LKDP for processing.

Investigators identified a person of interest, interviewed the person, and issued him a trespass warning for all City Commissioners’ homes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712589785347.png" alt="Images from video of the Tuesday commission meeting -City of Lawrence" />
 <figcaption>Images from video of the Tuesday commission meeting -City of Lawrence</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Three Lawrence city leaders received disturbing notices on their front porches last week, according to a statement from Lawrence Police Department spokesperson Laura McCabe. Vice Mayor Mike Dever and Commissioners Brad Finkeldei and Lisa Larsen each received a paper bag with a brick and a note inside when they got home from the Commission meeting.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712589567305.png" alt="Images from video of the Tuesday commission meeting -City of Lawrence" />
 <figcaption>Images from video of the Tuesday commission meeting -City of Lawrence</figcaption>
 </figure>The notes all read, “We know you are violating your own law to displace and kill the homeless. We know that on April 15th you intend to change that law in order to cover up and justify your violations. We strongly advise you to end your abuses of the homeless, stop destroying their camps, and cease your plans to permanently displace and remove them from this city." <div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QKmP2DxKwEc?si=sa-NRpvyHiyRljKM&amp;start=375" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>All appear to have been left during the City Commission meeting Tuesday night. Separate police officers responded to each of the homes and circumstances at each home varied, but the disturbing delivery was the same. One commissioner’s home was empty when the bag was delivered, and it was untouched when officers arrived. One had family visiting from out of town, and another had a family member discover the frightening message and bring it inside.&nbsp;“We simply have enough division on the streets,” said Chief Rich Lockhart. “There is no room for turning political differences into a potentially criminal act. There is a forum to voice your political beliefs and disrupting the feeling of safety and security of our leaders’ families does nothing to unite our community or advance any cause.”Mayor Bart Littlejohn added, "As City Commissioners, we condemn the recent harassment tactics targeting our colleagues, as they do not align with the values of civil discourse and mutual respect in our community. Such actions are counterproductive and will not be tolerated as we work together to address homelessness and ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all."Officers collected the bricks and other materials and brought it all to LKDP for processing.Investigators identified a person of interest, interviewed the person, and issued him a trespass warning for all City Commissioners’ homes.

🎥Bricks, disturbing notes left at homes of Lawrence city commissioners 

NASHVILLE —Country artist Morgan Wallen, 30, was booked into jail early Monday on requested charges that include 3 felony counts of reckless endangerment and 1 count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to a social media report from Metro Nashville Police.

According to police Wallen was arrested for throwing a chair from the rooftop of Chief's Bar on Sunday night. The chair landed on Broadway Street, near two Metro Nashville Police officers. His bond was $15,250, according to police.

In May of 2020, Wallen apologized following his arrest on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges. That arrest occurred&nbsp; after he was kicked out of Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville, according to the Associated Press.

After the May 2020 arrest, Wallen said on social media that he and some friends were “horse-playing” after a few bar stops.

Wallen’s hits include “Whiskey Glasses” and “Chasin’ You.” He competed on “The Voice” in 2014 and co-wrote songs for Jason Aldean and Kane Brown.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712583620863.png" alt="Wallen photo Metro Nashville Police" />
 <figcaption>Wallen photo Metro Nashville Police</figcaption>
 </figure>NASHVILLE —Country artist Morgan Wallen, 30, was booked into jail early Monday on requested charges that include 3 felony counts of reckless endangerment and 1 count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to a social media report from Metro Nashville Police.According to police Wallen was arrested for throwing a chair from the rooftop of Chief's Bar on Sunday night. The chair landed on Broadway Street, near two Metro Nashville Police officers. His bond was $15,250, according to police.In May of 2020, Wallen apologized following his arrest on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges. That arrest occurred&nbsp; after he was kicked out of Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville, according to the Associated Press.After the May 2020 arrest, Wallen said on social media that he and some friends were “horse-playing” after a few bar stops.Wallen’s hits include “Whiskey Glasses” and “Chasin’ You.” He competed on “The Voice” in 2014 and co-wrote songs for Jason Aldean and Kane Brown.

Police: Morgan Wallen jailed after throwing chair from roof of bar

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said he believes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;should be left to the states in a video released Monday morning outlining his position after months of mixed messages and speculation.

“Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights," Trump said in the video posted on his Truth Social site. “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state."

Trump, in the video, did not say when in pregnancy he believes abortion should be banned — declining to endorse a national cutoff that would have been used as a cudgel by Democrats ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November election</a>. But Trump's endorsement of the patchwork approach leaves him open to being attached to the strictest proposed state legislation, which President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign have already been working to do.

In the video, Trump again took credit for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Roe v. Wade</a>, saying that he was “proudly the person responsible for the ending” of the constitutional right to an abortion and thanking the conservative justices who overturned it by name.

While he again articulated his support for three exceptions — in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk — he went on to describe the current legal landscape, in which different states have different restrictions following the court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, which upended the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

“Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others and that’s what they will be," he said. “At the end of the day it's all about will of the people.”

The announcement drew immediate condemnation from SBA Pro-Life America, one of the country's most prominent groups opposed to abortion rights.

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position,” said the group's president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, in statement. “Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act.”

Biden's campaign said Trump was “endorsing every single abortion ban in the states, including abortion bans with no exceptions.”

“And he’s bragging about his role in creating this hellscape,” campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said on X.

Trump had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-ban-15-weeks-91a9e0ce87d11dff0fa761f327bd0566">suggested last month</a>&nbsp;in a radio interview that he was leaning toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-ban-15-weeks-91a9e0ce87d11dff0fa761f327bd0566">supporting a national abortion ban</a>&nbsp;at around 15 weeks of pregnancy — early in the second trimester.

“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that,” he said on WABC radio. “And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.”

At the same time, Trump seemed reluctant to embrace a federal ban.

“Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,” he said.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, had written on his social media site Sunday night that he planned to issue a statement on “abortion and abortion rights" after sidestepping questions about when in a pregnancy he believes the line should be drawn.

Republican-led states have ushered in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-bans-exceptions-doctors-lawmakers-7cefca4a248076268c789ea05b367f1a">a wave of new restrictions</a>&nbsp;following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2024-elections-republicans-ohio-virginia-90255a62d83ad9f1d86b407c9455bb0a">Democrats believe the fight over abortion rights helps them at the polls</a>&nbsp;and have outperformed expectations in elections since.

Trump had long argued that the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe gave those who oppose abortion rights “tremendous power to negotiate.” He said he wanted to use that leverage to strike a deal that he hoped would “make both sides happy” and bring the country “together” — even though the issue is one of the most contentious in American politics, with opponents viewing abortion as murder and proponents seeing it as a fundamental women’s right.

Trump has tried to thread the needle on abortion throughout the campaign. He routinely takes credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which he has called a “moral and unconstitutional atrocity," and has called himself the “most pro-life president in American history.”

But he has also repeatedly criticized fellow Republicans for being too hard-line on the issue, blaming candidates who did not allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant person is at risk for the party’s losses that November.

“A lot of politicians who are pro-life do not know how to discuss this topic and they lose their election. We had a lot of election losses because of this, because they didn’t know to discuss it. They had no idea,” he said at the Concerned Women of America 2023 Leadership Summit.

In the video, Trump told Republicans that they must "follow your heart on this issue. But remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline.”

Instead, he has tried to paint Democrats as the ones who are extreme on the issue.

“It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position,” he said in the video.

Democrats and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">President Joe Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, have been spotlighting</a>&nbsp;the issue as they work to draw a contrast with Trump.

Polling has consistently shown that most Americans believe abortion should be legal through the initial stages of pregnancy. About half of U.S. adults said abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-poll-roe-dobbs-ban-opinion-fcfdfc5a799ac3be617d99999e92eabe">an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last June</a>.

<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm">Data compiled</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the vast majority of abortions from 2012 to 2021 were performed within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established the constitutional right to abortion until the time of viability, at around 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy.

Abortions later in pregnancy are rare and are often performed due to serious fetal abnormalities, when the life of the mother is at risk, or when women have faced significant delays accessing the procedure, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/abortions-later-in-pregnancy-in-a-post-dobbs-era/">health policy research firm KFF</a>.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said he believes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;should be left to the states in a video released Monday morning outlining his position after months of mixed messages and speculation.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/RNbajUtnVI">pic.twitter.com/RNbajUtnVI</a>&mdash; Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/1777315152959815883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights," Trump said in the video posted on his Truth Social site. “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state."Trump, in the video, did not say when in pregnancy he believes abortion should be banned — declining to endorse a national cutoff that would have been used as a cudgel by Democrats ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November election</a>. But Trump's endorsement of the patchwork approach leaves him open to being attached to the strictest proposed state legislation, which President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign have already been working to do.In the video, Trump again took credit for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Roe v. Wade</a>, saying that he was “proudly the person responsible for the ending” of the constitutional right to an abortion and thanking the conservative justices who overturned it by name.While he again articulated his support for three exceptions — in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk — he went on to describe the current legal landscape, in which different states have different restrictions following the court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, which upended the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.“Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others and that’s what they will be," he said. “At the end of the day it's all about will of the people.”The announcement drew immediate condemnation from SBA Pro-Life America, one of the country's most prominent groups opposed to abortion rights.“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position,” said the group's president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, in statement. “Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712580445478.png" alt="Trump statement Sunday on Truth Social&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Trump statement Sunday on Truth Social&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Biden's campaign said Trump was “endorsing every single abortion ban in the states, including abortion bans with no exceptions.”“And he’s bragging about his role in creating this hellscape,” campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said on X.Trump had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-ban-15-weeks-91a9e0ce87d11dff0fa761f327bd0566">suggested last month</a>&nbsp;in a radio interview that he was leaning toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-ban-15-weeks-91a9e0ce87d11dff0fa761f327bd0566">supporting a national abortion ban</a>&nbsp;at around 15 weeks of pregnancy — early in the second trimester.“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that,” he said on WABC radio. “And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.”At the same time, Trump seemed reluctant to embrace a federal ban.“Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,” he said.Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, had written on his social media site Sunday night that he planned to issue a statement on “abortion and abortion rights" after sidestepping questions about when in a pregnancy he believes the line should be drawn.Republican-led states have ushered in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-bans-exceptions-doctors-lawmakers-7cefca4a248076268c789ea05b367f1a">a wave of new restrictions</a>&nbsp;following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2024-elections-republicans-ohio-virginia-90255a62d83ad9f1d86b407c9455bb0a">Democrats believe the fight over abortion rights helps them at the polls</a>&nbsp;and have outperformed expectations in elections since.Trump had long argued that the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe gave those who oppose abortion rights “tremendous power to negotiate.” He said he wanted to use that leverage to strike a deal that he hoped would “make both sides happy” and bring the country “together” — even though the issue is one of the most contentious in American politics, with opponents viewing abortion as murder and proponents seeing it as a fundamental women’s right.Trump has tried to thread the needle on abortion throughout the campaign. He routinely takes credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which he has called a “moral and unconstitutional atrocity," and has called himself the “most pro-life president in American history.”But he has also repeatedly criticized fellow Republicans for being too hard-line on the issue, blaming candidates who did not allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant person is at risk for the party’s losses that November.“A lot of politicians who are pro-life do not know how to discuss this topic and they lose their election. We had a lot of election losses because of this, because they didn’t know to discuss it. They had no idea,” he said at the Concerned Women of America 2023 Leadership Summit.In the video, Trump told Republicans that they must "follow your heart on this issue. But remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline.”Instead, he has tried to paint Democrats as the ones who are extreme on the issue.“It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position,” he said in the video.Democrats and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">President Joe Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, have been spotlighting</a>&nbsp;the issue as they work to draw a contrast with Trump.Polling has consistently shown that most Americans believe abortion should be legal through the initial stages of pregnancy. About half of U.S. adults said abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-poll-roe-dobbs-ban-opinion-fcfdfc5a799ac3be617d99999e92eabe">an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last June</a>.<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm">Data compiled</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the vast majority of abortions from 2012 to 2021 were performed within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established the constitutional right to abortion until the time of viability, at around 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy.Abortions later in pregnancy are rare and are often performed due to serious fetal abnormalities, when the life of the mother is at risk, or when women have faced significant delays accessing the procedure, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/abortions-later-in-pregnancy-in-a-post-dobbs-era/">health policy research firm KFF</a>.

🎥No national ban: Trump issues new statement on abortion 

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating gunfire at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

Just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday police responded to a report of a shooting and individuals running near 47th and Central, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

After officers secured the scene, it was discovered that multiple vehicles had been shot into, and one of the vehicles was occupied. There were no injuries.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or suspect information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712573414312.png" alt="Police have not reported an arrest or suspect information.-Google image" />
 <figcaption>Police have not reported an arrest or suspect information.-Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating gunfire at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.Just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday police responded to a report of a shooting and individuals running near 47th and Central, according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez.After officers secured the scene, it was discovered that multiple vehicles had been shot into, and one of the vehicles was occupied. There were no injuries.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or suspect information.

KCPD: Gunfire ruined Saturday at the Country Club Plaza

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Millions of spectators along a narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada eagerly awaited Monday's celestial sensation — a total eclipse of the sun — even as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-weather-forecast-e7e9e9957c87d1b0b7e35c39ba441aa7">forecasters called for clouds.</a>

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/key_messages/LatestKeyMessage_2.png">best weather</a>&nbsp;was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

It promised to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-83164668ee08b0a0c92e1d2ac41e91aa">North America’s biggest eclipse crowd</a>&nbsp;ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.

“Cloud cover is one of the trickier things to forecast,” National Weather Service meteorologist Alexa Maines explained at Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center on Sunday. “At the very least, it won’t snow.”

The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. Rain or shine, "it’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” said Chris Lomas from Gotham, England, who was staying at a sold-out trailer resort outside Dallas, the biggest city in totality's path.

For Monday's full eclipse, the moon was due to slip right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.

The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That's almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.

Extending five hours from the first bite out of the sun to the last, Monday's eclipse begins in the Pacific and makes landfall at Mazatlan, Mexico, before moving into Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and 12 other U.S. states in the Midwest, Middle Atlantic and New England, and then Canada. Last stop: Newfoundland, with the eclipse ending in the North Atlantic.

It will take just 1 hour, 40 minutes for the moon's shadow to race more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across the continent.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-eye-damage-eclipse-glasses-cb70dd4fc9caebfee4d61064bc5176b6">Eye protection</a>&nbsp;is needed with proper eclipse glasses and filters to look at the sun, except when it ducks completely out of sight during an eclipse.

The path of totality — approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles (320 kilometers). Add in all the eclipse chasers, amateur astronomers, scientists and just plain curious, and it’s no wonder the hotels and flights are sold out and the roads jammed.

Experts from NASA and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles (435 kilometers) up.

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Eclipse spectators staked out their spots across three countries Sunday, fervently hoping for clear skies despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-weather-forecast-e7e9e9957c87d1b0b7e35c39ba441aa7">forecasts calling for clouds</a>&nbsp;along most of the sun-vanishing route.

Click <a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/banner/2024-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/">here to watch</a>&nbsp;as NASA streams a telescope view of the sun 12 NoonCDT

North America won’t see another coast-to-coast&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-83164668ee08b0a0c92e1d2ac41e91aa">total solar eclipse</a>&nbsp;for 21 years, prompting the weekend’s worry and mad rush.

Monday’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_aPG0AeG1s">extravaganza stretches</a>&nbsp;from Mexico’s Pacific beaches to Canada’s rugged Atlantic shores, with 15 U.S. states in between.

“I have arrived in the path of totality!” Ian Kluft announced Sunday afternoon after pulling into Mesquite from Portland, Oregon, a 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) drive.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rpUg8NkM0&amp;list=PLnwt1fUa-EViXobU4hL_foNyr38Cf27SU&amp;index=6">total eclipse</a>&nbsp;happens when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. That means a little over four minutes of daytime darkness east of Dallas in Mesquite, where locals like Jorge Martinez have the day off. The land surveyor plans to “witness history” from home with his wife and their 3-year-old daughter, Nati.

“Hopefully, she’ll remember. She’s excited, too,” he said following breakfast at Dos Panchas Mexican Restaurant.

Inside the jammed restaurant, manager Adrian Martinez figured on staying open Monday.

“Wish it was going to be sunny like today,” he said. “But cloudiness? Hopefully, it still looks pretty good.”

Near Ennis, Texas, to the south, the Range Vintage Trailer Resort was also packed, selling out of spots more than a year ago.

“I booked it instantly, then I told my wife, ‘We’re going to Texas,’” Gotham, England’s Chris Lomas said from the trailer resort Sunday. Even if clouds obscure the covered-up sun, “it will still go dark. It’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” he added.

In Cleveland, the eclipse persuaded women's Final Four fans Matt and Sheila Powell to stick around an extra day after Sunday's game. But they were debating whether to begin their drive home to Missouri Valley, Iowa, early Monday in search of clearer skies along the eclipse’s path. “We’re trying to be flexible,” Powell said.

Even the eclipse professionals were up in the air.

Eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler had a perfect record ahead of Monday, seeing 11 out of 11 total solar eclipses after successfully relocating three of those times at the last minute for better weather.

“We are the complete opposite of tornado chasers, always seeking clear skies,” Zeiler said in an email over the weekend. This time, though, he was staying put in Fredericksburg, Texas, with his family, 10 of them altogether, and holding onto “a considerable ray of hope.”

Farther north, in Buffalo, New York, Jeff Sherman flew in from Somerville, Massachusetts, to catch his second total solar eclipse. After seeing the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse in 2017, “now I have to see any one that’s nearby, he said.

Kluft also enjoyed clear skies for the 2017 eclipse, in Oregon, and rolled into Mesquite wearing the T-shirt from that big event. As for Monday’s cloudy forecast across Texas, “at least I’ll be around people who are like-minded.”

Dicey weather was also predicted almost all the way to Lake Erie, despite Sunday’s gorgeous weather. The only places promised clear skies along Monday's narrow 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) corridor of totality were New England and Canada.

Like everywhere else, the weather was the hot topic at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park on Sunday. By mid-morning, volunteer Tom Villa already had greeted tourists from several states, as well as Canada and Brazil.

“They hope it’s like this tomorrow, of course, but you know, the weather is the weather,” he said.

AP reporters Jamie Stengle near Ennis, Texas; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; and Stephanie Nano in Cleveland contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712085263547.png" alt="NASA will stream telescope&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/banner/2024-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/">views of the sun</a>&nbsp;and on NASA TV starting at Noon CDT.Image Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>NASA will stream telescope&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/banner/2024-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/">views of the sun</a>&nbsp;and on NASA TV starting at Noon CDT.Image Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Millions of spectators along a narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada eagerly awaited Monday's celestial sensation — a total eclipse of the sun — even as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-weather-forecast-e7e9e9957c87d1b0b7e35c39ba441aa7">forecasters called for clouds.</a>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/key_messages/LatestKeyMessage_2.png">best weather</a>&nbsp;was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.It promised to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-83164668ee08b0a0c92e1d2ac41e91aa">North America’s biggest eclipse crowd</a>&nbsp;ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.“Cloud cover is one of the trickier things to forecast,” National Weather Service meteorologist Alexa Maines explained at Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center on Sunday. “At the very least, it won’t snow.”The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. Rain or shine, "it’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” said Chris Lomas from Gotham, England, who was staying at a sold-out trailer resort outside Dallas, the biggest city in totality's path.For Monday's full eclipse, the moon was due to slip right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That's almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.Extending five hours from the first bite out of the sun to the last, Monday's eclipse begins in the Pacific and makes landfall at Mazatlan, Mexico, before moving into Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and 12 other U.S. states in the Midwest, Middle Atlantic and New England, and then Canada. Last stop: Newfoundland, with the eclipse ending in the North Atlantic.It will take just 1 hour, 40 minutes for the moon's shadow to race more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across the continent.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-eye-damage-eclipse-glasses-cb70dd4fc9caebfee4d61064bc5176b6">Eye protection</a>&nbsp;is needed with proper eclipse glasses and filters to look at the sun, except when it ducks completely out of sight during an eclipse.The path of totality — approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles (320 kilometers). Add in all the eclipse chasers, amateur astronomers, scientists and just plain curious, and it’s no wonder the hotels and flights are sold out and the roads jammed.Experts from NASA and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles (435 kilometers) up.___MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Eclipse spectators staked out their spots across three countries Sunday, fervently hoping for clear skies despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-weather-forecast-e7e9e9957c87d1b0b7e35c39ba441aa7">forecasts calling for clouds</a>&nbsp;along most of the sun-vanishing route.Click <a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/banner/2024-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/">here to watch</a>&nbsp;as NASA streams a telescope view of the sun 12 NoonCDTNorth America won’t see another coast-to-coast&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-83164668ee08b0a0c92e1d2ac41e91aa">total solar eclipse</a>&nbsp;for 21 years, prompting the weekend’s worry and mad rush.Monday’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_aPG0AeG1s">extravaganza stretches</a>&nbsp;from Mexico’s Pacific beaches to Canada’s rugged Atlantic shores, with 15 U.S. states in between.“I have arrived in the path of totality!” Ian Kluft announced Sunday afternoon after pulling into Mesquite from Portland, Oregon, a 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) drive.A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rpUg8NkM0&amp;list=PLnwt1fUa-EViXobU4hL_foNyr38Cf27SU&amp;index=6">total eclipse</a>&nbsp;happens when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. That means a little over four minutes of daytime darkness east of Dallas in Mesquite, where locals like Jorge Martinez have the day off. The land surveyor plans to “witness history” from home with his wife and their 3-year-old daughter, Nati.“Hopefully, she’ll remember. She’s excited, too,” he said following breakfast at Dos Panchas Mexican Restaurant.Inside the jammed restaurant, manager Adrian Martinez figured on staying open Monday.“Wish it was going to be sunny like today,” he said. “But cloudiness? Hopefully, it still looks pretty good.”Near Ennis, Texas, to the south, the Range Vintage Trailer Resort was also packed, selling out of spots more than a year ago.“I booked it instantly, then I told my wife, ‘We’re going to Texas,’” Gotham, England’s Chris Lomas said from the trailer resort Sunday. Even if clouds obscure the covered-up sun, “it will still go dark. It’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” he added.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711653160174.png" alt="You can wear eclipse glasses to safely view the Sun during the partial eclipse phases of a solar eclipse, before and after totality. Photo by NASA/Mamta Patel Nagaraja" />
 <figcaption>You can wear eclipse glasses to safely view the Sun during the partial eclipse phases of a solar eclipse, before and after totality. Photo by NASA/Mamta Patel Nagaraja</figcaption>
 </figure>In Cleveland, the eclipse persuaded women's Final Four fans Matt and Sheila Powell to stick around an extra day after Sunday's game. But they were debating whether to begin their drive home to Missouri Valley, Iowa, early Monday in search of clearer skies along the eclipse’s path. “We’re trying to be flexible,” Powell said.Even the eclipse professionals were up in the air.Eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler had a perfect record ahead of Monday, seeing 11 out of 11 total solar eclipses after successfully relocating three of those times at the last minute for better weather.“We are the complete opposite of tornado chasers, always seeking clear skies,” Zeiler said in an email over the weekend. This time, though, he was staying put in Fredericksburg, Texas, with his family, 10 of them altogether, and holding onto “a considerable ray of hope.”Farther north, in Buffalo, New York, Jeff Sherman flew in from Somerville, Massachusetts, to catch his second total solar eclipse. After seeing the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse in 2017, “now I have to see any one that’s nearby, he said.Kluft also enjoyed clear skies for the 2017 eclipse, in Oregon, and rolled into Mesquite wearing the T-shirt from that big event. As for Monday’s cloudy forecast across Texas, “at least I’ll be around people who are like-minded.”Dicey weather was also predicted almost all the way to Lake Erie, despite Sunday’s gorgeous weather. The only places promised clear skies along Monday's narrow 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) corridor of totality were New England and Canada.Like everywhere else, the weather was the hot topic at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park on Sunday. By mid-morning, volunteer Tom Villa already had greeted tourists from several states, as well as Canada and Brazil.“They hope it’s like this tomorrow, of course, but you know, the weather is the weather,” he said.___AP reporters Jamie Stengle near Ennis, Texas; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; and Stephanie Nano in Cleveland contributed.___

Huge crowds await a total solar eclipse. Clouds may spoil the view

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 39-year-old&nbsp;Christopher J. Ball, according to KCPD.

Around 1:00pm Friday, police responded to 5600 block of E. 31st Street on a sound of shots call, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

First responders located Ball in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, approximately three miles from Arrowhead Stadium.

Police have not released any suspect information or reported an arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712365459887.png" alt="photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities investigating another homicide in Kansas City have identified the victim as 39-year-old&nbsp;Christopher J. Ball, according to KCPD.Around 1:00pm Friday, police responded to 5600 block of E. 31st Street on a sound of shots call, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.First responders located Ball in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, approximately three miles from Arrowhead Stadium.Police have not released any suspect information or reported an arrest.

Police ID homicide victim found near Arrowhead Stadium

MONTOMGERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on multiple allegations after a reported burglary.

Just before 8a.m. April 3, Montgomery County Dispatch received a 911 call regarding an active burglary and theft occurring northwest of Coffeyville near the industrial park, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.

The reporting person informed dispatch that the chain had been removed from the barn doors and, while they were on the property, a black Dodge Charger passenger vehicle pulled out of the barn and fled the property. 

The reporting person attempted to follow the vehicle, but it couldn't be located.&nbsp;

Shortly after, Coffeyville Police Officers located a vehicle matching the description provided by the reporting person. They stopped the vehicle and detained the driver identified as 54-year-old Robert Mikel of Coffeyville, Kansas, and passenger 33-year-old Jacob Lind of Altamont, Kansas.

Deputies arrived on the scene and confirmed there was stolen property inside the vehicle. Mikel and Lind were taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections, where they were booked on requested charges of burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property. 

Deputies executed a search warrant on the vehicle, recovering the stolen property, which will be returned to the rightful owner.

This case has been sent to the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office for proper charging.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712324544258.png" alt="Mikel-photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Mikel-photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTOMGERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on multiple allegations after a reported burglary.Just before 8a.m. April 3, Montgomery County Dispatch received a 911 call regarding an active burglary and theft occurring northwest of Coffeyville near the industrial park, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.The reporting person informed dispatch that the chain had been removed from the barn doors and, while they were on the property, a black Dodge Charger passenger vehicle pulled out of the barn and fled the property. The reporting person attempted to follow the vehicle, but it couldn't be located.&nbsp;Shortly after, Coffeyville Police Officers located a vehicle matching the description provided by the reporting person. They stopped the vehicle and detained the driver identified as 54-year-old Robert Mikel of Coffeyville, Kansas, and passenger 33-year-old Jacob Lind of Altamont, Kansas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712324464734.png" alt="Lind-photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Lind-photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Deputies arrived on the scene and confirmed there was stolen property inside the vehicle. Mikel and Lind were taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections, where they were booked on requested charges of burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property. Deputies executed a search warrant on the vehicle, recovering the stolen property, which will be returned to the rightful owner.This case has been sent to the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office for proper charging.&nbsp;

Suspects caught during rural Kansas home burglary

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Sunday in Montgomery County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Chevy Silverado driven by&nbsp;Kasenn Lane&nbsp;Dollar, 18, Liberty, Kansas, was eastbound on U.S. 160 three and one half miles west of Independence.

The pickup traveled left of center and struck a westbound 2017 Dodge Charger driven by Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Justin Dean&nbsp;Ward, 26, Independence, head-on.&nbsp; After impact the pickup also struck a westbound 2022 Dodge Durango driven by Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Zachary Clyde&nbsp;Farmer, 28, Independence.

Dollar was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; Ward was transported to Ascension St. Johns, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

EMS transported a passenger in the Silverado Amir&nbsp;Luten, 18, and Farmer to&nbsp;Coffeyville Regional Medical Center. Dollar and Luten were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Sunday in Montgomery County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Chevy Silverado driven by&nbsp;Kasenn Lane&nbsp;Dollar, 18, Liberty, Kansas, was eastbound on U.S. 160 three and one half miles west of Independence.The pickup traveled left of center and struck a westbound 2017 Dodge Charger driven by Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Justin Dean&nbsp;Ward, 26, Independence, head-on.&nbsp; After impact the pickup also struck a westbound 2022 Dodge Durango driven by Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Zachary Clyde&nbsp;Farmer, 28, Independence.Dollar was pronounced dead at the scene.&nbsp; Ward was transported to Ascension St. Johns, Tulsa, Oklahoma.EMS transported a passenger in the Silverado Amir&nbsp;Luten, 18, and Farmer to&nbsp;Coffeyville Regional Medical Center. Dollar and Luten were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

Kansas teen dead after head-on crash with sheriff's deputy

SEDGWICK COUNTY— A Kansas man was sentenced to 180 months in prison this week for trafficking fentanyl.

Devonte Smith, 28, of Wichita pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, in April 2023, Smith and a co-defendant traveled by plane from Wichita to Arizona, to purchase fentanyl-laced pills, which they arranged to bring back to Kansas.

In his plea agreement, Smith admitted he flew back to Wichita and directed a co-defendant to return to Kansas with the pills, which were seized by law enforcement in a car driven by a second codefendant.

Law enforcement’s car stop occurred in Pratt, Kansas, resulting in the discovery of more than 100,000 pills which tests confirmed were fentanyl-laced.

Criminal charges against the co-defendants are pending within the court system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712163148456.png" alt="Smith-photo Butler Co." />
 <figcaption>Smith-photo Butler Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— A Kansas man was sentenced to 180 months in prison this week for trafficking fentanyl.Devonte Smith, 28, of Wichita pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, in April 2023, Smith and a co-defendant traveled by plane from Wichita to Arizona, to purchase fentanyl-laced pills, which they arranged to bring back to Kansas.In his plea agreement, Smith admitted he flew back to Wichita and directed a co-defendant to return to Kansas with the pills, which were seized by law enforcement in a car driven by a second codefendant.Law enforcement’s car stop occurred in Pratt, Kansas, resulting in the discovery of more than 100,000 pills which tests confirmed were fentanyl-laced.Criminal charges against the co-defendants are pending within the court system.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

Man arranged to bring fentanyl from Arizona to sell in Kansas

WASHINGTON — Many U.S. taxpayers in a dozen states for the first time can electronically file their federal returns directly to the Internal Revenue Service for free — but critics insist the new federal benefit is not needed and will even harm both users and states.

More than 50,000 taxpayers in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have so far used the new online IRS Direct File program this tax season, according to the agency.

The free alternative to potentially costly private tax filing software rolled out in mid-March for the 2023 filing season. It is only available for those with W-2 income or simple credits and deductions, like the child tax credit or student loan interest.

The IRS estimates that 19 million taxpayers are eligible to use the new program in advance of the April 15 tax filing deadline.

But opponents argue the government Direct File program is a waste of resources and will snag business from professional tax preparers. They say it will confuse taxpayers who are accustomed to automatically filing their federal and state returns together through private software.

Some states also claim it will cost them revenue and increase what they have to spend on collections from taxpayers who owe money to their states.

The IRS program is purposefully small for now. The agency said in a launch-day release that it’s following “best practices for launching a new technology platform by starting small, making sure it works and then building from there.”

The pilot program “is almost tailor-made for students and young people with simple tax situations,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/commissioner-danny-werfel-1-year-anniversary-speech-the-future-irs-transforming-for-a-digital-world">said</a>&nbsp;in late March, encouraging people to visit the new&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://directfile.irs.gov/">directfile.irs.gov</a>.

The White House is&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1772669844615213260?s=20">celebrating</a>&nbsp;the launch as a win for President Joe Biden, who in 2022 along with a Democratic-led Congress authorized its funding to jumpstart the program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The progressive Economic Security Project&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://economicsecurityproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Full-Report_-The-Impact-of-Direct-File-by-the-Numbers.pdf">estimates</a>&nbsp;that if the program scales up, it could eventually save the average taxpayer up to $160 annually in tax prep costs. Assuming broad public adoption, that could add up to Americans saving $11 billion a year in filing fees and time.

The organization also estimates low-income households could gain up to $12 billion in unclaimed federal tax credits, and that the IRS would see a return on investment of more than $100 per federal dollar spent on the program due to less paperwork and fewer errors.

Roxy Caines, director of the Get It Back campaign, said Direct File could increase tax participation, particularly for low-income households.

“Having an accessible way to file taxes is really important because of the high cost of tax preparation as well as the arduous process. It’s often viewed as intimidating,” said Caines, who runs the financial literacy and tax credit advocacy campaign by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

When Werfel appeared in February before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, Republican Chair Jason Smith of Missouri&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/event/hearing-with-commissioner-of-the-internal-revenue-service-daniel-werfel/">described</a>&nbsp;the program as a “scheme the American people didn’t ask for.”

In January, 13 Republican attorneys general sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/IRS-Direct-File-Letter-Final.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen opposing “the unnecessary and unconstitutional efforts to empower the Internal Revenue Service with the expansive authority to prepare and file tax returns for all taxpayers.”

“American taxpayers do not want to invite the proverbial fox into the hen house,” wrote the officials, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

Attorneys general from Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia co-signed it.

The officials wrote that a program for taxpayers to directly file with the IRS at no cost “needlessly threatens” the livelihoods of tax preparers.

“Every year, tens of millions of taxpayers file their taxes for free with help from existing programs or online software. Additionally, millions of Americans work with small businesses in our states to file their taxes at an affordable cost, including both independent tax preparation services and local accountants. They choose to do so because they want an advocate in their corner who will represent their interests against the IRS bureaucracy,” they wrote.

The IRS did not respond to a request for comment about the criticism.

Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, a fiscally conservative organization that advocates for simplifying the tax code, told States Newsroom the project has been “dramatically oversold” and is being piloted in “some very easy places,” including states that don’t collect their own income tax.

Money for the IRS would be better spent on improving customer service, he argues.

“Every single penny they can scrounge up from other places needs to be poured into that effort, right? Now, in our opinion, designing a portal for direct file that is underpowered and is competing with other services is just not a priority,” he said, referring to the 22-year “Free File” arrangement the IRS has had with select private companies.

Today, the vast majority of taxpayers file electronically,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-fiscal-year-2022-data-book-describing-agencys-activities">according</a>&nbsp;to IRS data. Of the 160 million individual federal tax returns that the IRS processed in 2022, 150.6 million, or 94%, were e-filed. Of those, just under 3.3 million used what’s been criticized as an opaque and complicated electronic Free File program.

Free File dates back to the early 2000s, when the idea of e-filing was just budding, and the government had no such program in place.

President George W. Bush’s administration was exploring the possibility of a free direct file portal through the IRS website.

At the time the agency was struggling after failed modernization efforts, and a public-private partnership with the burgeoning tax preparation software companies became an appealing option.

“The tax companies just said, ‘Well, we got a deal for you,’” recalls Nina Olson, who served as the National Taxpayer Advocate for the IRS from 2001 to 2019.

“And at that time, I was very suspect of the deal. I said at the time that they’re going to find themselves in 20 years, that you know, tax companies would pull out and you would have a patchwork of services available to people,” Olson, who now runs the nonprofit Center for Taxpayer Rights, said in an interview with States Newsroom.

What began in 2002 was an agreement between the IRS and a group of&nbsp; private tax prep software companies, under the name Free File Alliance, to offer free federal tax returns to those under a certain income threshold. In 2023, that annual earnings threshold was $79,000 or less.

Taxpayers who earn above that income threshold have the option to complete their federal returns for free, unguided, using fillable PDF tax forms.

The just over two-decade-old program has been scrutinized for not reaching the taxpayers who most need a free filing option and for not providing a better user experience.

A 2019 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6768599/TIGTA-Free-File-audit.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;described the program as “fraught with complexity and confusion.”

The inspector general found that in 2018 only 2.5 million of the 104 million taxpayers eligible for Free File actually used it.

About 34.5 million of those Free File-eligible taxpayers used one of the alliance companies’ commercial software options, and a likely 14 million of them paid to e-file their federal returns, the report found.

The low number of Free File users likely was because an estimated 9 million eligible taxpayers were unaware that they had to access the Free File software options via the IRS website.

Those who, for example, searched the web and found one of the IRS partner companies’ websites were “not guaranteed a free return filing,” and subsequently susceptible to advertising for potentially costly add-ons like “audit defense,” the report found.

Investigative reporting in 2019 by ProPublica&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free">revealed</a>&nbsp;deliberate tactics to cloud the Free File program by Intuit, maker of TurboTax, one of the Free File Alliance’s largest partners.

Terms between the IRS and Free File Alliance initially included a commitment from the agency to not develop its own free online filing program. In exchange, the partner companies agreed to limit advertising and add-on solicitation on their free file web pages.

In 2019 the IRS&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-reforms-free-file-program-drops-agreement-not-to-compete-with-turbotax">dropped</a>&nbsp;the prohibition on developing its own program. Limits on company marketing and solicitation for add-on products continued as part of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-efile/ninth-memorandum-of-understanding-on-service-standards-and-disputes.pdf">agreement</a>&nbsp;— though Intuit would eventually have to pay for breaking its commitment.

H&amp;R Block and Intuit respectively left the Free File Alliance in 2020 and 2021. Together they served about 70% of eligible Free File taxpayers in 2019, according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105236#summary_recommend">report</a>&nbsp;that recommended the IRS develop additional options for taxpayers to file for free.

Acknowledging the opposing viewpoints on whether the IRS should create, or could handle, its own program, the report concluded the agency “should work to manage the risk of taxpayers having fewer options to electronically file their federal taxes for free.”

In 2022, Intuit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agturbotaxsettlement.com/Portals/0/Document%20Files/Final%20AVC.pdf?ver=ktHm0t4iOO2k2RruoESSLA%3d%3d">settled</a>&nbsp;with attorneys general from across the U.S., agreeing to pay $141 million to Intuit TurboTax customers who ended up buying services that should have been free to them.

Today there are eight companies in the Free File Alliance, with differing income and tax situation criteria. All are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/">listed</a>&nbsp;on the IRS website.

Olson said she doesn’t view the IRS Direct File pilot as a competitor to the already existing Free File partnership. Rather, it’s “one more component of a robust tax online taxpayer account,” she said.

“This is what countries do around the world. We’re so far behind,” Olson said. “There’s a response to folks who say ‘The government doesn’t need to do this’ or ‘There’s no interest in this product.’ Regardless of whether there’s interest in the product, it’s a government obligation.”

Among the tens of billions of dollars Congress authorized for the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act, $15 million was earmarked for exploring the possibility of an IRS-run direct federal tax filing system.

Specifically Congress mandated the agency to use the money to survey taxpayers’ wants and needs, obtain a third-party opinion, and report back to lawmakers on the costs to create and run such a program.

In its third-party&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net/documents/Independent-Third-Party-Report-to-Congress-508c.pdf">review</a>, the left-leaning think tank New America assessed that a successful IRS-run Direct File program “depends critically” on whether the agency prioritizes the project and begins with limited testing before building up.

The organization estimated that development, staffing, infrastructure and customer service for a scaled-up platform would cost the IRS annually anywhere from $22 million to $47 million if 1 million taxpayers use a Direct File program, and up to $126 million to $213 million in the event that 25 million taxpayers jump on board.

New America also recommended the IRS consider the importance of customer service, data privacy and taxpayers’ habits of filing federal and state returns all on one platform — one of the main concerns from critics.

Ayushi Roy, deputy director of New America’s New Practice Lab, which led the review, told States Newsroom she’s been talking to taxpayers using the Direct File pilot and “broadly speaking, we’re finding that filers are really landing on either ‘Wow,’ or ‘it didn’t include me for now.’”

The group will conduct its own analysis of the IRS trial run, particularly focusing on the experience for Spanish-speaking filers.

As for taxpayer interest, the IRS&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5788.pdf">found</a>&nbsp;that 72% of survey respondents said they were “very interested” or “somewhat interested” in a free IRS-provided tool to prepare and file federal taxes.

The survey conducted in 2022 by MITRE, a nonprofit that runs federally funded research and development centers, also found that a top reason cited by 46% of those interested is that they would rather give their financial data to the IRS than to a third party.

An October 2023&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.tigta.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2023-10/2024408002fr.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration took issue with the design of the survey, warning that the interest level may be “overstated” because the survey did not include a “neutral” option for respondents to choose.

However, the largely Democrat- and progressive-aligned international polling firm GQR&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://betterirs.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/283/Better-IRS_Direct-File-State-Polling-Memos.pdf">found</a>&nbsp;in late January through early February that between 92% and 95% of taxpayers across political ideologies and income levels in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas support a free online IRS filing service.

Several state governments already offer free public electronic filing for state income tax returns, including&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/individual-income-tax-electronic-filing-options/">Alabama</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/iiwebfile.html">Kansas</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Pages/Free-Electronic-Filing.aspx">Kentucky</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenue.pa.gov/OnlineServices/mypath/Individuals/Pages/PIT.aspx">Pennsylvania</a>, which offer the service regardless of income level. Some states, like&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/ways-to-file/online/calfile/calfile-qualifications.html">California</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://tax.iowa.gov/individual-income-tax-electronic-filing-options">Iowa</a>, have income thresholds for free filing.

Despite the adoption of free public filing in some states, 21 state auditors, comptrollers and treasurers from 18 states sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/cfo-news-libraries/news-documents/2024/irs-direct-file-letter.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;on March 25 to Yellen and Werfel expressing concern about the “serious harm” the IRS Direct File program will cause and urging them to “shut down” the service.

“Taxpayers are not the only parties who will suffer from Direct File. States will suffer too. States will lose out on payments from Direct File taxpayers who owe state taxes but incorrectly assume that Direct File covers federal and state filings.

“States will then have to increase resources dedicated to collection efforts,” wrote the officials from Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

According to the Treasury Department, taxpayers using the IRS Direct File pilot in Arizona, California, Massachusetts or New York are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/inflation-reduction-act/irs-direct-file-service">automatically directed</a>&nbsp;to their state-supported tax filing websites. Those in Washington are sent to that state’s page to claim the Working Families Tax Credit.

The IRS could not provide a more specific figure of how many taxpayers have so far used Direct File, and its latest estimate stands at 50,000. Advocates say they expect to learn updated numbers as soon as a week after federal taxes are due on April 15.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644341985746.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — Many U.S. taxpayers in a dozen states for the first time can electronically file their federal returns directly to the Internal Revenue Service for free — but critics insist the new federal benefit is not needed and will even harm both users and states.More than 50,000 taxpayers in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have so far used the new online IRS Direct File program this tax season, according to the agency.The free alternative to potentially costly private tax filing software rolled out in mid-March for the 2023 filing season. It is only available for those with W-2 income or simple credits and deductions, like the child tax credit or student loan interest.The IRS estimates that 19 million taxpayers are eligible to use the new program in advance of the April 15 tax filing deadline.But opponents argue the government Direct File program is a waste of resources and will snag business from professional tax preparers. They say it will confuse taxpayers who are accustomed to automatically filing their federal and state returns together through private software.Some states also claim it will cost them revenue and increase what they have to spend on collections from taxpayers who owe money to their states.The IRS program is purposefully small for now. The agency said in a launch-day release that it’s following “best practices for launching a new technology platform by starting small, making sure it works and then building from there.”The pilot program “is almost tailor-made for students and young people with simple tax situations,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/commissioner-danny-werfel-1-year-anniversary-speech-the-future-irs-transforming-for-a-digital-world">said</a>&nbsp;in late March, encouraging people to visit the new&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://directfile.irs.gov/">directfile.irs.gov</a>.The White House is&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1772669844615213260?s=20">celebrating</a>&nbsp;the launch as a win for President Joe Biden, who in 2022 along with a Democratic-led Congress authorized its funding to jumpstart the program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.The progressive Economic Security Project&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://economicsecurityproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Full-Report_-The-Impact-of-Direct-File-by-the-Numbers.pdf">estimates</a>&nbsp;that if the program scales up, it could eventually save the average taxpayer up to $160 annually in tax prep costs. Assuming broad public adoption, that could add up to Americans saving $11 billion a year in filing fees and time.The organization also estimates low-income households could gain up to $12 billion in unclaimed federal tax credits, and that the IRS would see a return on investment of more than $100 per federal dollar spent on the program due to less paperwork and fewer errors.Roxy Caines, director of the Get It Back campaign, said Direct File could increase tax participation, particularly for low-income households.“Having an accessible way to file taxes is really important because of the high cost of tax preparation as well as the arduous process. It’s often viewed as intimidating,” said Caines, who runs the financial literacy and tax credit advocacy campaign by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.<h2>‘Unnecessary and unconstitutional’</h2>But not everyone is on board.When Werfel appeared in February before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, Republican Chair Jason Smith of Missouri&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/event/hearing-with-commissioner-of-the-internal-revenue-service-daniel-werfel/">described</a>&nbsp;the program as a “scheme the American people didn’t ask for.”In January, 13 Republican attorneys general sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/IRS-Direct-File-Letter-Final.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen opposing “the unnecessary and unconstitutional efforts to empower the Internal Revenue Service with the expansive authority to prepare and file tax returns for all taxpayers.”“American taxpayers do not want to invite the proverbial fox into the hen house,” wrote the officials, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen.Attorneys general from Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia co-signed it.The officials wrote that a program for taxpayers to directly file with the IRS at no cost “needlessly threatens” the livelihoods of tax preparers.“Every year, tens of millions of taxpayers file their taxes for free with help from existing programs or online software. Additionally, millions of Americans work with small businesses in our states to file their taxes at an affordable cost, including both independent tax preparation services and local accountants. They choose to do so because they want an advocate in their corner who will represent their interests against the IRS bureaucracy,” they wrote.The IRS did not respond to a request for comment about the criticism.Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, a fiscally conservative organization that advocates for simplifying the tax code, told States Newsroom the project has been “dramatically oversold” and is being piloted in “some very easy places,” including states that don’t collect their own income tax.Money for the IRS would be better spent on improving customer service, he argues.“Every single penny they can scrounge up from other places needs to be poured into that effort, right? Now, in our opinion, designing a portal for direct file that is underpowered and is competing with other services is just not a priority,” he said, referring to the 22-year “Free File” arrangement the IRS has had with select private companies.<h2>So what about Free File?</h2>Today, the vast majority of taxpayers file electronically,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-fiscal-year-2022-data-book-describing-agencys-activities">according</a>&nbsp;to IRS data. Of the 160 million individual federal tax returns that the IRS processed in 2022, 150.6 million, or 94%, were e-filed. Of those, just under 3.3 million used what’s been criticized as an opaque and complicated electronic Free File program.Free File dates back to the early 2000s, when the idea of e-filing was just budding, and the government had no such program in place.President George W. Bush’s administration was exploring the possibility of a free direct file portal through the IRS website.At the time the agency was struggling after failed modernization efforts, and a public-private partnership with the burgeoning tax preparation software companies became an appealing option.“The tax companies just said, ‘Well, we got a deal for you,’” recalls Nina Olson, who served as the National Taxpayer Advocate for the IRS from 2001 to 2019.“And at that time, I was very suspect of the deal. I said at the time that they’re going to find themselves in 20 years, that you know, tax companies would pull out and you would have a patchwork of services available to people,” Olson, who now runs the nonprofit Center for Taxpayer Rights, said in an interview with States Newsroom.What began in 2002 was an agreement between the IRS and a group of&nbsp; private tax prep software companies, under the name Free File Alliance, to offer free federal tax returns to those under a certain income threshold. In 2023, that annual earnings threshold was $79,000 or less.Taxpayers who earn above that income threshold have the option to complete their federal returns for free, unguided, using fillable PDF tax forms.The just over two-decade-old program has been scrutinized for not reaching the taxpayers who most need a free filing option and for not providing a better user experience.A 2019 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6768599/TIGTA-Free-File-audit.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;described the program as “fraught with complexity and confusion.”The inspector general found that in 2018 only 2.5 million of the 104 million taxpayers eligible for Free File actually used it.About 34.5 million of those Free File-eligible taxpayers used one of the alliance companies’ commercial software options, and a likely 14 million of them paid to e-file their federal returns, the report found.The low number of Free File users likely was because an estimated 9 million eligible taxpayers were unaware that they had to access the Free File software options via the IRS website.Those who, for example, searched the web and found one of the IRS partner companies’ websites were “not guaranteed a free return filing,” and subsequently susceptible to advertising for potentially costly add-ons like “audit defense,” the report found.Investigative reporting in 2019 by ProPublica&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free">revealed</a>&nbsp;deliberate tactics to cloud the Free File program by Intuit, maker of TurboTax, one of the Free File Alliance’s largest partners.Terms between the IRS and Free File Alliance initially included a commitment from the agency to not develop its own free online filing program. In exchange, the partner companies agreed to limit advertising and add-on solicitation on their free file web pages.In 2019 the IRS&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-reforms-free-file-program-drops-agreement-not-to-compete-with-turbotax">dropped</a>&nbsp;the prohibition on developing its own program. Limits on company marketing and solicitation for add-on products continued as part of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-efile/ninth-memorandum-of-understanding-on-service-standards-and-disputes.pdf">agreement</a>&nbsp;— though Intuit would eventually have to pay for breaking its commitment.H&amp;R Block and Intuit respectively left the Free File Alliance in 2020 and 2021. Together they served about 70% of eligible Free File taxpayers in 2019, according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105236#summary_recommend">report</a>&nbsp;that recommended the IRS develop additional options for taxpayers to file for free.Acknowledging the opposing viewpoints on whether the IRS should create, or could handle, its own program, the report concluded the agency “should work to manage the risk of taxpayers having fewer options to electronically file their federal taxes for free.”In 2022, Intuit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agturbotaxsettlement.com/Portals/0/Document%20Files/Final%20AVC.pdf?ver=ktHm0t4iOO2k2RruoESSLA%3d%3d">settled</a>&nbsp;with attorneys general from across the U.S., agreeing to pay $141 million to Intuit TurboTax customers who ended up buying services that should have been free to them.Today there are eight companies in the Free File Alliance, with differing income and tax situation criteria. All are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/">listed</a>&nbsp;on the IRS website.Olson said she doesn’t view the IRS Direct File pilot as a competitor to the already existing Free File partnership. Rather, it’s “one more component of a robust tax online taxpayer account,” she said.“This is what countries do around the world. We’re so far behind,” Olson said. “There’s a response to folks who say ‘The government doesn’t need to do this’ or ‘There’s no interest in this product.’ Regardless of whether there’s interest in the product, it’s a government obligation.”<h2>Congressional mandate</h2>Among the tens of billions of dollars Congress authorized for the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act, $15 million was earmarked for exploring the possibility of an IRS-run direct federal tax filing system.Specifically Congress mandated the agency to use the money to survey taxpayers’ wants and needs, obtain a third-party opinion, and report back to lawmakers on the costs to create and run such a program.In its third-party&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net/documents/Independent-Third-Party-Report-to-Congress-508c.pdf">review</a>, the left-leaning think tank New America assessed that a successful IRS-run Direct File program “depends critically” on whether the agency prioritizes the project and begins with limited testing before building up.The organization estimated that development, staffing, infrastructure and customer service for a scaled-up platform would cost the IRS annually anywhere from $22 million to $47 million if 1 million taxpayers use a Direct File program, and up to $126 million to $213 million in the event that 25 million taxpayers jump on board.New America also recommended the IRS consider the importance of customer service, data privacy and taxpayers’ habits of filing federal and state returns all on one platform — one of the main concerns from critics.Ayushi Roy, deputy director of New America’s New Practice Lab, which led the review, told States Newsroom she’s been talking to taxpayers using the Direct File pilot and “broadly speaking, we’re finding that filers are really landing on either ‘Wow,’ or ‘it didn’t include me for now.’”The group will conduct its own analysis of the IRS trial run, particularly focusing on the experience for Spanish-speaking filers.As for taxpayer interest, the IRS&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5788.pdf">found</a>&nbsp;that 72% of survey respondents said they were “very interested” or “somewhat interested” in a free IRS-provided tool to prepare and file federal taxes.The survey conducted in 2022 by MITRE, a nonprofit that runs federally funded research and development centers, also found that a top reason cited by 46% of those interested is that they would rather give their financial data to the IRS than to a third party.An October 2023&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.tigta.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2023-10/2024408002fr.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration took issue with the design of the survey, warning that the interest level may be “overstated” because the survey did not include a “neutral” option for respondents to choose.However, the largely Democrat- and progressive-aligned international polling firm GQR&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://betterirs.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/283/Better-IRS_Direct-File-State-Polling-Memos.pdf">found</a>&nbsp;in late January through early February that between 92% and 95% of taxpayers across political ideologies and income levels in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas support a free online IRS filing service.Several state governments already offer free public electronic filing for state income tax returns, including&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/individual-income-tax-electronic-filing-options/">Alabama</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/iiwebfile.html">Kansas</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Pages/Free-Electronic-Filing.aspx">Kentucky</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenue.pa.gov/OnlineServices/mypath/Individuals/Pages/PIT.aspx">Pennsylvania</a>, which offer the service regardless of income level. Some states, like&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/ways-to-file/online/calfile/calfile-qualifications.html">California</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://tax.iowa.gov/individual-income-tax-electronic-filing-options">Iowa</a>, have income thresholds for free filing.States bite backDespite the adoption of free public filing in some states, 21 state auditors, comptrollers and treasurers from 18 states sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/cfo-news-libraries/news-documents/2024/irs-direct-file-letter.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;on March 25 to Yellen and Werfel expressing concern about the “serious harm” the IRS Direct File program will cause and urging them to “shut down” the service.“Taxpayers are not the only parties who will suffer from Direct File. States will suffer too. States will lose out on payments from Direct File taxpayers who owe state taxes but incorrectly assume that Direct File covers federal and state filings.“States will then have to increase resources dedicated to collection efforts,” wrote the officials from Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.According to the Treasury Department, taxpayers using the IRS Direct File pilot in Arizona, California, Massachusetts or New York are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/inflation-reduction-act/irs-direct-file-service">automatically directed</a>&nbsp;to their state-supported tax filing websites. Those in Washington are sent to that state’s page to claim the Working Families Tax Credit.The IRS could not provide a more specific figure of how many taxpayers have so far used Direct File, and its latest estimate stands at 50,000. Advocates say they expect to learn updated numbers as soon as a week after federal taxes are due on April 15.

IRS is testing a free method to directly file taxes. But not everyone is thrilled

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 68,000 illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks over a five-year period, according to new data released Thursday by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives">Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives</a>.

That represents 54% of the illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021, Justice Department officials said. The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren't required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer, said ATF Director Steve Dettelbach.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives-crime-5797d08e27b4904c4a6b68d88cf544c1">The report ordered</a>&nbsp;by Attorney General Merrick Garland is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years. It examined more than 9,700 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations that began between 2017 and 2021. Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession.

The second-highest share of firearm-trafficking cases investigated by ATF was straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it legally themselves.

The report also shows that the recipients of trafficked firearms were people who had previously been convicted of a felony in almost 60 percent of the cases in which investigators were able to identify the background of the recipient. Furthermore, trafficked firearms were used to commit additional crimes in almost 25 percent of the cases, Dettelbach said. That includes more than 260 murders and more than 220 attempted murders, according to the report.

“The data shows, therefore, that those who illegally traffic firearms whether its out of a trunk, at a gun show or online are responsible for real violence in this nation,” Dettelbach said. “In short, you can’t illegally help to arm violent people and not be responsible for the violence that follows,” he said.

The report found the average number of guns trafficked per case was 16. People who got them through unlicensed dealers bought 20 weapons on average, compared to 11 guns for straw buyers, according to the report.

The Biden administration has separately&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/firearms-dealers-biden-background-checks-gun-violence-d53441dc0242c515b6b1478ab27a5dac">proposed a rule</a>&nbsp;that would require thousands more gun sellers to get licensed and run background checks. The Justice Department says it’s aimed at sellers who are in the business of firearm sales, but the proposal quickly drew protest from gun-rights groups who contend it could ensnare regular people who sometimes sell their own guns.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702505915425.png" alt="Photo Aristide Economopoulos&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Photo Aristide Economopoulos&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 68,000 illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks over a five-year period, according to new data released Thursday by the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives">Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives</a>.That represents 54% of the illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021, Justice Department officials said. The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren't required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer, said ATF Director Steve Dettelbach.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives-crime-5797d08e27b4904c4a6b68d88cf544c1">The report ordered</a>&nbsp;by Attorney General Merrick Garland is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years. It examined more than 9,700 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations that began between 2017 and 2021. Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession.The second-highest share of firearm-trafficking cases investigated by ATF was straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it legally themselves.The report also shows that the recipients of trafficked firearms were people who had previously been convicted of a felony in almost 60 percent of the cases in which investigators were able to identify the background of the recipient. Furthermore, trafficked firearms were used to commit additional crimes in almost 25 percent of the cases, Dettelbach said. That includes more than 260 murders and more than 220 attempted murders, according to the report.“The data shows, therefore, that those who illegally traffic firearms whether its out of a trunk, at a gun show or online are responsible for real violence in this nation,” Dettelbach said. “In short, you can’t illegally help to arm violent people and not be responsible for the violence that follows,” he said.The report found the average number of guns trafficked per case was 16. People who got them through unlicensed dealers bought 20 weapons on average, compared to 11 guns for straw buyers, according to the report.The Biden administration has separately&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/firearms-dealers-biden-background-checks-gun-violence-d53441dc0242c515b6b1478ab27a5dac">proposed a rule</a>&nbsp;that would require thousands more gun sellers to get licensed and run background checks. The Justice Department says it’s aimed at sellers who are in the business of firearm sales, but the proposal quickly drew protest from gun-rights groups who contend it could ensnare regular people who sometimes sell their own guns.

Report: 68,000 guns illegally trafficked through unlicensed dealers over 5 years

BARTON COUNTY—Just before 4:30p.m. Saturday Barton Co. Fire District 2, Hoisington and Olmitz departments responded to a report of oil gun barrels on fire at NW 70 Road and NW 30 Avenue, according to a social media report.

 High winds with zero visibility at times made it very difficult in the response, and arriving discovered 3 gun barrels engulfed in fire. Static electricity is believed to be the cause of the ignition.

 Firefighters were on scene for a couple hours as the winds died down and monitoring as the fiberglass barrels burned and melted down until it was safe for them to burn themselves out throughout the night. 

Fire crews were assisted by Barton Co Sheriffs office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Barton Co Dispatch.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712509653140.png" alt="Photo Barton Co. Fire District 2" />
 <figcaption>Photo Barton Co. Fire District 2</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY—Just before 4:30p.m. Saturday Barton Co. Fire District 2, Hoisington and Olmitz departments responded to a report of oil gun barrels on fire at NW 70 Road and NW 30 Avenue, according to a social media report. High winds with zero visibility at times made it very difficult in the response, and arriving discovered 3 gun barrels engulfed in fire. Static electricity is believed to be the cause of the ignition. Firefighters were on scene for a couple hours as the winds died down and monitoring as the fiberglass barrels burned and melted down until it was safe for them to burn themselves out throughout the night. Fire crews were assisted by Barton Co Sheriffs office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Barton Co Dispatch.

Crews fight oil barrel fire during wind storm

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Missouri's execution protocol allows for “surgery without anesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn't work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702606426537.png" alt="Dorsey photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Dorsey photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Missouri's execution protocol allows for “surgery without anesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn't work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-date-set-brian-dorsey-306c6e0cb8cc344004eb4b7a5ea9a0b4">Brian Dorsey</a>, 52, is scheduled for execution Tuesday for killing his cousin and her husband at their central Missouri home in 2006. His attorneys are seeking clemency from Gov. Mike Parson and have several appeals pending.A federal court appeal focuses on how Missouri injects the fatal dose of pentobarbital. The written protocol calls for insertion of primary and secondary intravenous lines. But it offers no guidance on how far the execution team can go to find a suitable vein, leaving open the possibility of an invasive “cutdown procedure," Dorsey's attorneys say.The procedure involves an incision that could be several inches wide and several inches deep. Forceps are used to tear tissue away from a vein that becomes the injection point.“It's surgery,” said Arin Brenner, a federal public defender and one of the attorneys representing Dorsey. "It would be surgery without anesthesia.”Brenner said Dorsey faces a higher-than-normal risk of needing a cutdown because he is obese. His veins also might be compromised because he is diabetic and a former IV drug user.A spokesperson for Attorney General Andrew Bailey didn't comment but referred to the state's response to the appeal.“Cut-down procedures are rarely, if ever, used under Missouri’s execution protocol,” the response stated. “And in the event that a cut-down procedure were necessary, medical personnel have access to pain relieving medications.”Medication would be inadequate and if the procedure is necessary, Dorsey should receive a local anesthetic, said Megan Crane, another attorney for him.“It is extremely painful," Crane said. “Even if given an oral pain relief or an opioid, that will not relieve the pain.”Lawyers for Dorsey say use of the surgical procedure would violate his constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment, and his right to religious freedom because it would prevent him from having meaningful interaction with his spiritual adviser, including the administration of last rites.Missouri's execution process is shrouded in secrecy, so it's impossible to know if, or how often, cutdown procedures have been required. No independent observer sees the IV line inserted. The spiritual adviser doesn't enter the room until the preparation is complete. Witnesses sit in dark rooms with curtains drawn until corrections officers open them seconds before the drug is injected.Attorneys for Dorsey wonder if a cutdown procedure was used in January 2023 when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-state-government-missouri-legal-proceedings-religion-dbc253bef85af688a63a42a836e00028">Amber McLaughlin was executed</a>. It was believed to be the first execution of an openly transgender person in the U.S.The Rev. Lauren Bennett of St. Louis served as McLaughlin's spiritual adviser. She recalled McLaughlin saying, “Ouch, ouch, ouch. It hurts," but said McLaughlin was unable to explain the cause of her pain before her death.Issues with the IV have been problematic in executions elsewhere.In 2014, Oklahoma inmate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-00a761ac0ea241a4b89f386bfa841d38">Clayton Lockett</a>&nbsp;was declared dead 43 minutes after his execution began, at times writhing in pain and clenching his teeth through the process. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-3adff2e4f63f4f6fa2a7becc6d37967a">state investigation</a>&nbsp;showed that the execution team repeatedly failed to insert an IV line in his arms, jugular vein, foot and subclavian vein in the upper torso, before eventually running a line through a vein in Lockett’s groin.The review found that Lockett died after the line came loose, and that the deadly chemicals were pumped into the tissue surrounding the injection site instead of directly into his bloodstream. There is no indication in the report that Lockett was ever given an anesthetic.In 2022, it took more than three hours to execute&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-alabama-executions-forensics-4334707e24158f5fe36607626bc287d4">Joe Nathan James Jr.</a>&nbsp;in Alabama. The state said the process was delayed because of difficulties establishing an IV line. Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology at Emory University and an expert on lethal injection who witnessed the private autopsy, said he saw “multiple puncture sites on both arms” and two incisions in the middle of the arm, which he said were indications of efforts to perform a cutdown. It's unclear if he received anesthesia.Messages were left Friday with corrections officials in Oklahoma and Alabama.Dorsey, formerly of Jefferson City, was convicted of killing his cousin, Sarah Bonnie, and her husband, Ben, on Dec. 23, 2006, at their home near New Bloomfield. Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey had called Sarah Bonnie seeking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.Dorsey went to the Bonnies’ home that night. After they went to bed, Dorsey took a shotgun from the garage and killed both of them before sexually assaulting Sarah Bonnie’s body, prosecutors said.Sarah Bonnie’s parents found the bodies the next day. The couple’s 4-year-old daughter was unhurt.In the clemency petition, 72 current and former state correctional officers asked Parson, a Republican and a former county sheriff, to commute Dorsey’s sentence to life in prison, citing his virtually spotless record of good behavior while in prison.“The Brian I have known for years could not hurt anyone,” one officer wrote. “The Brian I know does not deserve to be executed.”A spokesperson said Parson is still reviewing the clemency request.An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centers on the $12,000 flat fee for Dorsey's court-appointed trial attorneys. The appeal argues that with the flat fee, his lawyers had a financial incentive to resolve the case quickly. They encouraged Dorsey to plead guilty, but with no demand that prosecutors agree to life in prison instead of the death penalty.Dorsey's attorneys also argue that the Missouri Department of Corrections' acting director, Trevor Foley, is unqualified to oversee an execution because he has not been confirmed by the Missouri Senate since his appointment in December.The Attorney General’s Office said in a court filing that acting directors must be allowed to carry out functions or government could be impeded. A state court sided with the Attorney General's Office this week, but Crane said an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court is planned.___