SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating the July 2, mass shooting at the City Nightz club in Wichita's Old Town arrested 19-year-old Ameir King-Ingram and booked him into the Sedgwick County jail just after noon Friday, according to online jail records.&nbsp;

Just before 1a.m. last Sunday, police responded to the club in the 200 Block of North Washington, according to Police Lt. Aaron Moses.

There were nine people with gunshot wounds and two people were trampled during the mass exodus out of the club.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one was killed but one person was critically injured.&nbsp; Police originally arrested a Missouri man as a suspect.&nbsp;He was released from jail after the Sedgwick County District Attorney determined he was acting in self defense.

The investigation indicates there were at least four firearms discharged inside the club. Police&nbsp; also seized an additional four firearms as part of the investigation.

The shooting victims included a 21-year-old man, 26-year-old man, 24-year-old woman, 34-year-old man, 21-year-old woman, 30-year-old man, 24-year-old man. The traumatic injury victims were a 31-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, according to Moses. Two additional gunshot victims checked into the hospital later Sunday.

King-Ingram is being held on requested charges that include two counts of aggravated battery and one count of criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688816302231.png" alt="King-Ingram-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>King-Ingram-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating the July 2, mass shooting at the City Nightz club in Wichita's Old Town arrested 19-year-old Ameir King-Ingram and booked him into the Sedgwick County jail just after noon Friday, according to online jail records.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688300318332.png" alt="Police on the scene of the shooting investigation July 2, -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the shooting investigation July 2, -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 1a.m. last Sunday, police responded to the club in the 200 Block of North Washington, according to Police Lt. Aaron Moses.There were nine people with gunshot wounds and two people were trampled during the mass exodus out of the club.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one was killed but one person was critically injured.&nbsp; Police originally arrested a Missouri man as a suspect.&nbsp;He was released from jail after the Sedgwick County District Attorney determined he was acting in self defense.The investigation indicates there were at least four firearms discharged inside the club. Police&nbsp; also seized an additional four firearms as part of the investigation.The shooting victims included a 21-year-old man, 26-year-old man, 24-year-old woman, 34-year-old man, 21-year-old woman, 30-year-old man, 24-year-old man. The traumatic injury victims were a 31-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, according to Moses. Two additional gunshot victims checked into the hospital later Sunday.King-Ingram is being held on requested charges that include two counts of aggravated battery and one count of criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

Police make arrest for mass shooting at Wichita night club

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — The last of the United States’ declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.

Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.

“Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," McConnell said in a statement. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.

The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide.

The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent — a deadly toxin also known as sarin — that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.

By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven't joined the agreement, military experts say.

Friday’s announcement came as the Biden administration has also decided to provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cluster-bombs-ukraine-biden-russia-unexploded-ordnance-cc16c482d86b34102ffeac6ee682a524">cluster munitions</a>&nbsp;to Ukraine, a weapon that two-thirds of NATO countries have banned because it can cause&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-afghanistan-israel-syria-europe-4ac7b012f2b63567ffde368f65283921">many civilian casualties</a>. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine has promised to use the munitions — bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — carefully.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000. Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty calling for their destruction.

In southern Colorado, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot started destroying the weapons in 2016, and on June 22 completed their mission of neutralizing an entire cache of about 2,600 tons of mustard blister agent. The projectiles and mortars comprised about 8.5% of the country’s original chemical weapons stockpile of 30,610 tons of agent.

Nearly 800,000 chemical munitions containing mustard agent were stored since the 1950s inside row after row of heavily guarded concrete and earthen bunkers that pock the landscape near a large swath of farmland east of Pueblo.

The weapons' destruction alleviates a concern that civic leaders in Colorado and Kentucky admit was always in the back of their minds.

"Those (weapons) sitting out there were not a threat," Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar said. But, he added, “you always wondered what might happen with them.”

In the 1980s, the community around Kentucky’s Blue Grass Army Depot rose up in opposition to the Army’s initial plan to incinerate the plant’s 520 tons of chemical weapons, leading to a decadeslong battle over how they would be disposed of. They were able to halt the planned incineration plant, and then, with help from lawmakers, prompted the Army to submit alternative methods to burning the weapons.

Craig Williams, who became the leading voice of the community opposition and later a partner with political leadership and the military, said residents were concerned about potential toxic pollution from burning the deadly chemical agents.

Williams noted that the military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert. But the Kentucky site was adjacent to Richmond and only a few dozen miles away from Lexington, the state’s second-largest city.

“We had a middle school of over 600 kids a mile away from the (planned) smokestack,” Williams said.

The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent and the VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s. The state’s disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019. It uses a process called neutralization to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.

The project, however, has been a boon for both communities, and facing the eventual loss of thousands of workers, both are pitching the pool of high-skilled laborers as a plus for companies looking to locate in their regions.

Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously — and slowly — load aging weapons onto conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots did the dirty and dangerous work of eliminating the toxic mustard agent, which was designed to blister the skin and cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Robotic equipment removed the weapons' fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralized with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing. The byproduct was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes, and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 degrees Celsius) and recycled as scrap metal.

Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armored, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (593 degrees Celsius).

The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among several, including Utah and the Johnston Atoll, where the nation's chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed. Other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.

Kingston Reif, an assistant U.S. secretary of defense for threat reduction and arms control, said the destruction of the last U.S. chemical weapon “will close an important chapter in military history, but one that we’re very much looking forward to closing.”

Officials say the elimination of the U.S. stockpile is a major step forward for the Chemical Weapons Convention. Only three countries — Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan — have not signed the treaty. A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified the treaty.

Reif noted that there remains concern that some parties to the convention, particularly Russia and Syria, possess undeclared chemical weapons stockpiles.

Still, arms control advocates hope this final step by the U.S. could nudge the remaining countries to join. But they also hope it could be used as a model for eliminating other types of weapons.

“It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction,” said Paul F. Walker, vice chairman of the Arms Control Association and coordinator of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition. “If they want to do it, it just takes the political will and it takes a good verification system.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688765216929.png" alt="Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — The last of the United States’ declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.“Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," McConnell said in a statement. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide.The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent — a deadly toxin also known as sarin — that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven't joined the agreement, military experts say.Friday’s announcement came as the Biden administration has also decided to provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cluster-bombs-ukraine-biden-russia-unexploded-ordnance-cc16c482d86b34102ffeac6ee682a524">cluster munitions</a>&nbsp;to Ukraine, a weapon that two-thirds of NATO countries have banned because it can cause&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-afghanistan-israel-syria-europe-4ac7b012f2b63567ffde368f65283921">many civilian casualties</a>. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine has promised to use the munitions — bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — carefully.Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000. Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty calling for their destruction.In southern Colorado, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot started destroying the weapons in 2016, and on June 22 completed their mission of neutralizing an entire cache of about 2,600 tons of mustard blister agent. The projectiles and mortars comprised about 8.5% of the country’s original chemical weapons stockpile of 30,610 tons of agent.Nearly 800,000 chemical munitions containing mustard agent were stored since the 1950s inside row after row of heavily guarded concrete and earthen bunkers that pock the landscape near a large swath of farmland east of Pueblo.The weapons' destruction alleviates a concern that civic leaders in Colorado and Kentucky admit was always in the back of their minds."Those (weapons) sitting out there were not a threat," Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar said. But, he added, “you always wondered what might happen with them.”In the 1980s, the community around Kentucky’s Blue Grass Army Depot rose up in opposition to the Army’s initial plan to incinerate the plant’s 520 tons of chemical weapons, leading to a decadeslong battle over how they would be disposed of. They were able to halt the planned incineration plant, and then, with help from lawmakers, prompted the Army to submit alternative methods to burning the weapons.Craig Williams, who became the leading voice of the community opposition and later a partner with political leadership and the military, said residents were concerned about potential toxic pollution from burning the deadly chemical agents.Williams noted that the military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert. But the Kentucky site was adjacent to Richmond and only a few dozen miles away from Lexington, the state’s second-largest city.“We had a middle school of over 600 kids a mile away from the (planned) smokestack,” Williams said.The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent and the VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s. The state’s disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019. It uses a process called neutralization to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.The project, however, has been a boon for both communities, and facing the eventual loss of thousands of workers, both are pitching the pool of high-skilled laborers as a plus for companies looking to locate in their regions.Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously — and slowly — load aging weapons onto conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots did the dirty and dangerous work of eliminating the toxic mustard agent, which was designed to blister the skin and cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.Robotic equipment removed the weapons' fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralized with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing. The byproduct was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes, and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 degrees Celsius) and recycled as scrap metal.Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armored, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (593 degrees Celsius).The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among several, including Utah and the Johnston Atoll, where the nation's chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed. Other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.Kingston Reif, an assistant U.S. secretary of defense for threat reduction and arms control, said the destruction of the last U.S. chemical weapon “will close an important chapter in military history, but one that we’re very much looking forward to closing.”Officials say the elimination of the U.S. stockpile is a major step forward for the Chemical Weapons Convention. Only three countries — Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan — have not signed the treaty. A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified the treaty.Reif noted that there remains concern that some parties to the convention, particularly Russia and Syria, possess undeclared chemical weapons stockpiles.Still, arms control advocates hope this final step by the U.S. could nudge the remaining countries to join. But they also hope it could be used as a model for eliminating other types of weapons.“It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction,” said Paul F. Walker, vice chairman of the Arms Control Association and coordinator of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition. “If they want to do it, it just takes the political will and it takes a good verification system.”__

U.S. destroys last of its declared chemical weapons

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The first of two Iowa teenagers who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-teens-teacher-beating-death-f3acd07dff116cb2c7311b3ad2b44d9b" target="_blank">pleaded guilty to beating</a>&nbsp;their high school Spanish teacher to death&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-baseball-media-social-media-homicide-8d2536fb9668f3767b832c4d88b3f041" target="_blank">with a baseball bat</a>&nbsp;was sentenced Thursday to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.

A judge sentenced Willard Miller after a sentencing hearing that lasted more than seven hours.

Miller and another teen, Jeremy Goodale, had pleaded guilty in April to the 2021 attack on Nohema Graber. The 66-year-old teacher was fatally beaten while taking her regular afternoon walk in a park in Fairfield.

In sentencing Miller, District Court Judge Shawn Showers acknowledged Miller’s young age but also noted he had “cut Nohema Graber’s precious life short,” devastating her family and the community.

“I find that your intent and actions were sinister and evil. Those acts resulted in the intentional loss of human life in a brutal fashion,” Showers said. “There is no excuse.”

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors had recommended Miller receive a term of between 30 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Goodale is to be sentenced later.

Before being sentenced, Miller said in court Thursday that he accepted responsibility for the killing and apologized to the Graber family.

“I would like to apologize for my actions, first and foremost to the family,” he said. “I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused you and the devastation I have caused your family.”

Miller also apologized to the Fairfield community, his own family, Goodale’s family and the police.

“I’m realizing just the magnitude of my actions, and I know it’s wrong and I knew it was wrong and yet I still carried through,” he said. “I still did what I did, and I accept responsibility for that.”

Ten of Graber’s relatives either read or submitted victim impact statements that described the woman as kind, caring and devoted to her family, students and church. Several also blamed Miller and Goodale for the recent death of Graber’s husband, who suffered from cancer but delayed treatment amid his depression over the murder.

“I hope you open your soul to the lord and maybe ask for forgiveness there first because you’re on a spiral straight to hell,” Graber’s brother-in-law, Jim Graber said while staring at Miller.

Miller and Goodale killed Graber on Nov. 2, 2021, in a park where the teacher routinely walked after school. Prosecutors said the teens, who were 16 at the time, were angry at Graber because of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-homicide-iowa-des-moines-fairfield-42eba22bc42bf9e52a165478916072c4" target="_blank">bad grade she had given</a>&nbsp;Miller.

Under Goodale’s agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors had recommended a sentence of between 25 years and life with the possibility of parole. Goodale’s sentencing is scheduled for August, but his lawyers have sought a delay in the hearing.

Thursday’s sentencing hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield initially focused on investigators who described how officers found Graber’s body. They also talked about social media postings that led them to question and then arrest Miller and Goodale. Prosecutors also played recordings of police interviews with both teens and displayed photographs of the crime scene, including graphic images of Graber’s body.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta recalled police finding Graber’s body under a tarp in Chautauqua Park. A wheelbarrow and railroad tie had been placed over the tarp, making it hard to see the body, with only a shoe and a hand visible.

After pulling back part of the tarp, Vileta said the only significant injury to Graber appeared to be a severe head wound.

In the interview, Miller initially said he knew nothing about Graber’s disappearance but later said he saw other people carrying her body in the park.

Goodale testified earlier that he and Miller had planned the killing for about two weeks and that both of them struck the victim and then hid her body. Goodale said Miller had initiated the plan. Miller admitted helping but denied hitting Graber.

The two were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-homicide-iowa-fairfield-f4d1329baedb35bfe41f7a7b5a15173c" target="_blank">charged as adults</a>, but because of their age they were not subject to a mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder. Miller is now 17 and Goodale is 18.

Fairfield, a city of 9,400 people, is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Des Moines.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688733891554.png" alt="Miller's original booking photo provided by Jefferson Co.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Miller's original booking photo provided by Jefferson Co.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The first of two Iowa teenagers who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-teens-teacher-beating-death-f3acd07dff116cb2c7311b3ad2b44d9b" target="_blank">pleaded guilty to beating</a>&nbsp;their high school Spanish teacher to death&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-baseball-media-social-media-homicide-8d2536fb9668f3767b832c4d88b3f041" target="_blank">with a baseball bat</a>&nbsp;was sentenced Thursday to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.A judge sentenced Willard Miller after a sentencing hearing that lasted more than seven hours.Miller and another teen, Jeremy Goodale, had pleaded guilty in April to the 2021 attack on Nohema Graber. The 66-year-old teacher was fatally beaten while taking her regular afternoon walk in a park in Fairfield.In sentencing Miller, District Court Judge Shawn Showers acknowledged Miller’s young age but also noted he had “cut Nohema Graber’s precious life short,” devastating her family and the community.“I find that your intent and actions were sinister and evil. Those acts resulted in the intentional loss of human life in a brutal fashion,” Showers said. “There is no excuse.”As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors had recommended Miller receive a term of between 30 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Goodale is to be sentenced later.Before being sentenced, Miller said in court Thursday that he accepted responsibility for the killing and apologized to the Graber family.“I would like to apologize for my actions, first and foremost to the family,” he said. “I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused you and the devastation I have caused your family.”Miller also apologized to the Fairfield community, his own family, Goodale’s family and the police.“I’m realizing just the magnitude of my actions, and I know it’s wrong and I knew it was wrong and yet I still carried through,” he said. “I still did what I did, and I accept responsibility for that.”Ten of Graber’s relatives either read or submitted victim impact statements that described the woman as kind, caring and devoted to her family, students and church. Several also blamed Miller and Goodale for the recent death of Graber’s husband, who suffered from cancer but delayed treatment amid his depression over the murder.“I hope you open your soul to the lord and maybe ask for forgiveness there first because you’re on a spiral straight to hell,” Graber’s brother-in-law, Jim Graber said while staring at Miller.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688734515241.png" alt="Goodale-Jefferson Co." />
 <figcaption>Goodale-Jefferson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Miller and Goodale killed Graber on Nov. 2, 2021, in a park where the teacher routinely walked after school. Prosecutors said the teens, who were 16 at the time, were angry at Graber because of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-homicide-iowa-des-moines-fairfield-42eba22bc42bf9e52a165478916072c4" target="_blank">bad grade she had given</a>&nbsp;Miller.Under Goodale’s agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors had recommended a sentence of between 25 years and life with the possibility of parole. Goodale’s sentencing is scheduled for August, but his lawyers have sought a delay in the hearing.Thursday’s sentencing hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield initially focused on investigators who described how officers found Graber’s body. They also talked about social media postings that led them to question and then arrest Miller and Goodale. Prosecutors also played recordings of police interviews with both teens and displayed photographs of the crime scene, including graphic images of Graber’s body.Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta recalled police finding Graber’s body under a tarp in Chautauqua Park. A wheelbarrow and railroad tie had been placed over the tarp, making it hard to see the body, with only a shoe and a hand visible.After pulling back part of the tarp, Vileta said the only significant injury to Graber appeared to be a severe head wound.In the interview, Miller initially said he knew nothing about Graber’s disappearance but later said he saw other people carrying her body in the park.Goodale testified earlier that he and Miller had planned the killing for about two weeks and that both of them struck the victim and then hid her body. Goodale said Miller had initiated the plan. Miller admitted helping but denied hitting Graber.The two were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-homicide-iowa-fairfield-f4d1329baedb35bfe41f7a7b5a15173c" target="_blank">charged as adults</a>, but because of their age they were not subject to a mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder. Miller is now 17 and Goodale is 18.Fairfield, a city of 9,400 people, is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Des Moines.

Teen sentenced for killing Spanish teacher over bad grade

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after an encounter this week.

On July 3, police were dispatched to the 1300 Block. of SW Western Ave. in Topeka on the reports of a disturbance, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.

Officers located 27-year-old Collin Ray Butter involved in the disturbance, and identified him as a person of interest in an Auto theft that was reported on June 14.&nbsp; 

Officers transported Butter to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with Detectives.

After further investigation by Detectives, Butter was also identified to be involved in multiple Auto Thefts and Burglaries throughout the month of June.

As a result of these investigation, Butter was transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections and remains jailed on requested charges of Auto Theft x 6, Burglary to vehicle x 7, Flee or Attempt to elude while operating a stolen vehicle, Reckless driving and Forgery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688741743346.png" alt="Butter-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Butter-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after an encounter this week.On July 3, police were dispatched to the 1300 Block. of SW Western Ave. in Topeka on the reports of a disturbance, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.Officers located 27-year-old Collin Ray Butter involved in the disturbance, and identified him as a person of interest in an Auto theft that was reported on June 14.&nbsp; Officers transported Butter to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with Detectives.After further investigation by Detectives, Butter was also identified to be involved in multiple Auto Thefts and Burglaries throughout the month of June.As a result of these investigation, Butter was transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections and remains jailed on requested charges of Auto Theft x 6, Burglary to vehicle x 7, Flee or Attempt to elude while operating a stolen vehicle, Reckless driving and Forgery.

Kansas man jailed for string of auto thefts and burglaries 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting that fatally injured 16-year-old Elrecus Nolan from Wichita have a suspect in custody.

Just before 10:30pm. Monday, yesterday, police were dispatched to shots fired call at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Ellis Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

Police learned that a witness heard several gunshots before he noticed a silver 2002 Ford Taurus slowly rolling westbound on Mt. Vernon, hitting the curb before stopping on the sidewalk.

First responders located Nolan unconscious and not breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. Nolan was pronounced deceased at the scene.

On Thursday, police arrested 21-year-old Dougqualynn Patterson and 21-year-old Kameron Solomon both from Wichita on requested charges of 1st Degree Murder.

The investigators are still working to fully determine what led up to the shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688743977576.png" alt="Patterson-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Patterson-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting that fatally injured 16-year-old Elrecus Nolan from Wichita have a suspect in custody.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688508501373.png" alt="Police at the scene of the investigation late Monday -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police at the scene of the investigation late Monday -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 10:30pm. Monday, yesterday, police were dispatched to shots fired call at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Ellis Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.Police learned that a witness heard several gunshots before he noticed a silver 2002 Ford Taurus slowly rolling westbound on Mt. Vernon, hitting the curb before stopping on the sidewalk.First responders located Nolan unconscious and not breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. Nolan was pronounced deceased at the scene.On Thursday, police arrested 21-year-old Dougqualynn Patterson and 21-year-old Kameron Solomon both from Wichita on requested charges of 1st Degree Murder.The investigators are still working to fully determine what led up to the shooting.

Two accused in murder of 16-year-old Kansas boy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you step anywhere near an airport.

A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/transportation-security-administration-pandemics-travel-and-tourism-us-department-of-28113d77ccab463d88bcf97c7744b8e0">toward</a>&nbsp;record pre-pandemic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hajj-hospitality-mecca-construction-ce3c894d6f464aa70069be1a20f8ef5e">levels</a>&nbsp;— with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.

With family dreams and big money on the line, passport seekers describe a slow-motion agony of waiting, worrying, holding the line, refreshing the screen, complaining to Congress, paying extra fees and following incorrect directions. Some applicants are buying additional plane tickets to snag in-process passports where they sit — in other cities — in time to make the flights they booked in the first place.

So grim is the outlook that U.S. officials aren't even denying the problem or predicting when it will ease. They're blaming the epic wait times on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-declares-covid-emergency-over-pandemic-8b6445735df5218b5d9d6ec32fa047ca">lingering pandemic</a>&nbsp;-related staffing shortages and a pause of online processing this year. That’s left the passport agency flooded with a record-busting 500,000 applications a week. The deluge is on-track to top last year’s 22 million passports issued, the State Department says.

Stories from applicants and interviews by The Associated Press depict a system of crisis management, in which the agencies are prioritizing urgent cases such as applicants traveling for reasons of “life or death” and those whose travel is only a few days off. For everyone else, the options are few and expensive.

So, 2023 traveler, if you still need a valid U.S. passport, prepare for an unplanned excursion into the nightmare zone.

‘PLENTY OF TIME’ TO ‘WE’LL STILL BE OK' TO BIG PROBLEMS

It was early March when Dallas-area florist Ginger Collier applied for four passports ahead of a family vacation at the end of June. The clerk, she said, estimated wait times at eight to 11 weeks. They'd have their passports a month before they needed them. "Plenty of time," Collier recalled thinking.

Then the State Department upped the wait time for a regular passport to as much as 13 weeks. “We'll still be okay,” she thought.

At T-minus two weeks to travel, this was her assessment: “I can’t sleep." This after months of calling, holding, pressing refresh on a website, trying her member of Congress — and stressing as the departure date loomed. Failure to obtain the family’s passports would mean losing $4,000, she said, as well as the chance to meet one of her sons in Italy after a study-abroad semester.

“My nerves are shot, because I may not be able to get to him,” she said. She calls the toll-free number every day, holds for as much as 90 minutes to be told — at best — that she might be able to get a required appointment at passport offices in other states.

“I can’t afford four more plane tickets anywhere in the United States to get a passport when I applied in plenty of time,” she said. “How about they just process my passports?”

THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT HAS A CULPRIT: COVID

By March, concerned travelers began asking for answers and then demanding help, including from their representatives in the House and Senate, who widely reported at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOJSPjuQFp0">hearings</a>&nbsp;this year that they were receiving more complaints from constituents on passport delays than any other issue.

The U.S. secretary of state had an answer, of a sort.

“With COVID, the bottom basically dropped out of the system,” Antony Blinken&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcras2-XhdE">told a House subcommittee March 23</a>. When demand for travel all but disappeared during the pandemic, he said, the government let contractors go and reassigned staff that had been dedicated to handling passports.

Around the same time, the government also halted an online renewal system "to make sure that we can fine tune it and improve it," Blinken said. He said the department is hiring agents as quickly as possible, opening more appointments and trying to address the crisis in other ways.

Passport applicants lit up social media groups, toll-free numbers and lawmakers' phone lines with questions, appeals for advice and cries for help. Facebook and WhatsApp groups bristled with reports of bewilderment and fury. Reddit published eye-watering diaries, some more than 1,000 words long, of application dates, deposits submitted, contacts made, time on hold, money spent and appeals for advice.

It was 1952 when a law required, for the first time, passports for every U.S. traveler abroad, even in peacetime. Now, passports are processed at centers around the country and printed at secure facilities in Washington, D.C. and Mississippi, according to the Government Printing Office.

But the number of Americans holding valid U.S. passports has grown at roughly 10% faster than the population over the past three decades, according to Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University's Questrom School of Business.

After passport delays derailed his own plans to travel to London earlier this year, Zagorsky found that the number of U.S. passports per American has soared from about three per 100 people in 1989 to nearly 46 per 100 people in 2022. Americans, it turns out, are on the move.

“As a society gets richer," says Zagorsky, "the people in that society say, ‘I want to visit the rest of the world.'”

FOR AMERICANS AND OTHERS ABROAD, IT'S NO PICNIC EITHER

At U.S. consulates overseas, the quest for U.S. visas and passports isn't much brighter.

On a day in June, people in New Delhi could expect to wait 451 days for a visa interview, according to the website. Those in Sao Paulo could plan on waiting more than 600 days. Aspiring travelers in Mexico City were waiting about 750 days; in Bogota, Colombia, it was 801 days.

In Israel, the need is especially acute. More than 200,000 people with citizenship in both countries live in Israel. It's one appointment per person, even for newborns, who must have both parents involved in the process, before traveling to the United States.

Batsheva Gutterman started looking for three appointments immediately after she had a baby in December, with an eye toward attending a family celebration in July, in Raleigh, N.C.

Her quest for three passports stretched from January to June, days before travel. And it only resolved after Gutterman payed a small fee to join a WhatsApp group that alerted her to new appointments, which stay available for only a few seconds. She ultimately got three appointments on three consecutive days — bureaucracy embodied.

“We had to drive the entire family with three small children, an hour-and-a-half to Tel Aviv three days in a row, taking off work and school,” she said. “This makes me incredibly uneasy having a baby in Israel as an American citizen, knowing there is no way I can fly with that baby until we get lucky with an appointment.”

Recently, there appeared to be some progress. The wait for an appointment for a renewed U.S. passport stood at 360 days on June 8. On July 2, the wait was down to 90 days, according to the web site.

FRUSTRATING TALES EMERGE FROM THE TRENCHES

Back in the U.S., Marni Larsen of Holladay, Utah, stood in line in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, in hopes of snagging her son's passport. That way, she hoped, the pair could meet the rest of their family, who had already left as scheduled for Europe, for a long-planned vacation.

She'd applied for her son's passport two months earlier and spent weeks checking for updates online or through a frustrating call system. As the mid-June vacation loomed, Larsen reached out to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOJSPjuQFp0">Sen. Mitt Romney</a>&nbsp;’s office, where one of four people he says is assigned full-time to passport issues were able to track down the document in New Orleans.

It was supposed to be shipped to Los Angeles, where she got an appointment to retrieve it. That meant Larsen had to buy new tickets for herself and her son to Los Angeles and reroute their trip from there to Rome. All on a bet that her son's passport was indeed shipped as promised.

“We are just waiting in this massive line of tons of people,” Larsen said. “It’s just been a nightmare.”

They succeeded. But not everyone has been so lucky.

Miranda Richter applied in person to renew passports for herself and her husband, as well as apply a new one on Feb. 9 for a trip with their neighbors to Croatia on June 6. She ended up canceling, losing more than $1,000.

Her timeline went like this: Passports for her husband and daughter arrived in 11 weeks, while Richter's photo was rejected. On May 4, she sent in a new one via priority mail. Then she paid a rush fee of $79, which was never charged to her credit card. Between May 30 and June 2, four days before travel, Richter and her husband spent more than 12 hours on the national passport line while also calling their congressman, senators and third-party couriers.

Finally, she showed up in person at the federal building in downtown Houston, 30 minutes before the passport office opened. Richter said there were at least 100 people in line.

“The security guard asked when is my appointment, and I burst out in tears,” she recalls. She couldn't get one. “It didn't work."

“I just got my passports!” Ginger Collier texts.

She ended up showing up at the passport office in Dallas with her daughter-in-law at 6:30 a.m. and being sorted into groups and lined up against walls. Finally they were called to a window, where the agent was “super nice” and pulled all four of the family's applications — paperwork that had been sitting in the office since March 17. More than seven hours later, the two left the office with directions to pick up their passports the next day.

“What a ridiculous process,” Collier says. Nevertheless, the reunion with her son in Italy was sweet. She texted last week: “It was the best hug ever!”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1627262146028.jpeg" alt="passport Image by cytis from Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>passport Image by cytis from Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you step anywhere near an airport.A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/transportation-security-administration-pandemics-travel-and-tourism-us-department-of-28113d77ccab463d88bcf97c7744b8e0">toward</a>&nbsp;record pre-pandemic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hajj-hospitality-mecca-construction-ce3c894d6f464aa70069be1a20f8ef5e">levels</a>&nbsp;— with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.With family dreams and big money on the line, passport seekers describe a slow-motion agony of waiting, worrying, holding the line, refreshing the screen, complaining to Congress, paying extra fees and following incorrect directions. Some applicants are buying additional plane tickets to snag in-process passports where they sit — in other cities — in time to make the flights they booked in the first place.So grim is the outlook that U.S. officials aren't even denying the problem or predicting when it will ease. They're blaming the epic wait times on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-declares-covid-emergency-over-pandemic-8b6445735df5218b5d9d6ec32fa047ca">lingering pandemic</a>&nbsp;-related staffing shortages and a pause of online processing this year. That’s left the passport agency flooded with a record-busting 500,000 applications a week. The deluge is on-track to top last year’s 22 million passports issued, the State Department says.Stories from applicants and interviews by The Associated Press depict a system of crisis management, in which the agencies are prioritizing urgent cases such as applicants traveling for reasons of “life or death” and those whose travel is only a few days off. For everyone else, the options are few and expensive.So, 2023 traveler, if you still need a valid U.S. passport, prepare for an unplanned excursion into the nightmare zone.‘PLENTY OF TIME’ TO ‘WE’LL STILL BE OK' TO BIG PROBLEMSIt was early March when Dallas-area florist Ginger Collier applied for four passports ahead of a family vacation at the end of June. The clerk, she said, estimated wait times at eight to 11 weeks. They'd have their passports a month before they needed them. "Plenty of time," Collier recalled thinking.Then the State Department upped the wait time for a regular passport to as much as 13 weeks. “We'll still be okay,” she thought.At T-minus two weeks to travel, this was her assessment: “I can’t sleep." This after months of calling, holding, pressing refresh on a website, trying her member of Congress — and stressing as the departure date loomed. Failure to obtain the family’s passports would mean losing $4,000, she said, as well as the chance to meet one of her sons in Italy after a study-abroad semester.“My nerves are shot, because I may not be able to get to him,” she said. She calls the toll-free number every day, holds for as much as 90 minutes to be told — at best — that she might be able to get a required appointment at passport offices in other states.“I can’t afford four more plane tickets anywhere in the United States to get a passport when I applied in plenty of time,” she said. “How about they just process my passports?”THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT HAS A CULPRIT: COVIDBy March, concerned travelers began asking for answers and then demanding help, including from their representatives in the House and Senate, who widely reported at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOJSPjuQFp0">hearings</a>&nbsp;this year that they were receiving more complaints from constituents on passport delays than any other issue.The U.S. secretary of state had an answer, of a sort.“With COVID, the bottom basically dropped out of the system,” Antony Blinken&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcras2-XhdE">told a House subcommittee March 23</a>. When demand for travel all but disappeared during the pandemic, he said, the government let contractors go and reassigned staff that had been dedicated to handling passports.Around the same time, the government also halted an online renewal system "to make sure that we can fine tune it and improve it," Blinken said. He said the department is hiring agents as quickly as possible, opening more appointments and trying to address the crisis in other ways.Passport applicants lit up social media groups, toll-free numbers and lawmakers' phone lines with questions, appeals for advice and cries for help. Facebook and WhatsApp groups bristled with reports of bewilderment and fury. Reddit published eye-watering diaries, some more than 1,000 words long, of application dates, deposits submitted, contacts made, time on hold, money spent and appeals for advice.It was 1952 when a law required, for the first time, passports for every U.S. traveler abroad, even in peacetime. Now, passports are processed at centers around the country and printed at secure facilities in Washington, D.C. and Mississippi, according to the Government Printing Office.But the number of Americans holding valid U.S. passports has grown at roughly 10% faster than the population over the past three decades, according to Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University's Questrom School of Business.After passport delays derailed his own plans to travel to London earlier this year, Zagorsky found that the number of U.S. passports per American has soared from about three per 100 people in 1989 to nearly 46 per 100 people in 2022. Americans, it turns out, are on the move.“As a society gets richer," says Zagorsky, "the people in that society say, ‘I want to visit the rest of the world.'”FOR AMERICANS AND OTHERS ABROAD, IT'S NO PICNIC EITHERAt U.S. consulates overseas, the quest for U.S. visas and passports isn't much brighter.On a day in June, people in New Delhi could expect to wait 451 days for a visa interview, according to the website. Those in Sao Paulo could plan on waiting more than 600 days. Aspiring travelers in Mexico City were waiting about 750 days; in Bogota, Colombia, it was 801 days.In Israel, the need is especially acute. More than 200,000 people with citizenship in both countries live in Israel. It's one appointment per person, even for newborns, who must have both parents involved in the process, before traveling to the United States.Batsheva Gutterman started looking for three appointments immediately after she had a baby in December, with an eye toward attending a family celebration in July, in Raleigh, N.C.Her quest for three passports stretched from January to June, days before travel. And it only resolved after Gutterman payed a small fee to join a WhatsApp group that alerted her to new appointments, which stay available for only a few seconds. She ultimately got three appointments on three consecutive days — bureaucracy embodied.“We had to drive the entire family with three small children, an hour-and-a-half to Tel Aviv three days in a row, taking off work and school,” she said. “This makes me incredibly uneasy having a baby in Israel as an American citizen, knowing there is no way I can fly with that baby until we get lucky with an appointment.”Recently, there appeared to be some progress. The wait for an appointment for a renewed U.S. passport stood at 360 days on June 8. On July 2, the wait was down to 90 days, according to the web site.FRUSTRATING TALES EMERGE FROM THE TRENCHESBack in the U.S., Marni Larsen of Holladay, Utah, stood in line in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, in hopes of snagging her son's passport. That way, she hoped, the pair could meet the rest of their family, who had already left as scheduled for Europe, for a long-planned vacation.She'd applied for her son's passport two months earlier and spent weeks checking for updates online or through a frustrating call system. As the mid-June vacation loomed, Larsen reached out to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOJSPjuQFp0">Sen. Mitt Romney</a>&nbsp;’s office, where one of four people he says is assigned full-time to passport issues were able to track down the document in New Orleans.It was supposed to be shipped to Los Angeles, where she got an appointment to retrieve it. That meant Larsen had to buy new tickets for herself and her son to Los Angeles and reroute their trip from there to Rome. All on a bet that her son's passport was indeed shipped as promised.“We are just waiting in this massive line of tons of people,” Larsen said. “It’s just been a nightmare.”They succeeded. But not everyone has been so lucky.Miranda Richter applied in person to renew passports for herself and her husband, as well as apply a new one on Feb. 9 for a trip with their neighbors to Croatia on June 6. She ended up canceling, losing more than $1,000.Her timeline went like this: Passports for her husband and daughter arrived in 11 weeks, while Richter's photo was rejected. On May 4, she sent in a new one via priority mail. Then she paid a rush fee of $79, which was never charged to her credit card. Between May 30 and June 2, four days before travel, Richter and her husband spent more than 12 hours on the national passport line while also calling their congressman, senators and third-party couriers.Finally, she showed up in person at the federal building in downtown Houston, 30 minutes before the passport office opened. Richter said there were at least 100 people in line.“The security guard asked when is my appointment, and I burst out in tears,” she recalls. She couldn't get one. “It didn't work."FINALLY: A HAPPY ENDING“I just got my passports!” Ginger Collier texts.She ended up showing up at the passport office in Dallas with her daughter-in-law at 6:30 a.m. and being sorted into groups and lined up against walls. Finally they were called to a window, where the agent was “super nice” and pulled all four of the family's applications — paperwork that had been sitting in the office since March 17. More than seven hours later, the two left the office with directions to pick up their passports the next day.They did — with four days to spare.“What a ridiculous process,” Collier says. Nevertheless, the reunion with her son in Italy was sweet. She texted last week: “It was the best hug ever!”___

The wait for US passports is creating travel purgatory, snarling plans

LANE COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 4a.m. Friday in Lane County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Honda Civic driven by Paula Anne Smallwood, 66, Greeley, Colorado, was&nbsp; eastbound on Kansas 96 one half mile west of Eagle Road.

The car struck a cow, traveled off the road to the north, rolled and came to rest north of the highway. EMS transported Smallwood to the Scott County Hospital.. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

LANE COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 4a.m. Friday in Lane County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Honda Civic driven by Paula Anne Smallwood, 66, Greeley, Colorado, was&nbsp; eastbound on Kansas 96 one half mile west of Eagle Road.The car struck a cow, traveled off the road to the north, rolled and came to rest north of the highway. EMS transported Smallwood to the Scott County Hospital.. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Woman hospitalized after car strikes cow on Kansas highway

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-media-protected-speech-lawsuit-injunction-148c1cd43f88a0284d5a3c53fd333727">order</a>&nbsp;by a federal judge in Louisiana has ignited a high-stakes legal battle over how the government is allowed to interact with social media platforms, raising broad questions about whether — and how — officials can fight what they deem misinformation on health or other matters.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a conservative nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, chose Independence Day to issue an injunction&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-media-protected-speech-lawsuit-injunction-148c1cd43f88a0284d5a3c53fd333727">blocking multiple government agencies and administration officials.</a>&nbsp;In his words, they are forbidden to meet with or contact social media companies for the purpose of “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

The order also prohibits the agencies and officials from pressuring social media companies "in any manner” to try to suppress posts, raising questions about what officials could even say in public forums.

Doughty's order blocks the administration from taking such actions pending further arguments in his court in a lawsuit filed by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana.

Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”

The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal and said it would also seek to try to stay the court’s order.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We certainly disagree with this decision.” She declined to comment further.

An administration official said there was some concern about the impact the decision would have on efforts to counter domestic extremism — deemed by the intelligence community to be a top threat to the nation — but that it would depend on how long the injunction remains in place and what steps platforms take on their own. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The lawsuit alleges that government officials used the possibility of favorable or unfavorable regulatory action to coerce social media platforms to squelch what the administration considered misinformation on a variety of topics, including COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden's son Hunter, and election integrity.

The injunction — and Doughty's accompanying reasons saying the administration "seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’" — were hailed by conservatives as a victory for free speech and a blow to censorship.

Legal experts, however, expressed surprise at the breadth of the order, and questioned whether it puts too many limits on a presidential administration.

“When we were in the midst of the pandemic, but even now, the government has significantly important public health expertise,” James Speta, a law professor and expert on internet regulation at Northwestern University, said Wednesday. “The scope of the injunction limits the ability of the government to share public health expertise.”

The implications go beyond public health.

Disinformation researchers and social media watchdogs said the ruling could make social media companies less accountable to label and remove election falsehoods.

"As the U.S. gears up for the biggest election year the internet age has seen, we should be finding methods to better coordinate between governments and social media companies to increase the integrity of election news and information,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel of the digital rights advocacy group Free Press.

Social media companies routinely take down posts that violate their own standards, but they are rarely compelled to do so by the U.S. government.

Meta restricted access to 27 items that it thought violated laws in the U.S. during the first six months of 2020, most of them involving price-gouging allegations, according to its transparency report. But it reported no U.S.-specific content restrictions during 2021 or the first six months of 2022, the most recent data available.

By contrast, Meta restricted access to more than 17,000 social media posts in Mexico during the same period, most pertaining to unlawful advertising on risky cosmetic or dietary products, and more than 19,000 posts and comments in South Korea reported as violating national election rules.

Administration attorneys, in past court filings, have called the lawsuit an attempt to gag the free speech rights of administration officials themselves.

Justin Levitt, a law professor and constitutional law expert who is a former policy adviser to the Biden administration, said the order is unclear as to whether an official could even speak publicly to criticize misinformation on a social media platform.

Elizabeth Murrill, an assistant Louisiana attorney general, said Wednesday that the order doesn't infringe on such public criticism, as long as the official doesn't threaten government action against the platform.

Jennifer Grygiel, a communications professor and social media expert at Syracuse University, said Americans should resist the urge to dismiss the case as politically motivated and remain vigilant about the risks of federal encroachment on social media platforms.

“I’m more concerned that we’re lacking critique in the government’s intervention in these spaces,” Grygiel said. “We need, as a public, to be very critical of any attempts by a government, a federal actor, to censor speech through a corporate entity.”

Doughty has previously ruled against the Biden administration in other high-profile cases involving oil drilling and vaccination mandates.

In 2021 he issued a nationwide block of a Biden administration requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals trimmed the area covered by the order to 14 states that were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667963892129.png" alt="Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-media-protected-speech-lawsuit-injunction-148c1cd43f88a0284d5a3c53fd333727">order</a>&nbsp;by a federal judge in Louisiana has ignited a high-stakes legal battle over how the government is allowed to interact with social media platforms, raising broad questions about whether — and how — officials can fight what they deem misinformation on health or other matters.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688666322401.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a conservative nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, chose Independence Day to issue an injunction&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-media-protected-speech-lawsuit-injunction-148c1cd43f88a0284d5a3c53fd333727">blocking multiple government agencies and administration officials.</a>&nbsp;In his words, they are forbidden to meet with or contact social media companies for the purpose of “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”The order also prohibits the agencies and officials from pressuring social media companies "in any manner” to try to suppress posts, raising questions about what officials could even say in public forums.Doughty's order blocks the administration from taking such actions pending further arguments in his court in a lawsuit filed by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">King George believed the Declaration of Independence was “misinformation” God bless America and God bless the First Amendment. 🇺🇸&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1676411167126835201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal and said it would also seek to try to stay the court’s order.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We certainly disagree with this decision.” She declined to comment further.An administration official said there was some concern about the impact the decision would have on efforts to counter domestic extremism — deemed by the intelligence community to be a top threat to the nation — but that it would depend on how long the injunction remains in place and what steps platforms take on their own. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.The lawsuit alleges that government officials used the possibility of favorable or unfavorable regulatory action to coerce social media platforms to squelch what the administration considered misinformation on a variety of topics, including COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden's son Hunter, and election integrity.The injunction — and Doughty's accompanying reasons saying the administration "seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’" — were hailed by conservatives as a victory for free speech and a blow to censorship.Legal experts, however, expressed surprise at the breadth of the order, and questioned whether it puts too many limits on a presidential administration.“When we were in the midst of the pandemic, but even now, the government has significantly important public health expertise,” James Speta, a law professor and expert on internet regulation at Northwestern University, said Wednesday. “The scope of the injunction limits the ability of the government to share public health expertise.”The implications go beyond public health.Disinformation researchers and social media watchdogs said the ruling could make social media companies less accountable to label and remove election falsehoods."As the U.S. gears up for the biggest election year the internet age has seen, we should be finding methods to better coordinate between governments and social media companies to increase the integrity of election news and information,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel of the digital rights advocacy group Free Press.Social media companies routinely take down posts that violate their own standards, but they are rarely compelled to do so by the U.S. government.Meta restricted access to 27 items that it thought violated laws in the U.S. during the first six months of 2020, most of them involving price-gouging allegations, according to its transparency report. But it reported no U.S.-specific content restrictions during 2021 or the first six months of 2022, the most recent data available.By contrast, Meta restricted access to more than 17,000 social media posts in Mexico during the same period, most pertaining to unlawful advertising on risky cosmetic or dietary products, and more than 19,000 posts and comments in South Korea reported as violating national election rules.Administration attorneys, in past court filings, have called the lawsuit an attempt to gag the free speech rights of administration officials themselves.Justin Levitt, a law professor and constitutional law expert who is a former policy adviser to the Biden administration, said the order is unclear as to whether an official could even speak publicly to criticize misinformation on a social media platform.Elizabeth Murrill, an assistant Louisiana attorney general, said Wednesday that the order doesn't infringe on such public criticism, as long as the official doesn't threaten government action against the platform.Jennifer Grygiel, a communications professor and social media expert at Syracuse University, said Americans should resist the urge to dismiss the case as politically motivated and remain vigilant about the risks of federal encroachment on social media platforms.“I’m more concerned that we’re lacking critique in the government’s intervention in these spaces,” Grygiel said. “We need, as a public, to be very critical of any attempts by a government, a federal actor, to censor speech through a corporate entity.”Doughty has previously ruled against the Biden administration in other high-profile cases involving oil drilling and vaccination mandates.In 2021 he issued a nationwide block of a Biden administration requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals trimmed the area covered by the order to 14 states that were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Court fight: DOJ responds to ruling on interference in social media content

KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Friday that new criminal charges&nbsp;have been&nbsp;filed in connection with the May 21 fatal mass shootings at the&nbsp;Klymax&nbsp;Lounge in Kansas City.

Isiah D.&nbsp;Clinton, 36, faces three counts of Murder 1st&nbsp;Degree, 2 counts of Assault 1st&nbsp;Degree, and 5 counts of Armed Criminal Action.&nbsp; A security guard identified as 41-year-old  Jason McConnell, 24-year-old  Antoinette Brenson and 33-year-old  Clarence Henderson all died in the shooting.

According to court records, Kansas City police were&nbsp; early the morning of May 21, were dispatched to the shooting at the&nbsp;Klymax&nbsp;Lounge nightclub at 4242 Indiana Avenue.

 Upon arrival, officers located five shooting victims, three who were declared deceased and two who were transported to local hospitals for treatment, where they were listed in critical condition.&nbsp;&nbsp;

On May 22,&nbsp;according to court records,&nbsp;officers on routine patrol in the area of 35th and Prospect identified a vehicle that matched the description of the suspect vehicle observed in the area of the Lounge at the time of the shooting. The occupants of the vehicle, including Isiah Clinton, who was operating the vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.

Charges were filed on July 3, but were placed under seal until Clinton could be apprehended. He was arrested Thursday, and the charging documents are now being made public.&nbsp;Although charges have been filed against Clinton, Kansas City police&nbsp;continue to investigate&nbsp;additional&nbsp;suspects and charges.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684669834332.png" alt="Two of the victims died at the scene, according to Police -Photo Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forte" />
 <figcaption>Two of the victims died at the scene, according to Police -Photo Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forte</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Friday that new criminal charges&nbsp;have been&nbsp;filed in connection with the May 21 fatal mass shootings at the&nbsp;Klymax&nbsp;Lounge in Kansas City.Isiah D.&nbsp;Clinton, 36, faces three counts of Murder 1st&nbsp;Degree, 2 counts of Assault 1st&nbsp;Degree, and 5 counts of Armed Criminal Action.&nbsp; A security guard identified as 41-year-old Jason McConnell, 24-year-old Antoinette Brenson and 33-year-old Clarence Henderson all died in the shooting.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688745590686.png" alt="Clinton-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Clinton-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>According to court records, Kansas City police were&nbsp; early the morning of May 21, were dispatched to the shooting at the&nbsp;Klymax&nbsp;Lounge nightclub at 4242 Indiana Avenue. Upon arrival, officers located five shooting victims, three who were declared deceased and two who were transported to local hospitals for treatment, where they were listed in critical condition.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684708013628.png" alt="-A security guard identified as 41-year-old Jason McConnell, 24-year-old Antoinette Brenson and 33-year-old Clarence Henderson all died in the shooting.-Google image" />
 <figcaption>-A security guard identified as 41-year-old Jason McConnell, 24-year-old Antoinette Brenson and 33-year-old Clarence Henderson all died in the shooting.-Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>On May 22,&nbsp;according to court records,&nbsp;officers on routine patrol in the area of 35th and Prospect identified a vehicle that matched the description of the suspect vehicle observed in the area of the Lounge at the time of the shooting. The occupants of the vehicle, including Isiah Clinton, who was operating the vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.Charges were filed on July 3, but were placed under seal until Clinton could be apprehended. He was arrested Thursday, and the charging documents are now being made public.&nbsp;Although charges have been filed against Clinton, Kansas City police&nbsp;continue to investigate&nbsp;additional&nbsp;suspects and charges.&nbsp;

Suspect charged in deadly mass shooting at Kansas City bar 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — County election security policies in Kansas don't appear to be strong or detailed enough, and the state doesn't appear to be giving counties enough guidance on how best to oversee voting, according to an audit released Thursday.

<a href="https://www.kslpa.org/audit-report-library/reviewing-kansass-procedures-for-election-security-part-2/">The report</a>&nbsp;from the auditing arm of the Republican-controlled Legislature is the second on election security issues this year and was initiated amid an ongoing circulation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-politics-donald-trump-arizona-9b675ed2223da37a90e5b53cfb6cf9b8">baseless election conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;among GOP conservatives.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslpa.org/audit-report-library/review/">The first report,</a>&nbsp;released in February, said auditors couldn't tell whether county election workers are being adequately trained “because no one tracks this, and state law says very little about it."

Like their counterparts in other states, Kansas supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">former President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;have suggested that fraud is a major issue in the state's elections despite the lack of evidence of a significant problem. However, rather than attempt to bolster or undercut such claims, the two audits this year have focused on election procedures and whether they represent election security gaps.

For the latest report, auditors examined election security procedures in 15 of the state's 105 counties and found that none of those counties had comprehensive security policies or guidance. The audit said most of the counties had inadequate procedures for testing voting machines' accuracy after elections or for securing their voting machines from unauthorized access while they are deployed.

“We have some work to do,” said state Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican and vice chair of the legislative committee directing the auditors' work.

The audit suggested that money and personnel plays a role: The more populous counties surveyed generally were better at following best practices outlined by the federal Election Assistance Commission than the more rural ones. Yet even the auditors avoided suggesting that election procedures ought to be uniform across the state.

Asked whether the Kansas secretary of state's office might have separate sets of guidance for the most populous counties and the others, state elections director Bryan Caskey said: “To me, there's 105 ways of doing things, not two.”

Secretary of State Scott Schwab's office pushed back on auditors' suggestion that it isn't providing enough guidance on security issues to county officials. Its formal response to the audit said its training for election officials deals with security issues and the office is working on more standardized policies and forms.

Caskey said security regulations will be updated before the 2024 election and Schwab's office passes along guidance on best practices from multiple federal agencies. He noted that the agencies don't have a single, common list of practices that guarantee a secure election, making guidance “a never-ending job.”

Still, Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican and another audit committee member, said a single list of best practices for county officials “absolutely makes sense."

“I do think that it'd be overwhelming for county clerks, especially small counties, that may just recently have been elected to that position, to try to discern what are the best practices from so many different agencies or outlets,” Williams said.

Sen. Ethan Corson, a Prairie Village Democrat and audit committee member, said while lawmakers should encourage Schwab's office to provide more guidance, they shouldn't impose mandates without providing the funding to meet them, especially in rural counties.

“This is a tricky issue,” Corson said.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — County election security policies in Kansas don't appear to be strong or detailed enough, and the state doesn't appear to be giving counties enough guidance on how best to oversee voting, according to an audit released Thursday.<a href="https://www.kslpa.org/audit-report-library/reviewing-kansass-procedures-for-election-security-part-2/">The report</a>&nbsp;from the auditing arm of the Republican-controlled Legislature is the second on election security issues this year and was initiated amid an ongoing circulation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-politics-donald-trump-arizona-9b675ed2223da37a90e5b53cfb6cf9b8">baseless election conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;among GOP conservatives.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslpa.org/audit-report-library/review/">The first report,</a>&nbsp;released in February, said auditors couldn't tell whether county election workers are being adequately trained “because no one tracks this, and state law says very little about it."Like their counterparts in other states, Kansas supporters of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">former President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;have suggested that fraud is a major issue in the state's elections despite the lack of evidence of a significant problem. However, rather than attempt to bolster or undercut such claims, the two audits this year have focused on election procedures and whether they represent election security gaps.For the latest report, auditors examined election security procedures in 15 of the state's 105 counties and found that none of those counties had comprehensive security policies or guidance. The audit said most of the counties had inadequate procedures for testing voting machines' accuracy after elections or for securing their voting machines from unauthorized access while they are deployed.“We have some work to do,” said state Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican and vice chair of the legislative committee directing the auditors' work.The audit suggested that money and personnel plays a role: The more populous counties surveyed generally were better at following best practices outlined by the federal Election Assistance Commission than the more rural ones. Yet even the auditors avoided suggesting that election procedures ought to be uniform across the state.Asked whether the Kansas secretary of state's office might have separate sets of guidance for the most populous counties and the others, state elections director Bryan Caskey said: “To me, there's 105 ways of doing things, not two.”Secretary of State Scott Schwab's office pushed back on auditors' suggestion that it isn't providing enough guidance on security issues to county officials. Its formal response to the audit said its training for election officials deals with security issues and the office is working on more standardized policies and forms.Caskey said security regulations will be updated before the 2024 election and Schwab's office passes along guidance on best practices from multiple federal agencies. He noted that the agencies don't have a single, common list of practices that guarantee a secure election, making guidance “a never-ending job.”Still, Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican and another audit committee member, said a single list of best practices for county officials “absolutely makes sense."“I do think that it'd be overwhelming for county clerks, especially small counties, that may just recently have been elected to that position, to try to discern what are the best practices from so many different agencies or outlets,” Williams said.Sen. Ethan Corson, a Prairie Village Democrat and audit committee member, said while lawmakers should encourage Schwab's office to provide more guidance, they shouldn't impose mandates without providing the funding to meet them, especially in rural counties.“This is a tricky issue,” Corson said.

Kansas audit questions whether local election security policies are strong enough

DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a burglary have made an arrest.

On Thursday, Solomon High School, 400 North Pine Street in Solomon, reported the burglary and theft of&nbsp; power tools, according to Dickinson County Undersheriff Jeff Vaughan.

A deputy responded to the school and learned approximately $1393 worth of tools were missing.

Deputies applied for a search warrant for a residence in Salina. During the search, deputies recovered the tools taken in the burglary.&nbsp;

Later on Thursday, the deputy who responded to the school made contact with the suspect in the case. The deputy arrested 51-year-old Troy Dean Holcom of Salina and booked him into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of burglary and theft.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688738522766.png" alt="Holcom-photo Dickinson County" />
 <figcaption>Holcom-photo Dickinson County</figcaption>
 </figure>DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a burglary have made an arrest.On Thursday, Solomon High School, 400 North Pine Street in Solomon, reported the burglary and theft of&nbsp; power tools, according to Dickinson County Undersheriff Jeff Vaughan.A deputy responded to the school and learned approximately $1393 worth of tools were missing.Deputies applied for a search warrant for a residence in Salina. During the search, deputies recovered the tools taken in the burglary.&nbsp;Later on Thursday, the deputy who responded to the school made contact with the suspect in the case. The deputy arrested 51-year-old Troy Dean Holcom of Salina and booked him into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of burglary and theft.

Sheriff: Kansas man took $1300 in tools from high school

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/17/antisemitic-messages-in-kansas-high-schools-reflect-how-jewish-people-are-treated-nationwide/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Chuck Marsh could tell that something was a bit jittery about his Journalism 101 class at the University of Kansas.

Marsh was instructing the spring 2009 installment of “Media &amp; Society.” During the April 28 class, he was taking his students through the normal routine. He walked around the Budig Hall auditorium while his graduate students presented about an issue from current events. The student chatter seemed a bit amplified compared to normal, but nothing disruptive.

It was probably about then that he noticed one of his students sitting apart from most of the class with two other people in the second tier of student seats.

His student, Abigail Anderson, gave him an embarrassed smile.

But was that her father sitting with her? The man looked too old to be a student.

And was that another student rounding out the group of three? Marsh wondered.

As he began lecturing for his portion of the class period, Marsh didn’t know this would be the most extraordinary class period of the 20 semesters that he taught J101. That it would be a story that he would tell his children. That it would be a story reported in the campus and community newspaper. That it would be a story I would interview him about 14 years later.

“As soon as class was over, it was like somebody had turned on a vacuum,” Marsh said. “Everybody ran in that direction. And I turned to my graduate students, and I said, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, ‘That’s Taylor Swift.’

“So, I was the only one in the classroom who didn’t know who was sitting there.”

What does Marsh take away from the brush with fame 14 years later?&nbsp;

“Well, besides my claiming full credit for her success through a magnificent, magnificent lecture?” Marsh asked Thursday.

Anderson, an undergraduate at KU at the time, had brought her best friend Taylor to Lawrence for a visit. As the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansan.com/news/taylor-swift-visits-university/article_8f1ec9a2-b47d-5b3c-992d-ef84dff4ac1c.html">University Daily Kansan</a>&nbsp;reported, the celebrity sighting spread through text messages,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/aug/20/best-friends-swimmer-sees-perks-pitfalls-country-s/">attracting a crowd to the standing room at the back of the auditorium and the hallways outside</a>.

Students huddled around Swift, posing for photos. One student, according to the Kansan, even worked to slip the pop star his number.

Anderson attended KU, competing on the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kuathletics.com/roster/abigail-anderson/">school’s swim and dive team</a>. She set two school records in the backstroke and now works in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.celerocommerce.com/abigail-lucier">mergers and acquisitions for a Nashville-based company</a>.

Some benefits of being Swift’s best friend? Nearly 429,000&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/abigail_lauren/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;followers. A write-up on your 2022 marriage in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1347949/taylor-swifts-longtime-friend-abigail-anderson-marries-charles-berard">E! News</a>. And being the “redhead” best friend referenced in Swift’s hit song “Fifteen.”

“And soon enough you’re best friends,” Swift sings. “Laughing at the other girls, who they think they’re so cool.”

(I tried to reach Anderson with some last-minute requests for an interview this week but didn’t hear back.)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688731828651.png" alt="A selection of albums from onetime University of Kansas visitor Taylor Swift available for sale at Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, Kansas. (Clay Wirestone/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>A selection of albums from onetime University of Kansas visitor Taylor Swift available for sale at Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, Kansas. (Clay Wirestone/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/17/antisemitic-messages-in-kansas-high-schools-reflect-how-jewish-people-are-treated-nationwide/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a> Chuck Marsh could tell that something was a bit jittery about his Journalism 101 class at the University of Kansas.Marsh was instructing the spring 2009 installment of “Media &amp; Society.” During the April 28 class, he was taking his students through the normal routine. He walked around the Budig Hall auditorium while his graduate students presented about an issue from current events. The student chatter seemed a bit amplified compared to normal, but nothing disruptive.It was probably about then that he noticed one of his students sitting apart from most of the class with two other people in the second tier of student seats.His student, Abigail Anderson, gave him an embarrassed smile.But was that her father sitting with her? The man looked too old to be a student.And was that another student rounding out the group of three? Marsh wondered.As he began lecturing for his portion of the class period, Marsh didn’t know this would be the most extraordinary class period of the 20 semesters that he taught J101. That it would be a story that he would tell his children. That it would be a story reported in the campus and community newspaper. That it would be a story I would interview him about 14 years later.“As soon as class was over, it was like somebody had turned on a vacuum,” Marsh said. “Everybody ran in that direction. And I turned to my graduate students, and I said, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, ‘That’s Taylor Swift.’“So, I was the only one in the classroom who didn’t know who was sitting there.”What does Marsh take away from the brush with fame 14 years later?&nbsp;“Well, besides my claiming full credit for her success through a magnificent, magnificent lecture?” Marsh asked Thursday.Anderson, an undergraduate at KU at the time, had brought her best friend Taylor to Lawrence for a visit. As the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansan.com/news/taylor-swift-visits-university/article_8f1ec9a2-b47d-5b3c-992d-ef84dff4ac1c.html">University Daily Kansan</a>&nbsp;reported, the celebrity sighting spread through text messages,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/aug/20/best-friends-swimmer-sees-perks-pitfalls-country-s/">attracting a crowd to the standing room at the back of the auditorium and the hallways outside</a>.Students huddled around Swift, posing for photos. One student, according to the Kansan, even worked to slip the pop star his number.Anderson attended KU, competing on the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kuathletics.com/roster/abigail-anderson/">school’s swim and dive team</a>. She set two school records in the backstroke and now works in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.celerocommerce.com/abigail-lucier">mergers and acquisitions for a Nashville-based company</a>.Some benefits of being Swift’s best friend? Nearly 429,000&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/abigail_lauren/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;followers. A write-up on your 2022 marriage in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1347949/taylor-swifts-longtime-friend-abigail-anderson-marries-charles-berard">E! News</a>. And being the “redhead” best friend referenced in Swift’s hit song “Fifteen.”“And soon enough you’re best friends,” Swift sings. “Laughing at the other girls, who they think they’re so cool.”(I tried to reach Anderson with some last-minute requests for an interview this week but didn’t hear back.)I loved hearing this anecdote about one of the most famous people in the world visiting Marsh’s class at KU. First of all, because Swift went on to give Kansas a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/taylor-swift-talks-about-some-of-her-favorite-things-video">shout-out</a>&nbsp;during an interview recorded by the Oprah Winfrey Show.“My perfect day off would be going to visit my best friend Abigail in Lawrence, Kansas,” Swift said in the interview. “She goes to Kansas University, so basically that’s my best friend since I was 15. I love going to visit her.”Second, because my wife was charming enough to land tickets to Saturday’s concert for the two of us.But mostly because I will teach the same course in the same lecture hall this fall. What a mind scramble it would be to have a celebrity — or a “starlet,” as the Kansan put it — in class.To be clear, Swift’s 2009 visit was only two albums into a discography that has now ballooned to 10 studio albums. She is doubtlessly the most successful recording artist of the past few decades — and there she was in Jayhawk Boulevard with her best friend, a KU student.Marsh and I struggled to compare her historically to other musicians in terms of fame. I offered the closest comparison for my generation: Michael Jackson. His worldwide fame and tours created a spectacle that was only rivaled by his bizarre public controversies and accusations of child assault. Regardless of your musical tastes, you have to admire Swift’s composure and juggernaut success in the spotlight.Marsh suggested the Beatles. However, he pointed out, they could escape from fame in a way that seems impossible for Swift.“They were in their comparatively relentless spotlight,” Marsh said. “But they could escape to Greece or India, and no one would know they were there. I’ll bet Taylor Swift can’t do that.”“She’s having to invent a way to do this with dignity and class,” Marsh said. “I can’t imagine. Just from the sidelines, I’d say she’s succeeding.”There’s an irony to having Swift attend “Media &amp; Society” as a faux student. Her work has become the subject of academic study,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2023-05-28/cant-shake-itoff-university-of-kansas-class-will-explore-taylor-swifts-popularity">including a seminar class at the University of Kansas.</a>As I plan my major themes for teaching the course starting in a few weeks, many moments in Swift’s career can be bullet points in my lecture outlines.If I want to explain how the media, often above all, is a profit-seeking enterprise, why not mention how Swift has re-recorded many of her albums, as “Taylor’s Versions,” after&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/arts/music/taylor-swift-fearless-taylors-version.html">the master recordings of her earliest songs were sold</a>?Or, explore how Swift recently dodged some public embarrassment (and perhaps lawsuits) when she (fortunately?) failed to come to terms with a Vitcoin exchange that almost inked a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/technology/tom-brady-crypto-ftx.html">$100 million endorsement deal</a>, before it flopped spectacularly.As Kansas City celebrates her two shows this weekend, the Taylor Swift empire has become so much more than those KU students could have imagined back in 2009. A single bodyguard couldn’t control the crowd that Swift would attract today. Just imagine the viral tweets announcing Swift on campus. The crush of students. The cellphone cameras held up for a glimpse.Swift is now subject to academic inquiry, has accomplished a career so extensive that it has eras, cultivated a pop star supernova capable of crashing an online ticketing service, and triggered controversies profound enough to trigger Congressional hearings.Indeed, to be as famous as Swift means that you leave a wake behind you wherever you have been.In the days after Swift’s two-night stand at Arrowhead Stadium, the wake of her fame will remain in Kansas City in the shape of teenage girls flaunting their branded T-shirts and middle aged dads posting photos from the concerts on their social media.Even 14 years later, when the visit of any normal person would be forgotten, Swift’s presence still has people talking on the Lawrence campus.“That was honestly one of the funniest things I’ve seen in all my years of teaching,” Marsh recalled Thursday. “That was how quickly students got out of their seats and up to the level where she was sitting. They were thrilled. They certainly knew who she was.”<a target="_blank" href="https://journalism.ku.edu/eric-thomas">Eric Thomas</a>&nbsp;directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/submit-opinion/">here</a>.