BY:&nbsp;TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

LAWRENCE — The Lawrence City Commission adopted an ordinance banning on March 1, 2024, use by most businesses of single-use plastic bags and to encourage consumers to rely on cloth or other reusable bags rather than one-and-done sacks polluting the environment or tossed by the millions into landfills.

The 3-2 decision Tuesday by the commission would apply the regulation to owners and operators of businesses providing customers with disposable plastic bags to carry merchandise, food and beverages and other goods. Ordinance No. 9996 included exemptions for plastic bags designed to prevent food contamination or to shield from the weather items such as clothing or newspapers.

The city’s definition of reusable bag, whether made of cloth, fiber, plastic or other materials, required it had to be designed for repeated application. If based on plastics, an acceptable reusable bag for commercial purposes must contain at least 40% recycled content and measure at least 4 mills in thickness.

Violators could face fines ranging from $100 to $500 per offense, but the current city budget didn’t include funding to hire an enforcement officer. Commissioners pushed back implementation originally set for Jan. 1, 2024, to allow a six-month introductory phase. Members of the commission declined to include a three-year sunset.

Nancy Muma, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Kansas and a member of the city’s Sustainability Advisory Board, urged the commission to pass the prohibition on single-use plastic bags. She said plastics in the process of degrading into tiny particles routinely found their way into humans and contributed to higher risk of contracting cancer and lowering of fertility.

“Plastics are really durable, which is great. Except they don’t decompose,” she said. “They break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Those tiny microplastics and nanoplastics are really abundant in the air, our water and our food. We can measure it in our blood, in our bodies and the placentas of newborn babies. That’s pretty scary, because we know this stuff is toxic.”

Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, said manufacturers of single-use bags were opposed to bans of the type embraced by the Lawrence City Commission.

“As families and small businesses struggle to keep up with staggering inflation and a shaky economy, now is the wrong time to saddle them with higher costs at the checkout counter,” Taylor said. “The city commission should reconsider their ban on American-made, reusable and recyclable plastic bags that would impose unworkable costs on retailers and shoppers while promoting products that are more expensive and carry worse environmental impacts.”

Mayor Lisa Larsen broke the commission’s 2-2 tie that stalled action on the ordinance in June during a meeting Larsen didn’t attend. Commissioners Bart Littlejohn and Courtney Shipley formed the majority with Larsen. Commissioners Brad Finkeldei and Amber Sellers opposed it.

“Could we possibly add a sunset to this ordinance?” Sellers said. “I would be apropos with maybe a three-year sunset.”

Larsen said she supported the ordinance, tweaked to delay implementation until March, but not a sunset that could kill the regulation after a few years unless the commission acted to renew it.

Shipley, who voted for the restriction on single-use plastic bags, compared the plastic-bag debate to consternation among individuals and businesses owners in Lawrence a decade ago when the commission passed a ban on indoor smoking in public spaces.

“A lot of people, including some commissioners, thought if we ban cigarettes in restaurants and bars the sky will fall. Small businesses would die,” Shipley said. “I’ve spoken to some of those commissioners and, indeed, they recognize the sky did not fall. We all enjoy restaurants and bars a lot better because we do not smoke inside them.”

In 2010, Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, signed into law a statewide ban on smoking in public buildings and indoor places of employment.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed in 2022 a bill that would have prevented cities and counties from banning, limiting or taxing plastic bags, straws and food containers. The governor said she opposed the restraint because it undermined authority of local government.

A proposal to place in state statute a prohibition on adoption by cities or counties of limits on single-use plastics was endorsed by the Kansas Chamber in the 2023 legislative session, but a bill blocking local governments from regulating single-use plastic failed in the Kansas Senate.

Text of the Lawrence ordinance says residents of the city used and discarded an estimated 29 million to 36 million single-use disposable plastic bags annually. The ordinance said the operational, environmental and social cost to the city of single-use disposable plastic bags was estimated to be 11 cents to 20 cents per bag.

It says manufacturing of the bags had “significant global environmental consequences” and discarded plastic bags infected the landscape and waterways in such volume they were ingested by animals with potentially lethal results.

“We’re heartened this is coming to some fruition,” said Thad Holcombe, who is part of faith-based Lawrence Ecology Teams United in Sustainability. “The addiction of convenience is something I struggle with. Certainly, that is the issue with plastic bags.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691676064161.png" alt="The Lawrence City Commission voted 3-2 to implement a ban on distribution by most businesses of single-use plastic bags to their customers. Commissioners decided Tuesday to implement the ordinance March 1, 2024, and rejected a proposal to place a three-year sunset on the policy. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Lawrence City Commission’s livestream)" />
 <figcaption>The Lawrence City Commission voted 3-2 to implement a ban on distribution by most businesses of single-use plastic bags to their customers. Commissioners decided Tuesday to implement the ordinance March 1, 2024, and rejected a proposal to place a three-year sunset on the policy. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Lawrence City Commission’s livestream)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>LAWRENCE — The Lawrence City Commission adopted an ordinance banning on March 1, 2024, use by most businesses of single-use plastic bags and to encourage consumers to rely on cloth or other reusable bags rather than one-and-done sacks polluting the environment or tossed by the millions into landfills.The 3-2 decision Tuesday by the commission would apply the regulation to owners and operators of businesses providing customers with disposable plastic bags to carry merchandise, food and beverages and other goods. Ordinance No. 9996 included exemptions for plastic bags designed to prevent food contamination or to shield from the weather items such as clothing or newspapers.The city’s definition of reusable bag, whether made of cloth, fiber, plastic or other materials, required it had to be designed for repeated application. If based on plastics, an acceptable reusable bag for commercial purposes must contain at least 40% recycled content and measure at least 4 mills in thickness.Violators could face fines ranging from $100 to $500 per offense, but the current city budget didn’t include funding to hire an enforcement officer. Commissioners pushed back implementation originally set for Jan. 1, 2024, to allow a six-month introductory phase. Members of the commission declined to include a three-year sunset.Nancy Muma, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Kansas and a member of the city’s Sustainability Advisory Board, urged the commission to pass the prohibition on single-use plastic bags. She said plastics in the process of degrading into tiny particles routinely found their way into humans and contributed to higher risk of contracting cancer and lowering of fertility.“Plastics are really durable, which is great. Except they don’t decompose,” she said. “They break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Those tiny microplastics and nanoplastics are really abundant in the air, our water and our food. We can measure it in our blood, in our bodies and the placentas of newborn babies. That’s pretty scary, because we know this stuff is toxic.”Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, said manufacturers of single-use bags were opposed to bans of the type embraced by the Lawrence City Commission.“As families and small businesses struggle to keep up with staggering inflation and a shaky economy, now is the wrong time to saddle them with higher costs at the checkout counter,” Taylor said. “The city commission should reconsider their ban on American-made, reusable and recyclable plastic bags that would impose unworkable costs on retailers and shoppers while promoting products that are more expensive and carry worse environmental impacts.”Mayor Lisa Larsen broke the commission’s 2-2 tie that stalled action on the ordinance in June during a meeting Larsen didn’t attend. Commissioners Bart Littlejohn and Courtney Shipley formed the majority with Larsen. Commissioners Brad Finkeldei and Amber Sellers opposed it.“Could we possibly add a sunset to this ordinance?” Sellers said. “I would be apropos with maybe a three-year sunset.”Larsen said she supported the ordinance, tweaked to delay implementation until March, but not a sunset that could kill the regulation after a few years unless the commission acted to renew it.Shipley, who voted for the restriction on single-use plastic bags, compared the plastic-bag debate to consternation among individuals and businesses owners in Lawrence a decade ago when the commission passed a ban on indoor smoking in public spaces.“A lot of people, including some commissioners, thought if we ban cigarettes in restaurants and bars the sky will fall. Small businesses would die,” Shipley said. “I’ve spoken to some of those commissioners and, indeed, they recognize the sky did not fall. We all enjoy restaurants and bars a lot better because we do not smoke inside them.”In 2010, Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, signed into law a statewide ban on smoking in public buildings and indoor places of employment.Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed in 2022 a bill that would have prevented cities and counties from banning, limiting or taxing plastic bags, straws and food containers. The governor said she opposed the restraint because it undermined authority of local government.A proposal to place in state statute a prohibition on adoption by cities or counties of limits on single-use plastics was endorsed by the Kansas Chamber in the 2023 legislative session, but a bill blocking local governments from regulating single-use plastic failed in the Kansas Senate.Text of the Lawrence ordinance says residents of the city used and discarded an estimated 29 million to 36 million single-use disposable plastic bags annually. The ordinance said the operational, environmental and social cost to the city of single-use disposable plastic bags was estimated to be 11 cents to 20 cents per bag.It says manufacturing of the bags had “significant global environmental consequences” and discarded plastic bags infected the landscape and waterways in such volume they were ingested by animals with potentially lethal results.“We’re heartened this is coming to some fruition,” said Thad Holcombe, who is part of faith-based Lawrence Ecology Teams United in Sustainability. “The addiction of convenience is something I struggle with. Certainly, that is the issue with plastic bags.”

Lawrence City Commission adopts prohibition on single-use plastic bags

PLATTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting in rural Platte County, Missouri.

Just before 1 a.m. Thursday, the Leavenworth Police Department responded to assist EMS and the Fire Department with an incident that occurred at a home in the 900 block of Columbia Street in Leavenworth, according to Police Chief Pat Kitchens.

After the preliminary investigation responding Officers issued an alert to locate a 27-year-old male suspect.&nbsp; The event was related to Domestic Violence and he was wanted for Attempted 1st&nbsp;Degree Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Aggravated Domestic Battery involving Strangulation and Violation of a Protection from Abuse Order.&nbsp; 

The suspect was spotted in his vehicle in Leavenworth and Officers Attempted to stop him but he fled.&nbsp; Officers chased the suspect into the State of Missouri where it ended on Spur 45.&nbsp; The suspect was shot as Officers tried to take him into custody.&nbsp;

The suspect was treated at the scene by Officers and Leavenworth County EMS and transported to a Kansas City area hospital where he is listed in critical condition.&nbsp;

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation and has the support of the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691671445584.png" alt="The Platte County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation and has the support of the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>The Platte County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation and has the support of the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>PLATTE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting in rural Platte County, Missouri.Just before 1 a.m. Thursday, the Leavenworth Police Department responded to assist EMS and the Fire Department with an incident that occurred at a home in the 900 block of Columbia Street in Leavenworth, according to Police Chief Pat Kitchens.After the preliminary investigation responding Officers issued an alert to locate a 27-year-old male suspect.&nbsp; The event was related to Domestic Violence and he was wanted for Attempted 1st&nbsp;Degree Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Aggravated Domestic Battery involving Strangulation and Violation of a Protection from Abuse Order.&nbsp; The suspect was spotted in his vehicle in Leavenworth and Officers Attempted to stop him but he fled.&nbsp; Officers chased the suspect into the State of Missouri where it ended on Spur 45.&nbsp; The suspect was shot as Officers tried to take him into custody.&nbsp;The suspect was treated at the scene by Officers and Leavenworth County EMS and transported to a Kansas City area hospital where he is listed in critical condition.&nbsp;The Platte County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation and has the support of the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.&nbsp;

Suspect in Kan. domestic incident shot by officers in Missouri

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are asking for help in identifying two assault suspects.

According to a social media report from the Independence Police Department, the assault occurred&nbsp; just after 7pm. August 2 at Walgreens in the 3900 Block of S. Noland Road.&nbsp; 

An employee of the business was assaulted when she attempted to intervene in a shoplift. A video of the assault shows the teens striking the woman outside the store.

 Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Winborn at 816-325-7330 or through the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS(8477).  Case #23-25748

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691633160733.png" alt="Photo Independence Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Independence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are asking for help in identifying two assault suspects.According to a social media report from the Independence Police Department, the assault occurred&nbsp; just after 7pm. August 2 at Walgreens in the 3900 Block of S. Noland Road.&nbsp; An employee of the business was assaulted when she attempted to intervene in a shoplift. A video of the assault shows the teens striking the woman outside the store. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Winborn at 816-325-7330 or through the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS(8477). Case #23-25748

Police: Teens attacked employee at Walgreens near Kansas City

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing at least 36 people and burning parts of a centuries-old town.

The fire took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety.

<a href="https://www.mauicounty.gov/">Maui county announced</a> the updated death toll on its website late Wednesday, writing that no other details were currently available on the deaths. Officials said earlier that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfire-maui-dora-winds-ec23c16abfbeb6ba689f1a98263720db">271 structures were damaged or destroyed</a>&nbsp;and dozens of people injured.

On Wednesday, Maui crews continued to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.

“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.

As the family fled, a senior center across the road erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn't know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.

Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived. Lahaina Town dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists.

“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”

The Hawaiian fires were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfires-climate-change-92c0930be7c28ec9ac71392a83c87582">whipped by strong winds</a>&nbsp;from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes."

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires. Some were posting messages on social media.

Tiare Lawrence was frantically trying to reach her siblings who live near where a gas station exploded in Lahaina.

“There’s no service, so we can’t get ahold of anyone,” she said from the Maui community of Pukalani.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Dept. of Defense, told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.

State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement that a team was working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of the King Kamehameha III elementary school that had been in Lahaina for more than a century.

“The department is striving to maintain regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy, but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.

Among those injured were three people with critical burns who were flown to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit on the island of Oahu, officials said. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and a firefighter was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that he didn't have details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred. He said officials hadn't yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.

More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers. Another 2,000 travelers sheltered at Kahului Airport after many flights were canceled. Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.

Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.

“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”

The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife Judit and dog Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”

President Joe Biden said he'd ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts on Maui.

“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed," Biden said in a statement.

Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.

Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said most tourists who come to Maui visit Front Street.

“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left," he said.

Dickar took video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Wildfires were also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there. Roth said firefighters had needed to extinguish some roof fires and there were continuing flareups of one fire near the Mauna Kea Resorts.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames had wiped out communities and urged travelers to stay away.

“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.

Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling. Green's office said he'd cut short his trip and was returning Wednesday evening.

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bonny-fire-york-california-nevada-wildfires-mojave-3fe4fc9ea8bb500bb48e7589f16911ad">those burning in the U.S. West</a>. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-droughts-hawaii-wildfires-ca2f8cbf76abf6affbbee9fce3be69a8">major fire on the Big Island in 2021</a>&nbsp;burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2">Camp Fire</a>&nbsp;in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.

Yasso, who fled her home with boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents are going to need time to regroup and that people shouldn't plan to visit right now.

“It’s everybody losing their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everybody. We all lost our homes with this.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691662929011.png" alt="Image taken from a helicopter shows the vast destruction of Lahaina, a historic town in Hawaii. Courtesy: Vince Carter/Air Maui" />
 <figcaption>Image taken from a helicopter shows the vast destruction of Lahaina, a historic town in Hawaii. Courtesy: Vince Carter/Air Maui</figcaption>
 </figure>WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing at least 36 people and burning parts of a centuries-old town.The fire took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety.<a href="https://www.mauicounty.gov/">Maui county announced</a> the updated death toll on its website late Wednesday, writing that no other details were currently available on the deaths. Officials said earlier that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfire-maui-dora-winds-ec23c16abfbeb6ba689f1a98263720db">271 structures were damaged or destroyed</a>&nbsp;and dozens of people injured.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Leeward areas of the state will remain under a Red Flag Warning through tonight. Stay updated with our watches, warnings, and advisories at <a href="https://t.co/ZtuCL9tVrL">https://t.co/ZtuCL9tVrL</a>. The wildfires on Maui were captured on satellite imagery as shown here. <a href="https://t.co/ix1MR58DHS">pic.twitter.com/ix1MR58DHS</a>&mdash; NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSHonolulu/status/1689447349800800256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Wednesday, Maui crews continued to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.As the family fled, a senior center across the road erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn't know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived. Lahaina Town dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists.“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”The Hawaiian fires were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfires-climate-change-92c0930be7c28ec9ac71392a83c87582">whipped by strong winds</a>&nbsp;from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes."About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires. Some were posting messages on social media.Tiare Lawrence was frantically trying to reach her siblings who live near where a gas station exploded in Lahaina.“There’s no service, so we can’t get ahold of anyone,” she said from the Maui community of Pukalani.Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Dept. of Defense, told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement that a team was working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of the King Kamehameha III elementary school that had been in Lahaina for more than a century.“The department is striving to maintain regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy, but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.Among those injured were three people with critical burns who were flown to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit on the island of Oahu, officials said. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and a firefighter was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that he didn't have details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred. He said officials hadn't yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers. Another 2,000 travelers sheltered at Kahului Airport after many flights were canceled. Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife Judit and dog Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”President Joe Biden said he'd ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts on Maui.“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed," Biden said in a statement.Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said most tourists who come to Maui visit Front Street.“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left," he said.Dickar took video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”Wildfires were also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there. Roth said firefighters had needed to extinguish some roof fires and there were continuing flareups of one fire near the Mauna Kea Resorts.Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames had wiped out communities and urged travelers to stay away.“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling. Green's office said he'd cut short his trip and was returning Wednesday evening.Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bonny-fire-york-california-nevada-wildfires-mojave-3fe4fc9ea8bb500bb48e7589f16911ad">those burning in the U.S. West</a>. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-droughts-hawaii-wildfires-ca2f8cbf76abf6affbbee9fce3be69a8">major fire on the Big Island in 2021</a>&nbsp;burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.The 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2">Camp Fire</a>&nbsp;in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.Yasso, who fled her home with boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents are going to need time to regroup and that people shouldn't plan to visit right now.“It’s everybody losing their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everybody. We all lost our homes with this.”

Dozens dead, injured on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple Post

MANHATTAN - Following the Tuesday morning announcement by President Richard Linton about his recent cancer diagnosis, community members and leaders gathered on the lawn outside Anderson Hall on Tuesday evening to show their support of his fight against cancer.

Dr. Linton's complete announcement can be <a href="https://littleapplepost.com/posts/01715cae-372f-4b64-9e96-63b7ac62ac48">found here</a>.

A guest book was available for community members to write messages of support and notes of encouragement for President Linton and his family.

Online messages of support should include the hashtag #LoveForLinton.

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple Post<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691595759768.jpeg" alt="K-State community show support of President Linton" />
 <figcaption>K-State community show support of President Linton</figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN - Following the Tuesday morning announcement by President Richard Linton about his recent cancer diagnosis, community members and leaders gathered on the lawn outside Anderson Hall on Tuesday evening to show their support of his fight against cancer.Dr. Linton's complete announcement can be <a href="https://littleapplepost.com/posts/01715cae-372f-4b64-9e96-63b7ac62ac48">found here</a>.A guest book was available for community members to write messages of support and notes of encouragement for President Linton and his family.Online messages of support should include the hashtag #LoveForLinton.<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/MEmEtLAE-Kjb0luCJ.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Linton Support" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

🎥 K-Staters show support for President Linton following cancer diagnosis

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-biden-xi-jinping-dictator-c1fe17f72e2d37fcc840575eea1b78d2">China</a>&nbsp;— a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world's two biggest powers.

The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China's ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations' economies.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.”

The United States and China appear to be increasingly locked in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">geopolitical competition</a>&nbsp;with a conflicting set of values. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “decoupling” from China, yet the U.S. also has limited the export of advanced computer chips and kept the expanded tariffs set up by President Donald Trump. And in its response, China accused the U.S. of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking.’” China has engaged in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-foreign-business-crackdown-349cf4e894fef93c9fd150ac1242bfb1">crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on foreign companies.

Biden has suggested that China's economy is struggling and its global ambitions have been tempered as the U.S. has reenergized its alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union. The administration consulted with allies and industry in shaping the executive order.

“Worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” Biden told donors at a June fundraising event in California.

The officials previewing the order said that China has exploited U.S. investments to support the development of weapons and modernize its military. The new limits were tailored not to disrupt China's economy, but they would complement the export controls on advanced computer chips from last year that led to pushback by Chinese officials. The Treasury Department, which would monitor the investments, will announce a proposed rulemaking with definitions that would conform to the presidential order and go through a public comment process.

The goals of the order would be to have investors notify the U.S. government about certain types of transactions with China as well as to place prohibitions on some investments. Officials said the order is focused on areas such as private equity, venture capital and joint partnerships in which the investments could possibly give countries of concern such as China additional knowledge and military capabilities.

J. Philip Ludvigson, a lawyer and former Treasury official, said the order was an initial framework that could be expanded over time.

“The executive order issued today really represents the start of a conversation between the U.S. government and industry regarding the details of the ultimate screening regime," Ludvigson said. “While the executive order is limited initially to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, it explicitly provides for a future broadening to other sectors."

The issue is also a bipartisan priority. In July by a vote of 91-6, the Senate added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requirements to monitor and limit investments in countries of concern, including China.

Yet reaction to Biden's order on Wednesday showed a desire to push harder on China. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the order was an “essential step forward," but it “cannot be the final step.” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden should been more aggressive, saying, “we have to stop all U.S. investment in China’s critical technology and military companies — period.”

Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” in the aftermath of the U.S. shooting down a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">spy balloon</a>&nbsp;from China that floated over the United States. Taiwan's status has been a source of tension, with Biden saying that China had become coercive regarding its independence.

China has supported Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Biden has noted that the friendship has not extended to the shipment of weapons.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it met a number of times with the White House and federal agencies as the order was being prepared and said its goal during the comment period will be “to ensure the measure is targeted and administrable.”

U.S. officials have long signaled the coming executive order on investing in China, but it's unclear whether financial markets will regard it as a tapered step or a continued escalation of tensions at a fragile moment.

“The message it sends to the market may be far more decisive,” said Elaine Dezenski, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "U.S. and multinational companies are already reexamining the risks of investing in China. Beijing’s so-called ‘national security’ and ‘anti-espionage’ laws that curb routine and necessary corporate due diligence and compliance were already having a chilling effect on U.S. foreign direct investment. That chilling now risks turning into a deep freeze.”

In its statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the executive order “seriously deviates from the market economy and fair competition principles the United States has always advocated. It affects the normal business decisions of enterprises, disrupts the international economic and trade order and seriously disrupts the security of global industrial and supply chains.”

China's strong economic growth has stumbled coming out of pandemic lockdowns. On Wednesday, its National Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.3% decline in consumer prices in July from a year ago. That level of deflation points to a lack of consumer demand in China that could hamper growth.

Separately, foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Most foreign investment is believed to be brought in by Chinese companies and disguised as foreign money to get tax breaks and other benefits, according to Chinese researchers.

However, foreign business groups say global companies also are shifting investment plans to other economies.

Foreign companies have lost confidence in China following tighter security controls and a lack of action on reform promises. Calls by Xi and other leaders for more economic self-reliance have left investors uneasy about their future in the state-dominated economy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691616065590.png" alt="Biden at the Grand Canyon on Wednesday-White House image" />
 <figcaption>Biden at the Grand Canyon on Wednesday-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-biden-xi-jinping-dictator-c1fe17f72e2d37fcc840575eea1b78d2">China</a>&nbsp;— a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world's two biggest powers.The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China's ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations' economies.The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.”The United States and China appear to be increasingly locked in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">geopolitical competition</a>&nbsp;with a conflicting set of values. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “decoupling” from China, yet the U.S. also has limited the export of advanced computer chips and kept the expanded tariffs set up by President Donald Trump. And in its response, China accused the U.S. of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking.’” China has engaged in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-foreign-business-crackdown-349cf4e894fef93c9fd150ac1242bfb1">crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on foreign companies.Biden has suggested that China's economy is struggling and its global ambitions have been tempered as the U.S. has reenergized its alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union. The administration consulted with allies and industry in shaping the executive order.“Worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” Biden told donors at a June fundraising event in California.The officials previewing the order said that China has exploited U.S. investments to support the development of weapons and modernize its military. The new limits were tailored not to disrupt China's economy, but they would complement the export controls on advanced computer chips from last year that led to pushback by Chinese officials. The Treasury Department, which would monitor the investments, will announce a proposed rulemaking with definitions that would conform to the presidential order and go through a public comment process.The goals of the order would be to have investors notify the U.S. government about certain types of transactions with China as well as to place prohibitions on some investments. Officials said the order is focused on areas such as private equity, venture capital and joint partnerships in which the investments could possibly give countries of concern such as China additional knowledge and military capabilities.J. Philip Ludvigson, a lawyer and former Treasury official, said the order was an initial framework that could be expanded over time.“The executive order issued today really represents the start of a conversation between the U.S. government and industry regarding the details of the ultimate screening regime," Ludvigson said. “While the executive order is limited initially to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, it explicitly provides for a future broadening to other sectors."The issue is also a bipartisan priority. In July by a vote of 91-6, the Senate added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requirements to monitor and limit investments in countries of concern, including China.Yet reaction to Biden's order on Wednesday showed a desire to push harder on China. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the order was an “essential step forward," but it “cannot be the final step.” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden should been more aggressive, saying, “we have to stop all U.S. investment in China’s critical technology and military companies — period.”Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” in the aftermath of the U.S. shooting down a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">spy balloon</a>&nbsp;from China that floated over the United States. Taiwan's status has been a source of tension, with Biden saying that China had become coercive regarding its independence.China has supported Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Biden has noted that the friendship has not extended to the shipment of weapons.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it met a number of times with the White House and federal agencies as the order was being prepared and said its goal during the comment period will be “to ensure the measure is targeted and administrable.”U.S. officials have long signaled the coming executive order on investing in China, but it's unclear whether financial markets will regard it as a tapered step or a continued escalation of tensions at a fragile moment.“The message it sends to the market may be far more decisive,” said Elaine Dezenski, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "U.S. and multinational companies are already reexamining the risks of investing in China. Beijing’s so-called ‘national security’ and ‘anti-espionage’ laws that curb routine and necessary corporate due diligence and compliance were already having a chilling effect on U.S. foreign direct investment. That chilling now risks turning into a deep freeze.”In its statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the executive order “seriously deviates from the market economy and fair competition principles the United States has always advocated. It affects the normal business decisions of enterprises, disrupts the international economic and trade order and seriously disrupts the security of global industrial and supply chains.”China's strong economic growth has stumbled coming out of pandemic lockdowns. On Wednesday, its National Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.3% decline in consumer prices in July from a year ago. That level of deflation points to a lack of consumer demand in China that could hamper growth.Separately, foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.Most foreign investment is believed to be brought in by Chinese companies and disguised as foreign money to get tax breaks and other benefits, according to Chinese researchers.However, foreign business groups say global companies also are shifting investment plans to other economies.Foreign companies have lost confidence in China following tighter security controls and a lack of action on reform promises. Calls by Xi and other leaders for more economic self-reliance have left investors uneasy about their future in the state-dominated economy.___

China slams Biden’s order limiting U.S. overseas tech investment

&nbsp;KANSAS CITY —A jury late recommended a prison sentence of 35 years after convicting a Kansas City man, of three felonies in connection with sexual assaults of a child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The jury found 56-year-old Rosendo Palma guilty of Attempted Statutory Rape in the 1st Degree With a Child Under 12, Statutory Sodomy in the 1st Degree, Child Under 12 and Attempted Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree, Child Under 12.

The jury recommended 10 years, 15 years and 10 years, respectively, on each conviction. The sentences would run consecutively.

A Jackson County judge will sentence the defendant on October 6.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691162323721.png" alt="Palma-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Palma-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;KANSAS CITY —A jury late recommended a prison sentence of 35 years after convicting a Kansas City man, of three felonies in connection with sexual assaults of a child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.The jury found 56-year-old Rosendo Palma guilty of Attempted Statutory Rape in the 1st Degree With a Child Under 12, Statutory Sodomy in the 1st Degree, Child Under 12 and Attempted Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree, Child Under 12.The jury recommended 10 years, 15 years and 10 years, respectively, on each conviction. The sentences would run consecutively.A Jackson County judge will sentence the defendant on October 6.

Jury: Kansas City man guilty of sex crimes with child under age 12

ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Kansas 156 south of Interstate 70 reopened just after 8p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County as area farmhands&nbsp; helped remove cattle from the overturned trailer, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.&nbsp;

The trailer was loaded with 76 head of cattle.&nbsp; Thirteen cows died. Five of those thirteen had to be put down due to injury; sixty-three survived, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

There&nbsp; were no other injuries reported.

Use <a href="https://t.co/hfsl1kxwFt" target="_blank">http://KanDrive.org</a> for traffic updates.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691615070868.png" alt="Photo Kansas Highway Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Highway Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Kansas 156 south of Interstate 70 reopened just after 8p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County as area farmhands&nbsp; helped remove cattle from the overturned trailer, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.&nbsp;The trailer was loaded with 76 head of cattle.&nbsp; Thirteen cows died. Five of those thirteen had to be put down due to injury; sixty-three survived, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.There&nbsp; were no other injuries reported.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Cattle starting to get offloaded from overturned trailer. Around 10 area ranchers, have responded to assist with recovery. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KansasTrue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KansasTrue</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HelpingNeighbors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HelpingNeighbors</a> (Ellsworth county) <a href="https://t.co/uRwi1ycLEp">pic.twitter.com/uRwi1ycLEp</a>&mdash; Trooper Ben (@TrooperBenKHP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrooperBenKHP/status/1689386264590692352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691615450288.png" alt="KHP image" />
 <figcaption>KHP image</figcaption>
 </figure>Use <a href="https://t.co/hfsl1kxwFt" target="_blank">http://KanDrive.org</a> for traffic updates.&nbsp;

13 cows dead: Kan. farmhands help remove cattle from overturned trailer

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged theft.

Just after 3p.m. July 28th a 67-year-old victim reported the theft of a 1999 Harley Davidson motorcycle from the 100 block South 3rd Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

 At around 5:30p.m. that day a police officer spotted the stolen motorcycle in the area of 6th and Raven Hill Road. The motorcycle fled from the officer traveling northbound through the city. 

Due to heavy traffic and dangerous conditions the pursuit was terminated. 

The investigation identified 33-year-old Tyler Chalfant of Atchison as the person involved in the theft and the pursuit. 

He was located and taken into custody on Monday on a Municipal Court warrant and booked on Tuesday on the District Court charges. The motorcycle was recovered in Savannah Missouri on July 31, according to Wilson.

Chalfant remains jailed on requested charges of&nbsp;warrants for theft, fleeing and attempting to elude, reckless driving, and no driver’s license.

In November of 2021, Chalfant was jailed on requested charges of computer crimes, criminal use of a financial card and theft, according to online jail records. He has been jailed on a variety of requested charges over the past two years including aggravated failure to appear.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691501804599.png" alt="Chalfant-photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Chalfant-photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged theft.Just after 3p.m. July 28th a 67-year-old victim reported the theft of a 1999 Harley Davidson motorcycle from the 100 block South 3rd Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson. At around 5:30p.m. that day a police officer spotted the stolen motorcycle in the area of 6th and Raven Hill Road. The motorcycle fled from the officer traveling northbound through the city. Due to heavy traffic and dangerous conditions the pursuit was terminated. The investigation identified 33-year-old Tyler Chalfant of Atchison as the person involved in the theft and the pursuit. He was located and taken into custody on Monday on a Municipal Court warrant and booked on Tuesday on the District Court charges. The motorcycle was recovered in Savannah Missouri on July 31, according to Wilson.Chalfant remains jailed on requested charges of&nbsp;warrants for theft, fleeing and attempting to elude, reckless driving, and no driver’s license.In November of 2021, Chalfant was jailed on requested charges of computer crimes, criminal use of a financial card and theft, according to online jail records. He has been jailed on a variety of requested charges over the past two years including aggravated failure to appear.

Kan. man with history of crime caught on stolen motorcycle

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Georgia —A former Hays Mayor will serve a 20-year prison sentence in Georgia.

Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit district attorney Susan K.
Treadaway said in a statement Aug. 8 on May 15, Troy Dean Hickman, 59, Canton, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of
exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult.

Hickman served as a Hays city commissioner from 1997 to 2013, serving as mayor for five of those years. He also was the executive director at Ellis County First Call for Help from 2010 to 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

At the time of his departure from the commission, Hays commissioners proclaimed April 11, 2013 as Troy Hickman Day in recognition of his 16 years of service on the city commission.

He was most
recently employed by the Cherokee County Georgia School District.

“The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office first became aware of these
allegations in November 2022 after the young woman disclosed the abuse to a
friend,” according to the release. “Hickman, who was a relation, frequently
spent time alone with the victim, committing the acts over the course of
several years, beginning when the victim was approximately 18 years old.”

“Victims of sexual assault are often afraid to come forward,
and that was certainly the case here,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliot
Stone, who prosecuted the case. “The victim is
intellectually disabled and had been subjected to repeated threats of harm by
this defendant as he attempted to prevent her from revealing the abuse. She
bravely overcame that fear by seeking help.” 

“While Troy Hickman admitted to his crimes, he used alcohol
as an excuse for his despicable behavior and even suggested that the victim was
partly to blame.”

During the investigation, the Anna Crawford Children’s
Center conducted a forensic interview in which the victim described the
specific acts by Hickman that resulted in the charges of aggravated sexual
battery.

The victim’s mother addressed the court during the plea
hearing, describing the impact of Hickman’s crimes.

Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Hickman to 20
years in prison, followed by probation for the remainder of his life.

“Through the duration of his sentence, Hickman is forbidden
to have contact with the victim or her family,” according to the release. “He
must also obtain a psycho-sexual evaluation, receive treatment for substance
abuse and adhere to sex offender special conditions.”

Hickman will not be eligible for parole during his 20-year
prison sentence.

“The victim looked to this defendant as a father figure, and
it is despicable that he would manipulate her trust and vulnerability for his
own sexual desires,” said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. “Our hope is
the victim and her family will find peace and healing in knowing that this
defendant has received justice for his crimes and that he will never again be
able to hurt another individual in this way.” 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691608232456.png" alt="Hickman-photo Cherokee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hickman-photo Cherokee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>CHEROKEE COUNTY, Georgia —A former Hays Mayor will serve a 20-year prison sentence in Georgia.Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit district attorney Susan K.
Treadaway said in a statement Aug. 8 on May 15, Troy Dean Hickman, 59, Canton, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of
exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult.Hickman served as a Hays city commissioner from 1997 to 2013, serving as mayor for five of those years. He also was the executive director at Ellis County First Call for Help from 2010 to 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.At the time of his departure from the commission, Hays commissioners proclaimed April 11, 2013 as Troy Hickman Day in recognition of his 16 years of service on the city commission.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691597721895.jpeg" alt="Hickman (center) was honored by then-mayor Kent Steward&nbsp;for his 16 years of service in 2013.&nbsp; Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Hickman (center) was honored by then-mayor Kent Steward&nbsp;for his 16 years of service in 2013.&nbsp; Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>He was most
recently employed by the Cherokee County Georgia School District.“The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office first became aware of these
allegations in November 2022 after the young woman disclosed the abuse to a
friend,” according to the release. “Hickman, who was a relation, frequently
spent time alone with the victim, committing the acts over the course of
several years, beginning when the victim was approximately 18 years old.”“Victims of sexual assault are often afraid to come forward,
and that was certainly the case here,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliot
Stone, who prosecuted the case. “The victim is
intellectually disabled and had been subjected to repeated threats of harm by
this defendant as he attempted to prevent her from revealing the abuse. She
bravely overcame that fear by seeking help.” “While Troy Hickman admitted to his crimes, he used alcohol
as an excuse for his despicable behavior and even suggested that the victim was
partly to blame.”During the investigation, the Anna Crawford Children’s
Center conducted a forensic interview in which the victim described the
specific acts by Hickman that resulted in the charges of aggravated sexual
battery.The victim’s mother addressed the court during the plea
hearing, describing the impact of Hickman’s crimes.Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Hickman to 20
years in prison, followed by probation for the remainder of his life.“Through the duration of his sentence, Hickman is forbidden
to have contact with the victim or her family,” according to the release. “He
must also obtain a psycho-sexual evaluation, receive treatment for substance
abuse and adhere to sex offender special conditions.”Hickman will not be eligible for parole during his 20-year
prison sentence.“The victim looked to this defendant as a father figure, and
it is despicable that he would manipulate her trust and vulnerability for his
own sexual desires,” said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. “Our hope is
the victim and her family will find peace and healing in knowing that this
defendant has received justice for his crimes and that he will never again be
able to hurt another individual in this way.”

Former Kan. mayor sentenced for sex abuse of disabled family member

PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man accused of making threats against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-factory-jobs-new-mexico-manufacturing-renaissance-95700c62f45c3a69b03e550ebdcfa01b">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.

Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle," according to court documents.

In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper," a reference to former President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit," investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, court documents show.

Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made a long list of other online threats, including against top law enforcement officials overseeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">court cases against Trump</a>: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents.

No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.

At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.

A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.

The road leading to the house was blocked by police.

The house is just up the street from a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background.

Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs."

Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States. He spent Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers, and is scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day.

On Thursday, he’s expected to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits, and hold a reelection fundraiser.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691617796283.png" alt="President Biden speaking at an event in New Mexico Wednesday afternoon-White House image" />
 <figcaption>President Biden speaking at an event in New Mexico Wednesday afternoon-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man accused of making threats against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-factory-jobs-new-mexico-manufacturing-renaissance-95700c62f45c3a69b03e550ebdcfa01b">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle," according to court documents.In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper," a reference to former President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit," investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, court documents show.Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made a long list of other online threats, including against top law enforcement officials overseeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">court cases against Trump</a>: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents.No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.The road leading to the house was blocked by police.The house is just up the street from a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background.Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs."Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States. He spent Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers, and is scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day.On Thursday, he’s expected to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits, and hold a reelection fundraiser.__

Man who posted threats toward President Biden is killed in FBI raid

Los Angeles (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/article/-----e0de46d3454745658248d5c1c78c3f08/gallery/c65d111282a941f0b4ef16e49aa98d41">Robbie Robertson,</a>&nbsp;The Band's lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" mined and helped reshape American music, died Wednesday at 80.

Robertson died surrounded by family in Los Angeles “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa said in a statement.

From their years as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bob-dylan">Bob Dylan's</a>&nbsp;masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and '70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan's influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.

The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans. His life had a “Candide”-like quality as he found himself among many of the giants of the rock era — getting guitar tips from Buddy Holly, taking in early performances by Aretha Franklin and by the Velvet Underground, smoking pot with the Beatles, watching the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller develop material, chatting with Jimi Hendrix when he was a struggling musician calling himself Jimmy James.

The Band began as supporting players for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-elvis-presley-conway-twitty-jerry-lee-lewis-arkansas-14e27228b9e253f18457d62325c91807">rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins</a>&nbsp;in the early 1960s and through their years together in bars and juke joints forged a depth and versatility that opened them to virtually any kind of music in any kind of setting. Besides Robertson, the group featured Arkansan drummer-singer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-mavis-staples-c11f1340f9ea8d87e1606da6c1599ff3">Levon Helm</a>&nbsp;and three other Canadians: bassist-singer-songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist singer-songwriter Richard Manuel and all-around musical wizard Garth Hudson. They were originally called the Hawks, but ended up as The Band — a conceit their fans would say they earned — because people would point to them when they were with Dylan and refer to them as “the band.”

They remain defined by their first two albums, “Music from Big Pink” and “The Band,” both released in the late 1960s. The rock scene was turning away from the psychedelic extravagances of the Beatles' “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and a wave of sound effects, long jams and lysergic lyrics. "Music from Big Pink,” named for the old house near Woodstock, New York, where Band members lived and gathered, was for many the sound of coming home. The mood was intimate, the lyrics alternately playful, cryptic and yearning, drawn from blues, gospel, folk and country music. The Band itself seemed to stand for selflessness and a shared and vital history, with all five members making distinctive contributions and appearing in publicity photos in plain, dark clothes.

Through the “Basement Tapes” they had made with Dylan in 1967 and through their own albums, The Band has been widely credited as a founding source for Americana or roots music. Fans and peers would speak of their lives being changed. Eric Clapton broke up with his British supergroup Cream and journeyed to Woodstock in hopes he could join The Band, which influenced albums ranging from The Grateful Dead’s “Workingman's Dead” to Elton John's “Tumbleweed Connection.” The Band's songs were covered by Franklin, Joan Baez, the Staple Singers and many others. During a television performance by the Beatles of “Hey Jude,” Paul McCartney shouted out lyrics from “The Weight.”

Like Dylan, Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin' Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones. At times his songs sounded not just created, but unearthed. In “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” he imagined the Civil War through the eyes of a defeated Confederate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/b020697a3c604542ad250f75ab754b80">In “The Weight,”</a>&nbsp;with its lead vocals passed around among group members like a communal wine glass, he evoked a pilgrim's arrival to a town where nothing seems impossible:

“I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead / I just need some place where I can lay my head / Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? / He just grinned and shook my hand, ‘No,’ was all he said.”

The Band played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, not far from where they lived, and became newsworthy enough to appear on the cover of Time magazine. But the spirit behind their best work was already dissolving. Albums such as “Stage Fright” and “Cahoots” were disappointing even for Robertson, who would acknowledge that he was struggling to find fresh ideas. While Manuel and Danko were both frequent contributors to songs during their “Basement Tapes” days, by the time “Cahoots” was released in 1971, Robertson was the dominant writer.

They toured frequently, recording the acclaimed live album “Rock of Ages” at Madison Square Garden and joining Dylan for 1974 shows that led to another highly praised concert release, “Before the Flood.” But in 1976, after Manuel broke his neck in a boating accident, Robertson decided he needed a break from the road and organized rock's ultimate sendoff, an all-star gathering at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom that included Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and many others. The concert was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-scorsese-cannes-history-529f5f118fe0fed0ea1b07bd15220d93">filmed by Martin Scorsese</a>&nbsp;and the basis for his celebrated documentary “The Last Waltz,” released in 1978.

Robertson had intended The Band to continue recording together but “The Last Waltz” helped permanently sever his friendship with Helm, whom he had once looked to as an older brother. In interviews and in his 1993 memoir “Wheel on Fire,” Helm accused of Robertson of greed and outsized ego, noting that Robertson had ended up owning their musical catalog and calling “The Last Waltz” a vanity project designed to glorify Robertson. In response, Robertson contended that he had taken control of the group because the others — excepting Hudson — were too burdened by drug and alcohol problems to make decisions on their own.

“It hit me hard that in a band like ours, if we weren't operating on all cylinders, it threw the whole machine off course,” Robertson wrote in his memoir “Testimony,” published in 2016.

The Band regrouped without Robertson in the early 1980s, and Robertson went on to a long career&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/58ff0b66c1454076aef10a8918486989/gallery/71acaf5b8b534572801a19aafb05789c">as a solo artist</a>&nbsp;and soundtrack composer. His self-titled 1987 album was certified gold and featured the hit single “Show Down at Big Sky” and the ballad “Fallen Angel,” a tribute to Manuel, who was found dead in 1986 in what was ruled a suicide (Danko died of heart failure in 1999, and Helm of cancer in 2012).

Robertson, who moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s while the others stayed near Woodstock, remained close to Scorsese and helped oversee the soundtracks for “The Color of Money,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Departed” and “The Irishman” among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album “Beautiful Noise” and explored his heritage through such albums as “Music for the Native Americans” and “Contact from the Underworld of Redboy.”

The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; Robertson attended, Helm did not. In 2020, Robertson looked back and mourned in the documentary “Once Were Brothers” and in the title ballad, on which Robertson sang “When the light goes out and you can’t go on / You miss your brothers, but now they’re gone.”

Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois in 1967. They had three children before divorcing.

Jaime Royal Robertson was born in Toronto and spent summers at the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve where his mother Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler grew up. He never met his father, Alexander David Klegerman, who died before he was born and whose existence Robertson only learned of years later. His mother had since married a factory worker, James Robertson, whom Robbie Robertson at first believed was his biological parent.

Music was an escape from what he remembered as a violent and abusive household; his parents separated when he was in his early teens. He would watch relatives play guitar and sing at the Six Nations reserve, and became “mesmerized” by how absorbed they were in their own performances. Robertson was soon practicing guitar himself and was playing in bands and writing songs in his teens.

He had a knack for impressing his elders. When he was 15, his group opened for Hawkins at a club in Toronto. After overhearing Hawkins say he was in need of new material, Robertson hurried home, worked up a couple of songs and brought them over to his hotel. Hawkins recorded both of them, “Someone Like You,” and “Hey Boba Lu,” and Robertson would soon find himself on a train to Hawkins' home base in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Over the next few years, he toured with Hawkins in the U.S. and Canada as members left and the performers who eventually became The Band were brought in. By 1963, Robertson and the others had grown apart from Hawkins and were ready to work on their own, recording a handful of singles as the Canadian Squires and stepping into rock history when mutual acquaintances suggested they should tour behind Dylan, then rebelling against his image as folk troubadour and infuriating fans who thought he had sold out.

In 1965-66, they were Dylan's co-adventurers in some of rock's most momentous shows, with Dylan playing an acoustic opening set, then joined by the Hawks for an electric set that was booed so fiercely, Helm dropped out and was replaced on the road by Mickey Jones. As captured in audio recordings and in footage by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker seen decades later in the Dylan documentary “No Direction Home,” the music on stage for such Dylan songs as “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” more than equaled the fury of its detractors, culminating in a May 1966 show at Manchester, England, when one fan screamed out “Judas!”

“I don't belieeeeve you," Dylan snarled in response. “You're a liar!” Calling on the Hawks to ”play f----ing loud," he led them through an all-out finale, “Like a Rolling Stone.”

“A kind of madness was percolating,” Robertson wrote in his memoir. “The whole atmosphere was heightened. I adjusted the strap on my Telecaster so I could release it with a quick thumb movement and use the guitar as a weapon. The concerts were starting to feel that unpredictable.”

Later in 1966, Dylan was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and recuperated in the Woodstock area, where The Band also soon settled. Under no contractual obligations or any sort of deadlines, Dylan and his fellow musicians stepped out of time altogether. They jammed on old country and Appalachian songs and worked on such originals as “Tears of Rage” and “I Shall Be Released” that were originally intended as demo recordings for other artists. “The Basement Tapes,” as they were eventually called, were among rock's first bootlegs before being released officially — in part in 1975, and in a full six-CD set in 2014.

Working and writing with Dylan encouraged The Band to try an album of its own. “Music from Big Pink” featured the Dylan-Danko collaboration “This Wheel's On Fire” and Dylan-Manuel's “Tears of Rage,” along with such Band originals as Manuel's “In a Station” and Robertson's “Caledonia Mission.”

In his memoir, Robertson remembered the first time their old boss listened to “Music from Big Pink.”

“After each song, Bob looked at ‘his’ band with proud eyes. When ‘The Weight’ came on, he said, ‘This is fantastic. Who wrote that song?’" he wrote. "‘Me,’ I answered. He shook his head, slapped me on the arm, and said, ‘Damn! You wrote that song?’"

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691614471253.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Los Angeles (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/article/-----e0de46d3454745658248d5c1c78c3f08/gallery/c65d111282a941f0b4ef16e49aa98d41">Robbie Robertson,</a>&nbsp;The Band's lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" mined and helped reshape American music, died Wednesday at 80.Robertson died surrounded by family in Los Angeles “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa said in a statement.From their years as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bob-dylan">Bob Dylan's</a>&nbsp;masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and '70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan's influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans. His life had a “Candide”-like quality as he found himself among many of the giants of the rock era — getting guitar tips from Buddy Holly, taking in early performances by Aretha Franklin and by the Velvet Underground, smoking pot with the Beatles, watching the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller develop material, chatting with Jimi Hendrix when he was a struggling musician calling himself Jimmy James.The Band began as supporting players for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-elvis-presley-conway-twitty-jerry-lee-lewis-arkansas-14e27228b9e253f18457d62325c91807">rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins</a>&nbsp;in the early 1960s and through their years together in bars and juke joints forged a depth and versatility that opened them to virtually any kind of music in any kind of setting. Besides Robertson, the group featured Arkansan drummer-singer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-mavis-staples-c11f1340f9ea8d87e1606da6c1599ff3">Levon Helm</a>&nbsp;and three other Canadians: bassist-singer-songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist singer-songwriter Richard Manuel and all-around musical wizard Garth Hudson. They were originally called the Hawks, but ended up as The Band — a conceit their fans would say they earned — because people would point to them when they were with Dylan and refer to them as “the band.”They remain defined by their first two albums, “Music from Big Pink” and “The Band,” both released in the late 1960s. The rock scene was turning away from the psychedelic extravagances of the Beatles' “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and a wave of sound effects, long jams and lysergic lyrics. "Music from Big Pink,” named for the old house near Woodstock, New York, where Band members lived and gathered, was for many the sound of coming home. The mood was intimate, the lyrics alternately playful, cryptic and yearning, drawn from blues, gospel, folk and country music. The Band itself seemed to stand for selflessness and a shared and vital history, with all five members making distinctive contributions and appearing in publicity photos in plain, dark clothes.Through the “Basement Tapes” they had made with Dylan in 1967 and through their own albums, The Band has been widely credited as a founding source for Americana or roots music. Fans and peers would speak of their lives being changed. Eric Clapton broke up with his British supergroup Cream and journeyed to Woodstock in hopes he could join The Band, which influenced albums ranging from The Grateful Dead’s “Workingman's Dead” to Elton John's “Tumbleweed Connection.” The Band's songs were covered by Franklin, Joan Baez, the Staple Singers and many others. During a television performance by the Beatles of “Hey Jude,” Paul McCartney shouted out lyrics from “The Weight.”Like Dylan, Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin' Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones. At times his songs sounded not just created, but unearthed. In “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” he imagined the Civil War through the eyes of a defeated Confederate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/b020697a3c604542ad250f75ab754b80">In “The Weight,”</a>&nbsp;with its lead vocals passed around among group members like a communal wine glass, he evoked a pilgrim's arrival to a town where nothing seems impossible:“I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead / I just need some place where I can lay my head / Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? / He just grinned and shook my hand, ‘No,’ was all he said.”The Band played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, not far from where they lived, and became newsworthy enough to appear on the cover of Time magazine. But the spirit behind their best work was already dissolving. Albums such as “Stage Fright” and “Cahoots” were disappointing even for Robertson, who would acknowledge that he was struggling to find fresh ideas. While Manuel and Danko were both frequent contributors to songs during their “Basement Tapes” days, by the time “Cahoots” was released in 1971, Robertson was the dominant writer.They toured frequently, recording the acclaimed live album “Rock of Ages” at Madison Square Garden and joining Dylan for 1974 shows that led to another highly praised concert release, “Before the Flood.” But in 1976, after Manuel broke his neck in a boating accident, Robertson decided he needed a break from the road and organized rock's ultimate sendoff, an all-star gathering at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom that included Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and many others. The concert was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-scorsese-cannes-history-529f5f118fe0fed0ea1b07bd15220d93">filmed by Martin Scorsese</a>&nbsp;and the basis for his celebrated documentary “The Last Waltz,” released in 1978.Robertson had intended The Band to continue recording together but “The Last Waltz” helped permanently sever his friendship with Helm, whom he had once looked to as an older brother. In interviews and in his 1993 memoir “Wheel on Fire,” Helm accused of Robertson of greed and outsized ego, noting that Robertson had ended up owning their musical catalog and calling “The Last Waltz” a vanity project designed to glorify Robertson. In response, Robertson contended that he had taken control of the group because the others — excepting Hudson — were too burdened by drug and alcohol problems to make decisions on their own.“It hit me hard that in a band like ours, if we weren't operating on all cylinders, it threw the whole machine off course,” Robertson wrote in his memoir “Testimony,” published in 2016.The Band regrouped without Robertson in the early 1980s, and Robertson went on to a long career&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/58ff0b66c1454076aef10a8918486989/gallery/71acaf5b8b534572801a19aafb05789c">as a solo artist</a>&nbsp;and soundtrack composer. His self-titled 1987 album was certified gold and featured the hit single “Show Down at Big Sky” and the ballad “Fallen Angel,” a tribute to Manuel, who was found dead in 1986 in what was ruled a suicide (Danko died of heart failure in 1999, and Helm of cancer in 2012).Robertson, who moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s while the others stayed near Woodstock, remained close to Scorsese and helped oversee the soundtracks for “The Color of Money,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Departed” and “The Irishman” among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album “Beautiful Noise” and explored his heritage through such albums as “Music for the Native Americans” and “Contact from the Underworld of Redboy.”The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; Robertson attended, Helm did not. In 2020, Robertson looked back and mourned in the documentary “Once Were Brothers” and in the title ballad, on which Robertson sang “When the light goes out and you can’t go on / You miss your brothers, but now they’re gone.”Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois in 1967. They had three children before divorcing.Jaime Royal Robertson was born in Toronto and spent summers at the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve where his mother Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler grew up. He never met his father, Alexander David Klegerman, who died before he was born and whose existence Robertson only learned of years later. His mother had since married a factory worker, James Robertson, whom Robbie Robertson at first believed was his biological parent.Music was an escape from what he remembered as a violent and abusive household; his parents separated when he was in his early teens. He would watch relatives play guitar and sing at the Six Nations reserve, and became “mesmerized” by how absorbed they were in their own performances. Robertson was soon practicing guitar himself and was playing in bands and writing songs in his teens.He had a knack for impressing his elders. When he was 15, his group opened for Hawkins at a club in Toronto. After overhearing Hawkins say he was in need of new material, Robertson hurried home, worked up a couple of songs and brought them over to his hotel. Hawkins recorded both of them, “Someone Like You,” and “Hey Boba Lu,” and Robertson would soon find himself on a train to Hawkins' home base in Fayetteville, Arkansas.Over the next few years, he toured with Hawkins in the U.S. and Canada as members left and the performers who eventually became The Band were brought in. By 1963, Robertson and the others had grown apart from Hawkins and were ready to work on their own, recording a handful of singles as the Canadian Squires and stepping into rock history when mutual acquaintances suggested they should tour behind Dylan, then rebelling against his image as folk troubadour and infuriating fans who thought he had sold out.In 1965-66, they were Dylan's co-adventurers in some of rock's most momentous shows, with Dylan playing an acoustic opening set, then joined by the Hawks for an electric set that was booed so fiercely, Helm dropped out and was replaced on the road by Mickey Jones. As captured in audio recordings and in footage by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker seen decades later in the Dylan documentary “No Direction Home,” the music on stage for such Dylan songs as “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” more than equaled the fury of its detractors, culminating in a May 1966 show at Manchester, England, when one fan screamed out “Judas!”“I don't belieeeeve you," Dylan snarled in response. “You're a liar!” Calling on the Hawks to ”play f----ing loud," he led them through an all-out finale, “Like a Rolling Stone.”“A kind of madness was percolating,” Robertson wrote in his memoir. “The whole atmosphere was heightened. I adjusted the strap on my Telecaster so I could release it with a quick thumb movement and use the guitar as a weapon. The concerts were starting to feel that unpredictable.”Later in 1966, Dylan was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and recuperated in the Woodstock area, where The Band also soon settled. Under no contractual obligations or any sort of deadlines, Dylan and his fellow musicians stepped out of time altogether. They jammed on old country and Appalachian songs and worked on such originals as “Tears of Rage” and “I Shall Be Released” that were originally intended as demo recordings for other artists. “The Basement Tapes,” as they were eventually called, were among rock's first bootlegs before being released officially — in part in 1975, and in a full six-CD set in 2014.Working and writing with Dylan encouraged The Band to try an album of its own. “Music from Big Pink” featured the Dylan-Danko collaboration “This Wheel's On Fire” and Dylan-Manuel's “Tears of Rage,” along with such Band originals as Manuel's “In a Station” and Robertson's “Caledonia Mission.”In his memoir, Robertson remembered the first time their old boss listened to “Music from Big Pink.”“After each song, Bob looked at ‘his’ band with proud eyes. When ‘The Weight’ came on, he said, ‘This is fantastic. Who wrote that song?’" he wrote. "‘Me,’ I answered. He shook his head, slapped me on the arm, and said, ‘Damn! You wrote that song?’"

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist, songwriter of The Band, dies at 80

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Tuesday they have referred 22 more cases involving unruly passengers on airline flights to the FBI for possible criminal charges.

The allegations include sexually assaulting female passengers, attacking flight attendants, trying to break into the cockpit, making terror threats, and smoking in airplane lavatories.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the incidents happened as far back as late 2021 and as recently as April of this year.

The FAA can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/unruly">seek fines of up to $37,000</a>&nbsp;against unruly passengers, but it lacks authority to file criminal charges; that is why the agency refers some cases to the FBI.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Tuesday they have referred 22 more cases involving unruly passengers on airline flights to the FBI for possible criminal charges.The allegations include sexually assaulting female passengers, attacking flight attendants, trying to break into the cockpit, making terror threats, and smoking in airplane lavatories.The Federal Aviation Administration said the incidents happened as far back as late 2021 and as recently as April of this year.The FAA can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/unruly">seek fines of up to $37,000</a>&nbsp;against unruly passengers, but it lacks authority to file criminal charges; that is why the agency refers some cases to the FBI.Reports of passengers acting up on flights peaked in 2021, with many of the roughly 6,000 incidents involving anger over a since-dropped mask requirement. The number dropped under 2,500 last year and under 1,200 so far this year, the FAA said.The FAA said it has referred more than 270 cases to the FBI since late 2021.