By KATE PAYNE – Associated Press/Report for America TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Democrats’ losses didn’t end on Election Day — a second state lawmaker has announced she’s switching her party affiliation and joining the Republican caucus. In a post on social media, Rep. Hillary Cassel said Florida Democrats are out of touch with voters
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By RUSS BYNUM and SAM MEDNICK – Associated Press JARWENG, South Sudan (AP) — Nobel Prize-winning peacemaker Jimmy Carter spent nearly four decades waging war to eliminate an ancient parasite plaguing the world’s poorest people. Rarely fatal but searingly painful and debilitating, Guinea worm disease infects people who drink water tainted with larvae that grow
Continue ReadingBy Lindsay Smith – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—If you’re planning a big celebration to ring in 2025, you’ll have to pack up your fireworks. While firework shows on New Year’s may not be an uncommon way to celebrate, Wichita ordinances do not allow residents to set off their own fireworks. There’s only one
Continue ReadingBy Eduardo Castillo – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—One man was killed and another seriously injured in an accident just after midnight Sunday in the Delano neighborhood. The victim was identified as 32-year-old Chekiel Wright from Wichita, police spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in an email Monday. Wichita police responded to a collision call at
Continue ReadingBy Eduardo Castillo – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—One man was hospitalized and another was arrested after a stabbing Sunday in downtown Wichita. Wichita police responded to a stabbing call at 4:23 p.m. in the 500 block of North Broadway at the Lord’s Diner, which serves evening meals to anyone who needs one. Police
Continue ReadingBy Julie Mah – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—”More Like Jackie” is a new documentary that explores how Wichita came together and persevered after the shocking theft and destruction of a Jackie Robinson statue at the League 42 baseball field. If you can’t see the video, try this link. This story was originally published
Continue ReadingBy Nicole Scott – St. Joseph News-Press, Mo. (TNS) Dec. 29—The Missouri Department of Transportation announced a few road work projects for several Northwest Missouri counties on Friday afternoon, including Atchison and Nodaway counties. MoDOT shared the planned roadwork for the week of Monday, Dec. 30, 2024 through Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 and stated that
Continue ReadingBy Kellis Robinett – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—Here’s something you hardly ever see in the world of Kansas State recruiting. Football coach Chris Klieman and basketball coach Jerome Tang are both interested in the same high school athlete. Ian Premer, a four-star recruit from Great Bend who is expected to play tight end
Continue ReadingBy Carrie Rengers – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—A decade after opening, the Jimmy’s Egg at Douglas and Hydraulic near Tanya’s Soup Kitchen has closed. “We’ve expanded so fast, we’re just reallocating assets to different areas,” owner Wink Hartman Sr. said. “You know times change,” he said. “It just didn’t meet the requirements.” Hartman
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By JAMIE STENGLE and LEKAN OYEKANMI – Associated Press NEW CANEY, Texas (AP) — Cleanup was underway Monday after a strong storm system spawned hail, rain, high winds and tornadoes across the southern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least four people. As of Monday afternoon, over 30 tornadoes had been confirmed as crews worked
Continue ReadingBy Emily Andersen – The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 30—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. The Iowa City Police Department has asked for the public’s help investigating a fatal shooting early Monday morning. Police responded to a report of shots fired at 2:38 a.m. Monday
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By AP TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Six former Florida State basketball players sued Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton on Monday, alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation. The plaintiffs — Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and
Continue ReadingBy The Joplin Globe, Mo. (TNS) Dec. 30—The Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of State Highway Officials recently announced an expansion of the U.S. Bicycle Route System with four new routes, one of which goes through Joplin, Carthage, Neosho and other cities in Southwest Missouri. The newest routes are: —USBR 51 in Missouri.
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By AP NEW YORK (AP) — Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will be sentenced on corruption charges as scheduled at the end of January, and his wife’s trial will be moved from January to February, a judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan rejected Menendez’s request to delay his sentencing
Continue ReadingBy The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 30—The K-State Veterinary Health Center is putting a pause on treatment of poultry and wild birds with the resurgence of bird flu in Kansas and the rest of the country. Officials said the step is a precautionary measure to protect staff members and other health patients — including
Continue ReadingBy Megan Moser – The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 30—Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, spoke at K-State in a 1991 Landon Lecture about Middle East relations, a topic that defined his presidency and still confounds the world today. Carter, the first president to reach the century mark, grew up
Continue ReadingBy Emma Loura – The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 30—The Riley County commissioners on Monday swapped out their citizen appointment to the county police board after uncovering a potential conflict of interest. Orville Maupin now will fill one of the seven roles on the Riley County Law Enforcement Agency Board after the commission previously
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By TARA COPP – Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A 34-year-old soldier serving with the Indiana National Guard in Iraq has died in a non-combat incident, the Army said Monday. Capt. Eric Richard Hart, 34, of Indianapolis, Indiana, died Saturday in Iraq, the Army National Guard said in a statement. Hart was assigned to the
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By MELISSA GOLDIN NEW YORK (AP) — The crystal-covered ball that descends down a pole in Times Square to ring in the new year was taken for a test run Monday, as New York City officials laid out their plans for the iconic New Year’s Eve event. Officials flipped a switch to light up the
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By The Associated Press The FBI is warning sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes following a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent NFL and NBA players. The athletes’ homes are targeted due to the perception they may contain high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches and cash, the FBI said in
Continue ReadingBy EARL HORLYK – Sioux City Journal, Iowa (TNS) WINNEBAGO, Neb. — While New Year’s Eve is synonymous with drinking, the Winnebago Comprehensive Healthcare System (WCHS) would like people to end 2024 on a more uplifting note. Owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, WCHS — consisting of both the Twelve Clans Unity Hospital and
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By AP PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Cybercriminals who hacked Rhode Island’s system for health and benefits programs have released files to a site on the dark web, a scenario the state has been preparing for, Gov. Daniel McKee said Monday. The state has an outreach strategy to encourage potentially impacted Rhode Islanders to protect their
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By JACK DURA – Associated Press STANTON, N.D. (AP) — The adult son of North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer was sentenced to serve 28 years in prison Monday in connection with a wild chase in which he fled from a hospital and drove into a deputy’s vehicle, killing the deputy. Ian Cramer, 43, pleaded guilty
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By ERIC OLSON – AP College Football Writer The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are here, and six of the eight teams are no strangers to the big stage. Boise State and Arizona State are out to show they belong. They’re top-four seeds as conference champions, and both are double-digit underdogs. The Broncos got off the
Continue ReadingBy Taylor Eldridge – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—It isn’t lost upon Xavier Bell that this is the final season he will wear a Wichita State men’s basketball uniform. And that makes the current hot streak the Wichita native is on all the more special. Bell delivered his third straight 20-point explosion, this time
Continue ReadingBy Lindsay Smith – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 30—Have you ever been pulled over and asked to take a sobriety test? That can happen at DUI checkpoints, when drivers are randomly pulled over and tested for alcohol or drugs. These checkpoints are usually done during the weekends or holidays to keep as many drunk
Continue ReadingBy Matt Smith – Clinton Herald, Iowa (TNS) Sad that the need exists but glad that the people of Cleburne, as they have for several years running, stepped up to fill it, is how Cleburne Christmas Feast founder Michelle Moralez summed up this year’s feast. “It was a little crazy and a little awesome and
Continue ReadingBy Clinton Herald, Iowa (TNS) The 28th annual Keene Christmas Light Parade on Dec. 8 in Keene included 60 entries, a record for the event that attracted about 4,000 spectators along Old Betsy Road and Hillcrest. The parade was followed by a fireworks show. The Golubinski family of Cleburne won the Best Overall trophy for
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By LARRY NEUMEISTER and MICHAEL R. SISAK – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury’s finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written
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By MICHELLE L. PRICE – Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson, providing crucial backing for the Louisiana Republican as he prepares for what is expected to be another contentious speakership race this week. Trump said in a post on his social media platform
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