Missouri Fifth Congressional candidates focus on immigration ahead of August primary

KMIZ on July 29, 2026

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri’s newly drawn Fifth Congressional District will be a close watch as it could decide control of the U.S. House in November.

The so-called “Missouri First Map” was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe in September 2025 after passing during a special legislative session. Since then, the map has survived court challenges and, currently, is the map in effect for the August and November elections.

The map was drawn to give Republicans an advantage in seven of Missouri’s eight seats in Congress and would unseat Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who has held the Fifth District seat since 2005.

Cleaver is running unopposed in his party’s primary. But he’ll have to win a very red district in November to retain his seat.

The district that once covered Kansas City now includes roughly the north half of Boone County, excluding Columbia, along with Cooper, Howard, Saline, Pettis, Morgan, Miller, Moniteau, Cole, Maries and Osage counties. It stretches to the Kansas border.

The chance to flip the Fifth has brought seven Republicans to the race:

Taylor Burks of Columbia;

Brad Patty of Fayette;

Brett Hueffmeier of Kansas City;

Rick Brattin of Harrisonville;

Berton Knox of North Kansas City;

and Micah Beebe of Lee’s Summit

ABC 17 News sat down with five of the six candidates ahead of the August election to learn their priorities and how they would handle issues facing everyday Missourians.

Berton Knox did not respond to ABC 17 News request for an interview.

FULL INTERVIEW LINKS: Taylor Burks, Brad Patty, Brett Hueffmeier, Rick Brattin, Micah Beebe

Immigration continues to be a pressing topic as Immigration Customs Enforcement has been in cities across the U.S. looking to deport violent criminals in the country illegally.

ICE reports that 74,082 non-citizens have been arrested, including 12,025 individuals convicted of an aggravated felony.

ICE was reported in Pettis County in June and made multiple arrests at several businesses in the area.

State Sen. Rick Brattin spent six years as a United States Marine and says he is ready to fight in Congress to help President Donald Trump secure the border. He says the immigration system as a whole needs to be updated.

“Make sure there is systems and processes in place where people aren’t hiring illegally, and in the housing aspect, verifying who these people are, not turning a blind eye, and holding people accountable who is bringing the influx here. But it’s really the enforcement, funding and doing everything we can for things that are already on the books,” Brattin said.

Taylor Burks served in the U.S. Navy and was Boone County’s first Republican county clerk. Immigration, he says, comes down to enforcement but also a clearer path for legal workers.

“Securing the border is the first step we have to take and deporting people who come here illegally who break our rules, that process needs to be predictable, vetted and secure, so I think that future reforms to legal seasonal guest works in a great way to provide that stability in labor markets as well,” Burks said.

Brad Patty is the only Republican candidate who lives in the Fifth Congressional District and is a 25-year U.S. Army veteran. For Patty, immigration is personal, as his wife is from El Salvador. He says a more efficient legal process for immigration in necessary.

“I cannot let any other immigration go ahead and get in front of the line ahead of my wife,” Patty said. “I’m more than willing to have a conversation to decrease that 10-year process of separation and make this an efficient process, but as a whole, the standard is what the legal immigrants have done; no one gets to do it a different way.”

Brett Hueffmeier says he has deep roots in the Fifth Congressional District as he was born in Linneus in Linn County. He worked for both former U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and John Ashcroft.

Hueffmeier says a long-term approach to Immigration is key if he is elected.

“We would deport anyone that has entered this country illegally, that’s sort of respecting the rule of law, we have to be realistic about that I think it’s going to take a long time to do that, and I think we have to look at some alternative approaches as well as deal with the problem right now,” Hueffmeier said. “As far as tracking them, detaining them and going through the process of deportation”

Micah Beebe is a lifelong Missourian and businessman who grew up in Kansas City.

The immigration system, Beebe says, needs to work in a way that serves the country’s interests.

“We need to have an immigration system that is for America, that is beneficial for our country. We need to make sure we aren’t having an immigration system that we are so overrun that there’s more people coming in from around the world than there are people in the United States because when that happens, we start to lose our identity,” Beebe said.

   

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El Paso Summer Coin Show Set for August 1-2

KVIA on July 29, 2026

Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX( KVIA-TV)- The El Paso Summer Coin Show will be taking place on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2 at the Airport Marriott, located at 1600 Airways Boulevard in El Paso, and we are inviting coin collectors, history enthusiasts, and families to attend.

Observe the interesting world of coins and numismatics. The exhibition will include dealers from Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and other states, providing a wide range of rare coins, currency, bullion, and collectibles.

The fee is $5 for a single day or $7 for two days and children can enter for free if they are with a paying adult.

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Traffic Alert: City of Bend working on several street preservation and road construction projects

KTVZ on July 29, 2026

Kelsey Merison

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Right now, the City of Bend is working on several street preservation projects.

This week, they’re chipsealing some busy streets, including Mt. Washington Drive, Olney and Revere avenues, and Purcell Boulevard.

Brosterhous Road from the railroad undercrossing to Windsor Drive is now closed for construction on the Azalia and Windsor Septic to Sewer Project. Crews will install a new sewer main along a section of Brosterhous. The closure is expected to wrap up prior to school starting in early September. Detours are in place throughout the closure.

You can learn more at bendoregon.gov.

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Fed Holds Rates in 9-3 Vote

CNN Newsource on July 29, 2026

By Jacqueline Policastro | Quincy News Correspondent

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    Washington (Quincy News) — The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Wednesday, with Chair Kevin Warsh using his second post-meeting news conference to address growing impatience over inflation, insisting the central bank is moving even when its benchmark rate is not.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to maintain the federal funds rate target range at 3.5% to 3.75%. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan dissented, preferring a quarter-point increase. The previous meeting under Warsh ended in a unanimous vote to hold rates steady.

The federal funds rate does not directly set mortgage or credit card rates, but it influences borrowing costs across the economy.

Warsh acknowledged that households and businesses are impatient after more than five years of above-target inflation. But he warned that the problem cannot be corrected in a matter of weeks.

“We’ve got no magic wand,” Warsh said. Later, when asked what Wednesday’s news meant for the average household, he offered a more direct assurance: “The Fed’s on the case.”

The FOMC’s statement said economic activity continues to expand at a solid pace, productivity and capital investment remain strong, and job gains have kept pace with growth in the workforce. It also said inflation remains elevated relative to the central bank’s 2% target, in part because of supply shocks affecting energy and other sectors.

Despite the three dissents, Warsh resisted describing the Fed as divided. He characterized the two-day meeting as a “good family fight” and said policymakers had substantial agreement despite differing over Wednesday’s decision.

“There was a disagreement about a decision today,” Warsh said, arguing that the vote did not capture the full scope of the discussion. He described the current posture as “watchful thinking, not watchful waiting.”

Warsh gave no indication of what the Fed might do in September. Instead, he pointed to materially higher Treasury yields since the Fed’s last meeting, noting that market rates had moved even though the committee had not changed its policy rate.

Markets closed lower following the Fed’s decision, with the Dow falling 2.2%, the S&P 500 down 1.5% and the Nasdaq losing 1.7%. By Wednesday afternoon, CME FedWatch showed futures markets pricing in roughly a 60% probability of a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting.

Warsh said the Fed will continue to limit forward guidance, favoring shorter policy statements and fewer signals about future rate moves to get a more “direct and unfiltered” read from markets. He added that the Fed will continue holding post-meeting news conferences through the end of the year.

The FOMC’s next policy meeting is scheduled for September 15-16.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Kansas high school student urges state leaders to expand youth mental health resources

CNN Newsource on July 29, 2026

By Kate Devine

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    RENO, Kan. (KAKE) — A Reno County teenager is calling on Kansas leaders to expand youth mental health resources after new survey data showed local students are struggling at rates higher than the statewide average.

Christian Buckwalter, an incoming freshman at Buhler High School, said his advocacy is fueled by both personal experience and conversations with classmates who have struggled with their mental health.

“I’ve dealt with mental health by starting a campaign at Prairie Hills Middle School last year, helping build more mental health resources for Buhler and working with Rise Up Reno to better understand how mental health affects our youth in Kansas,” Buckwalter said.

His efforts come as the 2026 Kansas Communities That Care Youth Survey found that 38.4% of Reno County students reported feeling so sad or hopeless for at least two weeks during the past year that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. The statewide average was 30.4%.

The survey is administered every two years to students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 and is used by communities across Kansas to identify youth risk factors and guide prevention efforts.

Buckwalter said those numbers reflect what he has seen while talking with students in his school district.

“I talked to a lot of people at my school while I was running this campaign, and there’s a lot of stigma because people don’t really feel comfortable talking about mental health. It just isn’t something that’s talked about very much,” he said.

Buckwalter said he has contacted Gov. Laura Kelly, both of Kansas’ U.S. senators and his state representative, urging them to prioritize youth mental health funding.

“I’ve reached out to Governor Laura Kelly, both of our Kansas senators and the Reno County representative for Kansas,” Buckwalter said. “I’m hoping they can put more funding into mental health.”

He said one of his biggest concerns is that some students who need help either do not know where to turn or are afraid to ask for it.

Buckwalter said his passion for advocacy began after experiencing his own struggles with anxiety and depression in middle school.

“Starting around sixth grade through eighth grade, I dealt with anxiety and depression, and I avoided a lot at school,” he said. “Now I’m in Rise Up Reno’s youth leadership program, which teaches students how to be advocates.”

He also said losing a friend and hearing from classmates who had harmed themselves reinforced the need to speak out.

“I was in seventh grade when I found out one of my friends had died from what was most likely mental health-related reasons,” Buckwalter said. “I’ve also had people reach out to me who had hurt themselves because of mental health struggles.”

Buckwalter said he hopes sharing his own experiences will encourage other young people to seek help rather than suffer in silence.

“I feel like the most important thing is that it’s better to tell someone than not tell anyone and let it build up inside of you,” he said.

Kansas currently funds the Mental Health Intervention Team program, which partners schools with community mental health providers to connect students with behavioral health services. Buckwalter said he hopes the state continues investing in and expanding access to mental health resources for young people.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Henry’s Creek Fire south of Ammon burns 400+ acres

KIFI on July 29, 2026

Phillip Willis

UPDATE (3:58 PM)– A ten acre fire sparked in the original Henry’s Creek Fire area just before 1 PM. Crews successfully contained the fire, and remain on scene to monitor the area and extinguish hot spots, according to City of Idaho Falls’ Hayli Egbert.

UPDATE (9:14 AM) — New information from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s office is shedding light on the evacuations, stating that they were not forced evacuations, but rather that residents were notified to be ready to leave, and some left on their own. Crews continue to work to contain the fire, with hopes of full containment by tonight (July 29th).

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire has now grown to an estimated 482 acres.

ORIGINAL — AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) — Overnight, a fire broke out at the 9900 Block of South Henry Creek Road in Ammon.

The blaze has forced the evacuation of about 15 homes from Henry’s Creek Road and South Ammon Road. Power was cut off to 79 houses.

Fire officials are strongly urging people to stay away from South Ammon Road, Henry’s Creek Road, and Taylor Mountain road as they continue their firefighting efforts.

As of 6:54 AM, the fire has reportedly burned 100 acres. Firefighters used additional engines, bulldozers, and heavy equipment to fight the fire. They were also assisted by local residents.

Idaho Falls Battalion Chief Rob Hall tells Local News 8 that a large cooperative effort between firefighter organizations in the area helped save the homes, and in some cases, the fire got as close as the back porch of some of those residences.

Idaho Falls Fire Department was assisted by City of Ammon, Henry’s Creek Fire District, Swan Valley, Ucon, WFS, BLM, and Forest Service.

The fire broke out just before midnight, and fire officials say it was not caused by lightning – the investigation is continuing.

Firefighters hope to have the fire contained by 8:00 p.m. July 29th, and controlled by 8:00 p.m. July 30th.

Chief Hall says he is extremely grateful for the cooperation and hard work of all the fire agencies of the area for their support in dealing with this extremely dangerous situation.

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Pueblo starts initial steps toward bridge project to connect two closed ends of 24th Street on West Side

KRDO on July 29, 2026

Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Nearly four months after officials opened Medal of Honor Boulevard to connect the city’s West Side with Pueblo West, they’ve started the process toward building a bridge to make 24th Street continuous through town.

The first step was a study to determine the feasibility of a bridge that would cross railroad tracks on 24th between Atlanta Avenue on the east side and Adrian Avenue on the west side.

The next step was a public open house last month at Centennial High School where citizens could ask questions and learn more about the project.

Andrew Hayes, Pueblo’s public works director, said the bridge is currently in the design phase and that no timetable, cost estimate, or funding source has been determined yet.

“I think, certainly, phases of this will be ten years off in the future,” he told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior on Tuesday.

Much of the West Side remains underdeveloped due to a lack of street connectivity; the only ways to cross the railroad tracks are at a crossing on 29th Street and at an existing bridge on 18th Street.

However, improvements made on the western end of 24th Street between Tuxedo and Pueblo Boulevards; a new fire station in that area; and the opening of Medal of Honor Boulevard have generated some residential and commercial development, and Hayes said that there’s already an increase in applications for further development.

The concern expressed by open house attendees is how future development along 24th Street will affect adjacent neighborhoods.

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Gaming with Guardians let’s kids play video games against police officers

CNN Newsource on July 29, 2026

By Mike Trim

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    TEQUESTA, Florida (WPTV) — The Tequesta Police Department is hosting a free community event this Saturday, Aug. 1 where kids can challenge officers to video games — and plenty of other games.

Gaming with Guardians runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Constitution Park in Tequesta.

Officers will have video game systems set up for attendees to compete against them in several games.

The event also includes basketball, football, food, and free bike helmet giveaways and fittings on site.

WPTV Anchor Mike Trim listened to Tequesta Police Chief Gus Medina say he wants kids to come out and prove themselves.

“Please come out and beat my officers. They seem to think they’re going to beat everyone at everything they’ve ever done,” Medina said. “But the reality is, I think you all could be beat so I’m taking that as a challenge for our community and our kids to really show our officers how to play,”

Admission to Gaming with Guardians is free.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WPTV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Prison to Purpose: Claremore woman manages She Brews after 3 years behind bars

CNN Newsource on July 29, 2026

By Marly Gatewood

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    CLAREMORE, Okla. (KJRH) — Tulsa’s She Brews Coffee Roasters & Transition Program expanded in Claremore.

2 News Oklahoma met the new manager, Tamra Bissell. She told 2 News she spent 3 years behind bars and struggled with addiction.

“I know me coming into recovery, and coming into a program to change my life, I’ve had to do it with different people, places, and things, and you have to be strong,” Bissell said.

Through this expansion, the non-profit said it’s been able to help more women. The goal is always been to equip and empower women transitioning out of incarceration.

“We are now able to employ every woman that comes into our transitional homes,” Bissell said. “Due to the increase in the size of the building and the job training programs we can offer now.”

Bissell earned several promotions because of her good spirit and people skills. She’s also been the team trainer for all of the She Brew locations supporting Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Claremore, Oklahoma.

Francois Cardinal is the Board Chair of She Brews Coffee Roasters and Transition Program.

“Tamra, you could say, is the shining example of someone who has taken this second chance and has completely turned her life around, a true transformation, and is now leading the other women in our program through this transformation process, modeling the transformation journey and outcome for them as a leader in our program. You won’t find anyone more committed to our mission.”

“I didn’t know my potential, you know, at all,” Bissell said. “When somebody is telling you that you can do this, you don’t see it. So, for my leaders and this community to see something in me that I couldn’t see in myself, and giving me the opportunity and telling me to just say yes and they’ll show me how to do it; is just a blessing.”

Bissell said getting the title ‘manager’ isn’t what mattered most, but getting the opportunity to take her life in a new direction.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Pizza shop transforms patio into book haven, serving young readers

CNN Newsource on July 29, 2026

By Brooke Chau

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    FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPTV) — A Fort Pierce pizza shop known for giving back is creating an even bigger space to inspire young readers.

Big Apple Pizza owner Scott Van Duzer is expanding the restaurant’s free book program by transforming its outdoor patio into a dedicated reading room where children can pick up a book any time they visit.

For years, Van Duzer has kept shelves of free books inside the restaurant, inviting children to take one home at no cost. He said seeing kids light up when they discover a new book has been one of the most rewarding parts of the program.

“The books are there so when the kids come in the store they’re easily available,” Van Duzer said. “They’ll come in and they’re excited they can take whatever they want home.”

As more children have stopped by to pick up books, the collection has continued to grow. Van Duzer said the restaurant has simply run out of space inside, prompting the decision to turn the outdoor patio into a permanent reading room.

“We have so many books and we are trying to keep ahead of the game that we have turned our porch into what’s going to be the reading room,” Van Duzer said. “So now anytime a child stops by they can get a book free of charge no questions asked.”

The goal, he said, is to make books easy to access and help encourage a lifelong love of reading. Whether a family comes in for pizza or simply stops by for a book, every child is welcome to take one home.

For Van Duzer, giving back has always been part of the restaurant’s mission. He said that commitment comes from the example his mother set while he was growing up.

“I didn’t have a lot,” Van Duzer said. “My mom was pretty instrumental in my life so she just said if you can give back, give back. We live that every day.”

Construction on the new reading room is underway and is expected to be completed later this fall.

Until then, children can continue picking up free books inside Big Apple Pizza, where the message remains the same: every child is welcome to take a book home, no questions asked.

Big Apple Pizza is located at 2311 S 35th St, Fort Pierce FL 34981.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.