Midwest
Kansas City Chiefs fans' deaths: Jordan Willis ‘depressed’ over ‘wild speculations’ about pals, source says
EXCLUSIVE — Jordan Willis, the Kansas City Chiefs fan whose three friends were found dead in his backyard earlier this month, is “devastated” by the loss of his pals and “very depressed” as people speculate about the case, according to a source close to his family.
“Not only is the whole country accusing him of murdering his friends without factual details, evidence or any charges at this time, but he also lost three close friends,” the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Fox Nation in an exclusive interview Saturday.
“He didn’t get to say goodbye or go to their funerals due to the circumstances of these wild speculations and accusations.
“No one seems to be willing to wait for the results of the toxicology report or wait for any other facts from the police department from a case that is still under investigation to make these speculations.”
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ DEATHS: DRUGS, FREEZING WEATHER COULD HAVE CREATED LETHAL CONDITIONS, EXPERTS SAY
Family and friends of Clayton McGeeney, left, David Harrington, center, and Ricky Johnson, right, are clamoring for answers after the three men inexplicably died in freezing temperatures outside their friend’s Kansas City home. (Facebook)
The bodies of Ricky Johnson, 38, Clayton McGeeney, 36, and David Harrington, 37, were recovered outside Willis’ Kansas City home the evening of Jan. 9. They were last seen alive inside the home at a watch party for the Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Chargers Jan. 7.
The source said Willis’ family learned three people died on his property when local news media contacted them. Initially, they said, the family didn’t know if Willis was among the fatalities.
The source also disputed claims that Willis told people his friends froze to death in his yard after police arrived at his home.
“What was missing from that story was context. He never once said that his friends froze to death to anyone,” the source said.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS FOUND DEAD IN FRIEND’S BACKYARD: WHAT TO KNOW
The fiancée of one of the men, who had reportedly made attempts to reach Willis via phone and at his door, broke in through the back of the property and called police when she found the body of one of the victims.
Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, has said his client was asleep for “a lot of” the time period between allegedly escorting his friends out of his home and answering the door for Kansas City Police after his friends’ bodies were found behind his house around 8:51 p.m. Jan. 9.
The backyard and porch of Jordan Willis’ home in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. The bodies of Willis’ three friends — Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney and David Harrington — were found in Willis’ backyard Jan. 9, 2024, two days after they watched a Kansas City Chiefs game at the house. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
Picerno amended earlier claims that Willis only received one Facebook message in that period in an interview with Chris Cuomo earlier this week, saying his client had a phone app that blocked unrecognized numbers. Willis had several incoming – but no outgoing – text messages from concerned friends and family members, Picerno said, and he had not seen them.
Willis had no idea his friends were still on his property and needed help, his attorney said.
The Kansas City Police Department has told Fox News Digital no foul play is suspected, and “this case is 100% not being investigated as a homicide.”
PARENTS OF KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FAN FOUND DEAD THINK VICTIMS ‘SAW SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE SEEN’
Johnson and Harrington’s family members have accused Willis of playing an active role in the deaths, citing discrepancies in his attorney’s claims and his career as a scientist with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative’s Neutralizing Antibody Center, Schief Lab.
“The mad scientist agenda is absolutely ridiculous,” the source close to the Willis family said. “The fact that he is a scientist is irrelevant.
David Harrington, far left; Clayton McGeeney, second from right; and Ricky Johnson, right, were found dead in their friend’s backyard two days after they had gathered to watch a Kansas City Chiefs playoff game. (Ricky Johnson on Facebook)
“What’s probably important to note and maybe a reason why these families are saying they don’t know Jordan: Jordan went to high school with several of these guys. After college, he spent probably close to 10 years in Nashville and San Diego doing his graduate and post-doctorate work,” the source said. “He moved back to KC four or five years ago and, at some point, reconnected with his high school friends.”
5TH MAN CONTRADICTS KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS’ PAL ABOUT MEN’S DEATHS
His three deceased friends were at his house “a lot,” the source said, and the four were planning to go to the Chiefs game Jan. 13 with tickets Willis had bought, which “wasn’t the first game he’d taken them all to this season.”
The source also addressed questions from the victim’s families about how Willis could have stayed in his house for two days without letting his dogs outside and without those dogs finding his friend’s bodies.
DAD OF KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FAN WHOSE FRIENDS DIED OUTSIDE HOME SAYS SON ‘DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG’: REPORT
Willis has one dog and his father owns another dog, and it was typical for the dogs to spend the majority of the time at Willis’ father’s home, according to the source, who said his father is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Willis’ dog is “somewhat of a therapy dog” for his father, the source said.
The source confirmed that Willis had moved out of his home on Northwest 83rd Terrace in Kansas City, which he had moved into about six months earlier to live closer to his father and help with his care.
But that move out of Northwest 83rd Terrace took place after detectives completed their search of the home, the source said, and should not be interpreted as “alarming or suspicious.”
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“His house was all over the news,” the source said. “Multiple people driving by every day. People are threatening him on the internet, and everyone knows where this house is thanks to the news coverage. After the police cleared the house, and this story became public, Jordan moved out as his privacy and safety were at risk. He’s … still cooperating with police.”
The source characterized Willis as a “good guy” who “loves his friends.”
“The vitriol is awful, and I think people are afraid to speak up for him because of how vicious people are with these speculations,” the source said.
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Illinois
Illinois could face new costs because of high error rate in SNAP food aid
Indiana
Braden Smith to play for hometown Indiana Pacers after NBA draft selection, trade
Braden Smith spent four seasons with Purdue basketball proving all the power conference programs who overlooked him missed out.
Now the former Boilermaker point guard has a chance to do the same in the NBA.
Smith, a Westfield native, is headed to the Pacers after Indiana traded for him when the Chicago Bulls selected him with the 38th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, a source confirmed to IndyStar.
Smith is Purdue’s third draft pick in five years, joining lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey among a group of now 11 NBA draft selections to play at Purdue under Matt Painter.
Here’s a look at Smith’s Purdue career and what he brings to the Pacers.
Before capping a career that includes two Big Ten regular season and two Big Ten Tournament championships, along with helping Purdue end a 44-year Final Four drought, Smith broke former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record.
Along the way, Smith took home the 2025 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in a season where he also was the Big Ten Player of the Year. A two-time consensus first-team All-American, Smith finished his Purdue career eighth in career points (1,932), third in steals (249) and has the top three assist seasons in school history that helped add to his NCAA record total of 1,103.
Smith’s knock is his 5-foot-10 1/2 height measurement, but that didn’t deter him from being one of college basketball’s top players.
What Smith lacked in height, he made up for in basketball IQ. He’s lethal with a midrange jump shot and showcased an unblockable fadeaway that allowed him to shoot over lengthier defenders. He mastered manipulating defenses while playing with marquee big men the last four seasons.
His role in the NBA likely will be not require him to be the team’s primary playmaker immediately. Smith’s awareness of that fact pushed a more defensive-minded approach in preparation for the next level. At the NBA Draft Combine in May, Smith showed he’s capable of defending elite guards.
Smith is an elite competitor who never showed to shy away from the dirty work, which is something that can help him earn NBA minutes as a rookie while trying to find his footing in an unfamiliar backup role.
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
Iowa
Iowa one of nine states that won’t have to match portion of federal SNAP benefits
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The majority of U.S. states will soon have to pay 5% to 15% of federal nutrition assistance benefits in their state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s release Wednesday of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rates.
House Resolution 1, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was enacted in 2025, stipulated that states with SNAP payment error rates greater than 6% would be required to foot 5%, 10% or 15% of SNAP benefits costs in their state.
Iowa, with a payment error rate of 5.34% in 2025, is just one of nine states with an error rate below 6% and that won’t have to match a portion of the SNAP benefits it pays out, starting in October 2027.
According to USDA, SNAP payment error rates measure the accuracy of states in determining who is eligible for SNAP and how much they receive. The rate is calculated via a series of reviews from state and federal agencies where instances of overpayments and underpayments are identified.
USDA’s SNAP quality control page says errors are “largely unintentional” and might be the fault of a state agency or a SNAP household.
Eighteen states had payment error rates above the national average of 10.62%. Per the quality control process, these states will have to either pay USDA a determined amount, or invest 50% of that amount into activities that will fix the root causes of the payment errors.
USDA said that while the 2025 average payment error rate is a “modest” decrease from the 2024 average error rate of 10.93%, it represents $10.1 billion in improper payments.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the latest payment error rates show that “state accountability is severely lacking” in SNAP.
“USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics,” Rollins said in a news release.
An analysis of H.R. 1 from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the law, which included several changes to SNAP benefits in addition to the error rate cost share, would reduce federal spending on the SNAP benefits by $255 billion between 2025 and 2034. CBO also estimated that state spending on SNAP benefits would increase during the same period by $85 billion.
Critics of the bill said the cost shift to states would endanger the SNAP program and stress state budgets.
According to the 2025 error rates from USDA, 41 states had payment error rates above the 6% threshold set by the 2025 law. South Dakota had the lowest error rate at 2.47%. Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming were the other states with rates below 6%. Alaska had the highest error rate of 23.15%.
The higher the error rate, the greater the share, up to 15%, the state will have to pay of its SNAP benefits, which are otherwise 100% footed by the federal government.
In addition to the cost share, states with a payment error rate in excess of 6% are required to submit a corrective action plan to the Food and Nutrition Administration, formerly known as the Food and Nutrition Service, to explain the root cause of the payment errors and how the state plans to correct the errors.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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