WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to remove millions of people living in the country illegally on the eve of formally announcing his re-election bid.

Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people…….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019

In a pair of tweets Monday night, Trump said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would next week “begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”

“They will be removed as fast as they come in,” he wrote.

An administration official said the effort would focus on the more than 1 million people who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges but remain at large in the country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to explain the president’s tweets.

It is unusual for law enforcement agencies to announce raids before they take place. Some in Trump’s administration believe that decisive shows of force — like mass arrests — can serve as effective deterrents, sending a message to those considering making the journey to the U.S. that it’s not worth coming.

Trump has threatened a series of increasingly drastic actions as he has tried to stem the flow of Central American migrants crossing the southern border, which has risen dramatically on his watch. He recently dropped a threat to slap tariffs on Mexico after the country agreed to dispatch its national guard and step-up coordination and enforcement efforts.

A senior Mexican official said Monday that, three weeks ago, about 4,200 migrants were arriving at the U.S. border daily. Now that number has dropped to about 2,600.

Immigration was a central theme of Trump’s 2016 campaign and he is expected to hammer it as he tries to fire up his base heading into the 2020 campaign.

Trump will formally launch his re-election bid Tuesday night at a rally in Orlando, Florida — a state that is crucial to his path back to the White House.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis judge says Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature cannot cut off funding to abortion providers and their affiliates.

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge David Dowd on Friday ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood. The organization sued in February against efforts by Missouri lawmakers to block state funding from going to Planned Parenthood.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that attorneys for the organization argued that some of its chapters provide preventative health care and not abortion and shouldn’t be financially penalized.

Dowd agreed. He ruled that the funding prohibition could not be completely enforced. He says the move was constitutionally flawed.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson in a statement said the ruling will be appealed. He says the state stands by the position that taxpayer dollars should not be used for abortion.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 15-year-old Kansas boy got a large knife to the face, and doctors say he’s extremely lucky.

Jimmy Russell said her son, Eli Gregg, was playing Thursday evening outside of their home in Redfield, about 90 miles south of Kansas City, when she heard him scream. She found him with a 10-inch knife jutting from just below his eye and called 911.

“It looked pretty grim, it was scary,” Russell said in a video released by the University of Kansas Health System, where he was treated.

The knife was embedded in his skull and extended to just under his brain. The blade’s tip, meanwhile, was pushing against his carotid artery, which supplies the brain with blood.

“It could not have had a pound more force on it and him survive that event,” said Dr. Koji Ebersole, who oversaw the extraction. “I don’t think he would have survived it.”

A team of surgeons put together an intricate plan to remove the blade Friday morning. They were prepared for possible bleeding into the brain, but the operation went without a hitch and the artery remained intact.

Within 24 hours of the surgery, Eli was able to talk and make light of the situation. He was due to be discharged on Monday.

“He says he is going to stay away from sharp objects,” Russell said. “That is very understandable.”

She said Eli is doing great and should make a full recovery.

“It is almost a miracle,” Russell said. “It is really, really amazing.”

The boy is fortunate he ended up in Ebersole’s hands, as it was Ebersole who removed a meat skewer from the skull of a 10-year-old Missouri boy last year in an accident that provided equally shocking X-rays. That boy was attacked by yellow jackets in a tree house in Harrisonville, about 35 miles south of Kansas City, and fell onto the skewer.

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

A former FBI agent who was involved in the criminal investigation of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens turned himself in Monday after being indicted as part of a perjury investigation.

William Tisaby surrendered to authorities on the same day that an indictment against him was unsealed. He then pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was released on his own recognizance under the conditions that he surrenders his passport and informs a probation officer of any travel plans.

The indictment charging him with six counts of perjury and one count of tampering with physical evidence was filed under seal Friday in St. Louis Circuit Court. The indictment alleges that Tisaby lied under oath “about matters which could substantially affect, or did substantially affect, the course or outcome of the Greitens case.”

Tisaby, who lives in Trussville, Alabama, was hired last year by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to investigate allegations that Greitens took a compromising photo of his hairdresser and threatened to share it if she exposed their affair in 2015, a year before the Republican was elected governor. The indictment noted that relying on an outside investigator was “contrary to normal protocol.”

Gardner’s handling of the Greitens case drew strong criticism from his attorneys, who asked police to investigate whether Tisaby lied under oath as part of a deposition of the woman involved in the affair. Last June, Mullen appointed Gerard Carmody as special prosecutor to oversee that investigation.

Gardner says she decided to dismiss the case after the judge granted a request by Greitens’ lawyers to call her to testify about Tisaby. Gardner said at the time that it put her in the “impossible” position of being a witness in a case she was prosecuting. Despite the dismissal, Greitens, who was also under investigation over other concerns, resigned last June.

The indictment said Tisaby denied to take notes during his interview of the hairdresser, although a recording of the interview that he initially said was unwatchable because of an equipment malfunction showed him taking notes. The indictment also said that Tisaby falsely denied receiving notes from the prosecutor’s office before he interviewed the hairdresser, although a document uncovered during the grand jury proceedings shows that Gardner had provided Tisaby her notes from an earlier interview.

The indictment also was critical of Gardner, saying she failed to correct false statements.

Tisaby’s attorney, Jermaine Wooten, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. He said previously that Tisaby is “very upset he’s being used as a scapegoat” and described him as “an honest and decent man.”

A spokesman for Carmody and a spokeswoman for Gardner said they are unable to comment because of a gag order in the case.

Scott Rosenblum, one of Greitens’ former lawyers, described the prosecution as “misguided” and said that the allegations laid out in the grand jury indictment are “even more egregious than we thought.”

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman’s death and after a standoff that lasted several hours have a suspect in custody.

Just after noon on Sunday, police received a report of an adult victim suffering from an unknown trauma at a residence in the area of 15th and Tyler in Topeka, according to a release from Gretchen Koenen with Topeka police. Upon arrival, officers located a woman identified as 69-year-old Kyong Carol Wood, 69, Topeka, dead at the scene.

Just after 5p.m., a standoff at the home ended peacefully. Police took David E. Wood, 45, Topeka into custody at the scene on requested charges of interference with law enforcement.

Police were continuing to process the crime scene Monday and are awaiting autopsy results to determine Wood’s cause of death.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman’s death and after a standoff that lasted several hours have a suspect in custody.

Just after noon on Sunday, June 16, police received a report of an adult victim suffering from an unknown trauma at a residence in the area of 15th and Tyler in Topeka, according to a release from Gretchen Koenen with Topeka police. Upon arrival, officers located a woman dead at the scene.

Just after 5p.m., a standoff at the home ended peacefully. Police took an adult male person of interest into custody at the scene. Police have not identified the victim or the person of interest.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Two of five people from Kansas City remain hospitalized after their boat exploded on the Lake of the Ozarks.

The 25-foot Chris Craft boat exploded and caught on fire Saturday afternoon at the Millstone Marina & RV resort.

A preliminary report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol says the explosion apparently was caused by a build-up of gasoline vapors and a mechanical failure.

Ryan Baber, a family member, said the accident happened shortly after the boat was refueled.

A spokeswoman at University Hospital in Columbia says Baber’s sister, Cynthia Sterling, and her partner, Carl Harris, were both in fair condition Monday.

The couple’s 6-year daughter suffered burns. Barber said he and his father, Robert Baber, suffered minor burns and he has a sprained foot.

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LAKE OF THE OZARKS — Five people were injured in an accident just before 2:30p.m. Saturday at Lake of the Ozarks.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1993 Chris Craft had just been filled with fuel at the Millstone Marina dock.

The driver Robert C. Baber, 71, Kansas City, started the engine creating an explosion due to lack of ventilation and a mechanical failure. The explosion ejected passenger Patrick Baber, 39, Kansas City from the boat.

Life Flight transported passenger Carl Harris, 42, Kansas City, to University Hospital.

Camden County Ambulance transported Robert and Patrick Baber to Lake Regional Hospital.

Lake West Ambulance transported Kathryn G. Harris, 6, and Cynthina O. Sterling, 48, both of Kansas City to Lake Regional Hospital. The child was the only occupant wearing a life jacket, according to the MSHP.

DICKINSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a stolen pickup.

Just after 1p.m. Sunday, a 38-year-old Salina, Kansas, man reported his black 2010 Ford F150 stolen from the parking lot at Lowe’s, 3035 S. Ninth, at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester

Shortly before 2 p.m Sunday, Salina Police were contacted by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office because the pickup had been located in Herington, Kansas. Deputies found the vehicle with the doors open and the motor still running.

Deputies arrested Marty Rickey, 43, of Hollister, Mo., on requested charges of possession of stolen property and interference with a law enforcement officer.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A bill dubbed the “Jedi Disposal Act” could soon make Missouri the first state to allow outdoor cremations.

The bill would allow licensed funeral directors to organize outdoor cremations at licensed crematoriums or private sites that have permits. The bill got its name from the “Star Wars” movie franchise, in which two Jedi Knights are cremated in public ceremonies.

The bill passed with nearly unanimous consent in this year’s legislative session and is awaiting Gov. Mike Parson’s decision on whether to sign it.

Sen. Jason Holsman, a Kansas City Democrat, said he proposed the measure in part because outdoor cremations have been performed “since the dawn of man.”

“This is the way that our ancestors took care of their remains,” Holsman said Thursday. “The Native Americans did it in trees. The Vikings did it in boats. Outdoor cremation has been around many cultures forever.”

The only place in the country where public outdoor cremations are legal is the small Colorado town of Crestone, about 160 miles southwest of Denver. The Crestone End of Life Project (CEOLP), a not-for-profit organization, receives state permits to organize ceremonies for people who live or own land in surrounding Saguache County.

CEOLP said it has organized about 65 outdoor cremations during the last 12 years. Some ceremonies attract as many as 300 people in a town with a population of only 143, said Stephanie Gaines, founding director of CEOLP.

“It’s part of the fabric of our community,” Gaines said. “The cremation is the frosting on the cake. For us, it’s about community support in a transitional time from end of life, terminal end of life, through supporting the family and the individual after death.”

Holsman, 43, said his interest in the subject began in part because of his northern Germanic and Viking ancestry. He said he would prefer to be cremated in the open air, “just like the Native Americans.”

Funeral directors initially resisted the proposal out of fear people would host impromptu bonfires of deceased loved ones in their backyards, said Don Otto, executive director of the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association. They dropped their opposition when health and safety requirements were added to the bill.

Otto said he expects the state board to enact more detailed rules for how licenses will be granted.