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Headlines for Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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$1.45 Million Settlement in Taping of Kansas Inmate Calls

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A proposed settlement has been reached with inmates whose conversations with attorneys were taped at Leavenworth Detention Center in Kansas.  The agreement calls for the private operator of the prison and the phone provider to pay $1.45 million into a settlement fund for inmates. After payments to attorneys, the money will be distributed to about 539 current and former Leavenworth inmates.  The settlement with CoreCivic, which runs the prison, and Securus Technologies, which provided the phone and video services, needs court approval to become final.  On August 15, a federal judge ruled that prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Kansas, improperly listened to the recorded conversations and willfully violated court orders during an independent investigation. The ruling could impact hundreds of federal convictions and sentences.

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Ex-Kansas Governor Seeks Primary Challenger for Rep. Watkins

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer is calling for a GOP primary challenger for freshman Rep. Steve Watkins in his eastern Kansas district. Colyer on Tuesday urged state Treasurer Jake LaTurner to drop out of next year's U.S. Senate race in Kansas and run for Watkins' congressional seat. Colyer issued a statement saying the district's voters are "solid, conservative folks" who deserve to be represented by someone sharing their values. Colyer spokesman Colton Gibson said the former Republican governor is concerned that Watkins cannot win re-election next year. Watkins is a former Army officer who won the seat in 2018 by less than a percentage point as a political unknown. President Donald Trump carried the district easily in 2016. Watkins's spokesman and LaTurner's campaign did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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Aetna's Medicaid Plans Under Review by Kansas Lawmakers

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR / KNS) -- Kansas lawmakers are reviewing Medicaid plans from one of the state’s three KanCare contractors, Aetna, after the company struggled to meet state guidelines.  At a legislative committee meeting mONDAY, nursing homes and hospitals outlined challenges getting payments from Aetna Better Health.  Already, the company has moved to replace top staff members to help fix problems.  Republican Representative Susan Concannon says Aetna has sometimes been slow to reimburse providers, repeating an issue that other managed-care organizations had when the privatized Medicaid program first launched.  Aetna offered an improvement plan earlier this month. But state regulators said it wasn’t enough. The hearing in Topeka continues today (TUE).  

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Harvey County Student in Custody for Alleged School Threat

SEDGWICK, Kan. (AP) — A 14-year-old student is in custody for an alleged threat against Sedgwick schools in Harvey County.  Sedgwick police and the Harvey County sheriff's office investigated a threat of potential violence on Monday evening.  The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that the teen suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of making a criminal threat.  No details about the alleged threat were released. Authorities said it was an isolated incident and there is no active threat.

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Kansas 2nd District Congressman Faces Calls for Tougher Gun Laws

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Republican Congressman Steve Watkins is getting heat from frustrated constituents in eastern Kansas who want him to publicly endorse proposals for tougher gun laws.  Several people left a town hall meeting in Topeka yesterday (MON) -- unhappy with the freshman congressman's answers on gun issues.  A local gun-control advocate pushed Watkins to support stronger background checks for firearm purchases and a law allowing authorities to take guns from people deemed a danger to themselves and others.  Watkins didn't endorse either idea during the meeting and a testy back and forth with some audience members followed.  But after the town hall, Watkins told reporters he is willing to look at a proposal for a so-called red-flag law.  Watkins spoke to an audience of about 40 people at the offices of a civil engineering firm.

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Former Kansas Governor Not Running for U.S. Senate

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Former Kansas Govenor Jeff Colyer says he's not running for the U.S. Senate next year.  The former Republican governor made the announcement yesterday (MON).  He said he's doing "interesting things" in the private sector and in medicine.  Colyer is a reconstructive plastic surgeon and a recently named fellow for fall 2019 at the Institute of Politics and Public Service at his alma mater of Georgetown University.  He served as governor in 2018 after being elevated from lieutenant governor when then-GOP Governor Sam Brownback resigned to take an ambassador's post.  Colyer narrowly lost last year's Republican gubernatorial primary to then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach.  Kobach lost the general election but is now part of an already crowded field of candidates running for the U.S. Senate.  Four-term GOP Senator Pat Roberts is not seeking re-election in 2020.

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Donations Sought as Kansas Homeless Shelter Drops Capacity

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Social service agencies are seeking to help as a homeless shelter in Lawrence prepares to cut the number of people it serves by nearly half.  The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the Lawrence Community Shelter is preparing to reduce its capacity from 125 people... to just 65 because of a funding shortfall of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center Homeless Outreach Team is coordinating a campaign with the shelter. The Homeless Outreach Program Manager for Bert Nash,  Mathew Faulk, says the first priority is to get as many people as possible into some kind of housing.  But he says the program would also like to gather supplies to make living outdoors more comfortable for those who must ultimately resort to that option.

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12 People Sent to the Hospital After a School Bus Overturns in Northwest Kansas

ST. FRANCIS, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a school bus overturned in a collision in northwest Kansas, sending the driver and 12 students to hospitals.  The Kansas Highway Patrol says a pickup truck crashed into the side of the bus Monday morning when the bus driver failed to yield the right-of-way. The bus then overturned onto the driver's side in a ditch in Cheyenne County.
The children aboard the bus ranged in age from 5 to 13. One of the children, a 7-year-old girl, had a suspected serious injury. The patrol says the other injuries were believed to be minor.

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USMCA Getting Some Bipartisan Support

DES MOINES, IA (HPM) -- A pending trade deal with Canada and Mexico is generating some bipartisan support in a political climate that is often seen as deeply divided. That’s the message from a Republican U.S. senator and a former Democratic agriculture secretary. Harvest Public Media reports that on Monday, Democrat Tom Vilsack toured a dairy in Des Moines with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.  The two say they share a commitment to improving and modernizing trade with Mexico and Canada. Vilsack is now president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, which lobbies for the dairy industry.  The U.S. House will take up the deal first. Grassley said as long as it passes there, he’s confident it will get through the Senate.  In addition to agriculture, the agreement addresses manufacturing, labor and environmental concerns.

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Federal Judge Set to Rule on Missouri's Abortion Law

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A federal judge says he will issue an order today (TUE) that will determine whether a law banning abortions at or after the eighth week of pregnancy takes effect this week.  U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs heard arguments Monday on a motion by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union seeking a temporary restraining order for the new law until a lawsuit against it is decided. The law is set to take effect Wednesday.  Claudia Hammerman, an attorney for the organizations, said previous abortion-related rulings have made it clear the law is unconstitutional.  Missouri Solicitor General John Sauer's argument centered on his contention that Planned Parenthood and the ACLU do not have standing to challenge the law.

This item has been updated to correct the solicitor general's first name to John.

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Lawyers Drop Subpoena for Lottery Book Notes

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Lawyers are withdrawing a subpoena that sought the interview notes of an Iowa journalist who wrote a book about a lottery insider who rigged jackpots in several states. Perry Beeman received the subpoena last week from lawyers for Larry Dawson, an Iowa jackpot winner who contends that the rigging reduced his prize by millions of dollars. Beeman co-wrote a recent book, "The $80 billion Gamble," with former Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich. It tells the story of how now-imprisoned lottery security contractor Eddie Tipton altered number-picking programs on computers to win jackpots in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma. The subpoena ordered Beeman to turn over his correspondence with Rich since January 2018, including notes related to four interviews conducted last year. But on Tuesday, hours after The Associated Press published a story about the request, Dawson's legal team decided to withdraw the subpoena after speaking with Beeman. Beeman says he's happy with that decision.

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Teenager Sentenced in Eudora Gun Shop Burglary

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of three teens involved in a burglary at a Eudora gun shop accepted a plea deal that resolves four cases against him.  The boy was 15 when he, another 15-year-old and 18-year-old Stevan Rios were charged after a March 2018 break-in at Free State Guns and Tactical Weapons in Eudora. Several assault-style rifles, pistols and revolvers were stolen.  The Lawrence Journal-World reports that on Aug. 20, one of the juveniles, now 17, pleaded no contest to felony theft and misdemeanor criminal damage in the gun shop burglary. He pleaded no contest to two unrelated misdemeanors and charges in a fourth case were dropped. Sentencing is September 12.  Rios was sentenced in August to two years of probation for burglary and theft.  The other juvenile is scheduled for a plea hearing September 5.

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Appellate Court to Hear Veteran's Fight to Keep Daughter in U.S.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal appellate court will hear the case of a retired Army lieutenant and his wife who are seeking to keep their adopted Korean-born daughter in the country after she graduates from college.  The Wichita Eagle reports that attorneys for the family of Hyebin Schreiber said Monday that the hearing is set for next month. Schreiber was 15 when she went to live with her aunt and uncle, Army veteran Patrick Schreiber, in Lansing, because of family problems in Korea.  Schreiber's deployment to Afghanistan caused the couple to put off her adoption until she was 17. The age limit for a foreign-born adopted child to become a naturalized U.S. citizen is 16.  She currently is in the U.S. legally on a student visa, but could be forced to leave after she graduates from the University of Kansas.

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Survey: Anesthesiologists Get Paid Top Wages in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - An annual labor survey shows that anesthesiologists are the highest-paid workers in the state of Kansas.  The Kansas Department of Labor says that anesthesiologists earned an average wage of $140.42 per hour in 2018. The national average is $128.38 per hour.  The report found that eight of the 10 highest paid occupations were in the health field.  Meanwhile, nine of the 10 lowest compensated occupations were in food preparation and serving-related jobs.  The report also found that the average hourly wage in Kansas increased by 34 cents... up to $21.77 per hour.

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Kansas Commission Drops $50 Fee to Visit New Park

WINONA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas commission has decided not to charge a $50 fee to visit a soon-to-open state park that includes a fragile landscape made up of chalky formations of spires and buttes.  The Wichita Eagle reports that scheduled tours of the 330-acre Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park in western Kansas will be free.  State Parks Director Linda Lanterman said at this month's meeting of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission that the "goal is to make it affordable for all."  Backlash from the public and The Nature Conservancy drove the decision to drop the so-called backcountry access pass. The $50 fee originally was proposed as a way to deter visitors from damaging the rock formations, which date back 85 million years to when the area was covered by a giant sea. Vehicle permits will still be required.

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Ex-Missouri Teacher Guilty of Making Child Porn; Admits to Secretly Recording Teens in Bathroom

CAMERON, Mo. (AP) _ A former northwest Missouri teacher has admitted to secretly recording three teenagers in a bathroom at his home.  The U.S. attorney's office says 39-year-old Derek Williams, of Cameron, pleaded guilty Monday to producing child pornography.  Prosecutors say the investigation began last year after a 15-year-old discovered a hidden camera that was designed to look like a cellphone charger plug. The teen removed a micro SD card from the device and inserted it into his cellphone to view its contents before turning it over to investigators. Authorities then seized a laptop and additional SD card that contained videos of two more teens. The earliest video was made in 2013.  Williams taught a multimedia class at Cameron High School and hosted foreign exchange students. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

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Midwest States Seek to Fix Missouri River Flood Bottlenecks

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Several Midwestern states are joining together to try to identify bottlenecks along the Missouri River that can cause waters to back up and worsen flooding in certain areas. Dru Buntin, the deputy director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, says the state is joining with Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska to submit a study proposal Tuesday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The proposal comes after two rounds of devastating flooding this year caused billions of dollars of damage in Midwestern states. A Corps commander cautioned Missouri officials during a meeting Tuesday that relieving pinch points at one spot in the river might result in new problems elsewhere. The states also are hoping for long-term changes in the way the Corps manages dams in the Missouri River basin.

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Longtime NABC Exec Jim Haney Plans to Step Down Next Year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jim Haney, the longtime executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said Tuesday he plans to retire next year after five decades of involvement in the game. Haney took over the organization in 1992, and oversaw the development of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Experience in downtown Kansas City. He also helped to form a partnership with the American Cancer Society to launch the Coaches vs. Cancer program. In recent years, Haney has worked with NCAA leadership in shaping its policies on the NBA draft, the NCAA Tournament selection process, and rules and other reform efforts. Haney played basketball at Penn before joining athletic administration. He was the head coach of Oregon and the commissioner of the Big West and Missouri Valley conferences before joining the NABC.

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