Judge Reaffirms Fine Against Kansas Elections Official
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A federal magistrate judge has spurned a move by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach seeking reconsideration of a $1,000 fine levied against him for misleading the court. U.S. Magistrate Judge James O'Hara said Wednesday that Kobach's ``new excuse lacks credibility'' based on its late assertion and lack of supporting documentation. Kobach had blamed ``editing errors'' for his earlier misstatements to the court. The judge also rejected Kobach's contention that forcing him to submit to a deposition over documents he tried to keep secret would result in manifest injustice. O'Hara ruled last week that Kobach made ``patently misleading representations'' about the content of materials he took into a November meeting with then President-elect Donald Trump as well as a separate draft amendment to the National Voter Registration Act.
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Report: Wheat Harvest Nearly Finished in Parts of Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ The latest government report shows the winter wheat harvest is wrapping up in many parts of the state. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Wednesday that about 73 percent of the wheat in Kansas had been harvested. The report covers the week that ended Sunday. Areas in Kansas where the harvest began were nearly done with harvest activity. Wheat crops in south-central Kansas were 97 percent cut, while southeast Kansas was 94 percent finished. Northwest Kansas where cutting begins much later was just 21 percent done while just 47 percent of wheat crops in west-central Kansas were cut. For wheat still in the field, the report rated 47 percent in excellent to good condition with 31 percent in fair shape. About 22 percent was in poor to very poor condition.
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Kansas Agrees to Pay $67,000 to Settle Traffic Stop Lawsuit
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The state of Kansas has agreed to settle for roughly $67,000 a 5-year-old lawsuit by a man who said he was illegally stopped and detained by a state trooper. Peter Vasquez tells the Topeka Capital-Journal he's happy his litigation over the December 2011 stop is ending. Vasquez says he was stopped by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in December 2011 in Wabaunsee County and was issued a warning but refused the trooper's request to have his vehicle searched after Vasquez insisted there were no drugs in it. Vasquez was detained, though a search of his vehicle found nothing illegal. A federal appeals court last year overturned a lower court's decision to dismiss the case. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the state's request to hear the matter.
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Water Service Disrupted at Kansas City Airport Terminal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Crews at Kansas City International Airport are working to restore water service to one of its terminals after a water main broke. Officials say the 12-inch pipe failed yesterday (TUE) afternoon, forcing crews to shut off water to the airport's Terminal B. Portable toilets were brought in. Airlines that use Terminal B include Southwest Airlines, Delta and Alaska, though it was not immediately clear if air service was affected. Some air travelers were reportedly taking shuttles to the other terminal to use restrooms.
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Kansas Health Officials Report Confirmed Measles Case
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials have reported a confirmed case of measles in Butler County. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Butler County Health Department said in a joint news release Tuesday that county health departments will be notifying all identified contacts. Staff will evaluate immunization status and ask about any possible symptoms among people exposed. Measles is highly contagious and is spread through the air by breathing, coughing or sneezing. Health officials say symptoms typically begin one to two weeks after exposure to an infected person. They include fever, blotchy skin rash, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. KDHE Secretary Susan Mosier says the best way to prevent measles is vaccination.
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Reward Increased to $25,000 in 2013 Fatal Shooting in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a man who was killed during a home invasion four years ago in Topeka is offering a $25,000 reward for information that could solve the case. Twenty-nine-year-old Juan Solis was killed in September 2013 when assailants broke into his home in the Oakland neighborhood. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that witnesses said three black men wearing masks shot Solis in the chest. His brother, Marco Solis, says there's been no leads in his brother's death. He says the family wants people to remember his brother and help bring the killers to justice before they hurt someone else. Juan Solis was an 11-year employee of Boss Hawg's and Pigskins restaurants and left behind a wife and three young children.
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Man Dies After Van Rolls over Him
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man who was run over by a work van during the holiday weekend has died. Police officer Charley Davidson says the man was behind the van Monday morning in northeast Wichita when it rolled backward. The man was pinned beneath the vehicle and has died from his injuries. The man's name was not released. Further details have not been released.
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Explosion Levels Missouri House
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) _ A house explosion in St. Joseph, Missouri may have injured as many as three people. The St. Joseph News-Press reports neighbors said they heard an explosion at about 9:40 a.m. Tuesday. One witness says all four walls of the house were blown out and the roof collapsed into the structure. The newspaper reports that scanner traffic indicated three individuals receiving emergency medical care and being transported by ambulance. Neighbor Paul Saunders says he heard two booms then called emergency services before going outside. Saunders said this isn't the first time they've heard booms at that residence. He said they could be heard year round. He said he has called police because they sometimes shoot them off at night and wake up his children.
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Searchers Find Body of 12-Year-Old Drowning Victim in Kansas Lake
COLDWATER, Kan. (AP) _ Searchers of Lake Coldwater in southern Kansas' Comanche County have found a 12-year-old drowning victim. Searchers with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism found the girl's body shortly after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, more than two hours after the girl went missing while swimming. The girl's name was not immediately released. Coldwater Lake is about 130 miles west of Wichita.
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Lawsuit Alleges Bullying Led to Suicides by 2 Missouri Teens
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A parent has sued the Blue Springs School District alleging an unchecked culture of bullying contributed to the suicides of one student and the subsequent suicide of that student's best friend. The Kansas City Star reports that the lawsuit claims the two teenage boys were bullied, harassed and discriminated against at one of the district's middle schools and at a high school. The lawsuit filed by Rebecca Lewis accuses the school district of violating anti-bullying laws by downplaying complaints. The school district's attorney, Steve Coronado, says his office would investigate and defend the claims as appropriate. His office has requested that the lawsuit be transferred from Jackson County Circuit Court to federal court because of alleged violations of federal law.
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Missouri Man Accused of Molesting Toddler
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) - A suburban Kansas City, Missouri, man is jailed on $250,000 bond after being accused of molesting a couple's 1-year-old girl he was baby-sitting before being pummeled by the girl's father. KMBC-TV reports that Clay County prosecutors have charged 26-year-old Jayson Newlun with statutory sodomy. Court documents allege that Newlun was baby-sitting the toddler June 30 when the girl's parents returned to the home to retrieve something. The mother found Newlun taking an inappropriate photo of the girl and molesting her. After the mother ran to get notify her husband, the husband repeatedly punched Newlun and hit him with a dresser drawer before a neighbor intervened.
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Bald Eagle Released Back into Wild in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A bald eagle that was rescued earlier this year by Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office deputies has been set free. KSNW-TV reports the bird was released back into the wild Tuesday near K-42 highway and the Ninnescah River. The bird flew off back into the wild following its release. A group of Sedgwick County firefighters and deputies helped rescue it in April after somebody reported a bald eagle that was down at Lake Afton. The bird was emaciated and was trying to fly. It was taken at that time to the Eagle Valley Raptor Center near Cheney for rehabilitation.
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Guns, Bomb-Making Material Taken from 'AK-47' Suspect's Home
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — FBI agents seized bomb-making materials, seven guns and ammunition from the Montana home of a man they suspect of carrying out bank robberies in five states. An inventory of the property seized from Richard Gathercole's home in Roundup shows that agents also took sheriff's badges and patches, a sheriff's vest and an ammunition vest, a military style helmet, an organic chemistry book and material to make identification badges. The inventory list was filed with U.S. District Court in Billings on June 27. Authorities believe Gathercole is the man they call "the AK-47 bandit" who held up at least six banks since 2012. Gathercole is being held in Lexington, Nebraska, where he is accused of stealing a truck and guns and firing on a Kansas state trooper last month. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
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Grandson Charged with Murder in Blue Springs Man's Death
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) _ A suburban Kansas City man is charged with murder in the death of his grandfather, whose body was found inside a freezer. Jackson County (Missouri) Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Wednesday that 21-year-old Tyreik Baldwin, of Blue Springs, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action and stealing a motor vehicle after the death last week of Harvey Baldwin. Court records indicate the Baldwins and another family member argued over several issues. Tyreik Baldwin allegedly sneaked up on the family member, hit him in the head with a hammer and stole his truck from a Blue Springs house. When officers arrived, the family member told police he couldn't find Harvey Baldwin. His body was then found in a freezer. Online records don't indicate that Baldwin has an attorney.
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Man Injured When Dumpster Emptied into Garbage Truck
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man who apparently was sleeping in a dumpster in Wichita was injured when that large metal trash bin was emptied into a garbage truck. The man was sent to the hospital after the accident shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday outside an apartment complex. A Wichita Fire Department battalion chief, Sid Newby, says the truck's driver had emptied the dumpster and was compacting the trash when he stepped out of the vehicle and heard the victim screaming. The victim was taken to a hospital, and his injuries were not considered to be life-threatening. The man's name was not released.
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Kansas City Royals Knock Off Seattle 7-3
SEATTLE (AP) — The Kansas City Royals' Whit Merrifield hit the first pitch of the game from Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez for his seventh home run, Mike Moustakas added his 24th homer of the season, and the Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3 on Tuesday for their fifth win in six games. Kansas City knocked around Hernandez (3-3) for five earned runs in six innings. Merrifield set the tone jumping on an 89 mph pitch in the middle of the plate and clearing the wall in left-center. The Royals scored three times in the fourth inning thanks to Moustakas' two-run shot and a two-out error by second baseman Robinson Cano that allowed Brandon Moss to score. Salvador Perez had a two-run double and the five earned runs were the most allowed by Hernandez in his eight starts this season. Kansas City starter Danny Duffy (5-4) returned after spending a month on the disabled list and allowed just two first-inning runs.
