Police: Double Murder-Suicide Suspected in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police say three people whose bodies were found inside a Topeka home died in an apparent double murder-suicide. Police said Saturday in a news release that "there is no threat to the public." Authorities identified the victims as 36-year-old Shawna Solis, 40-year-old Antwan Muhammad and 37-year-old Howard Givens. Police didn't say who was suspected of pulling the trigger. The shooting was reported around 9:15 p.m. Friday. The officers who rushed to the home found three gunshot victims, and police said all three were pronounced dead at the scene. No other information was provided on Saturday.
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Police Investigate Suspicious Wichita Apartment Death
(Information in the following story is from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating a suspicious death at a Wichita apartment complex. The man who died was in his 60s. A dispatcher also said he lived in the apartment complex. No other details were immediately available.
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Wichita Man Sentenced in Ex-Girlfriend's Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to more than 21 years in prison for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death with her child nearby. Thirty-five-year-old Yusef Samad received the sentence after pleading guilty last month to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter in the July 2009 death of Mechelle Reed. Prosecutors said he killed Reed at her home while her 12-year-old son was nearby. Reed filed several requests for protection from abuse from Samad before her death.
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President Obama to Travel to The University of Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — President Barack Obama is coming to The University of Kansas next Friday. But in announcing the visit Saturday, White House officials declined to discuss the purpose. University of Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little called the visit an "honor" in a news release. She says the school is eager to talk to the president about the "mission of educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world." The university release said more information will be released as it becomes available. It's not yet known whether the event will be open to the public. The last time Obama was in GOP-leaning Kansas was in December 2011. He gave a major speech on economic policy in Osawatomie, about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City.
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Kansas District Weighs Retaining Kindergarteners
(Information in the following story is from: The Garden City (Kan.) Telegram, http://www.gctelegram.com)
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — A southwest Kansas school district is weighing whether to require kindergarten pupils to repeat the grade if they don't meet certain standards. A committee of about a dozen educators has recommended the retention policy, with the goal of making sure children enter first grade with basic skills in reading, writing and recognizing numbers. Garden School schools retain about 55 students a year in all grade levels. The committee that studied potential kindergarten retention concluded that number would drop if children were better prepared before starting first grade. The school board could decide at its next meeting whether to approve a pilot program in kindergarten retention. Officials say they don't know of any other Kansas district that holds kindergarteners back until they achieve certain proficiencies.
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Kansas Board to Receive Latest Science Standards
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials will receive an overview next week of the latest draft of new science standards for public schools being developed by a national consortium. The 10-member State Board of Education will receive copies of the standards on Tuesday from Matt Krehbiel, the Kansas Department of Education official overseeing the state's work on the Next Generation Science Standards. A final draft of the standards was released on April 9th. Kansas and 25 other states are working with the National Research Council on common standards for possible adoption in their public schools, and Kansas officials involved in writing the guidelines contend the goal is to concentrate on core scientific concepts. The board agreed to give the standards serious consideration for adoption, a decision that could come later in 2013.