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Headlines for Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Here's the latest Kansas and regional news from the Associated Press, compiled by KPR staff.
Here's the latest Kansas and regional news from the Associated Press, compiled by KPR staff.

Trump: Would Talk to Pompeo If GOP Risks Losing in Kansas

LONDON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he would talk to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about running for an open Senate seat in Kansas if Republicans appeared at risk of losing it next year. Trump’s comments to reporters Tuesday during a NATO meeting in London came as Pompeo dismissed speculation about his seeking the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. Trump said if he thought Republicans might lose their first Senate race in Kansas since 1932, “I would have to talk to Mike.” Pompeo is a former Kansas congressman. Republicans have speculated for months that he will run for the Senate. Some Republicans fear that ex-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will capture the party’s nomination and put the seat in play after losing the Kansas governor’s race last year.

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Prisoner Rights Group: Kansas Prisons Unfairly Block Books

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ A prisoner rights group says the Kansas Department of Corrections unfairly censors publications even with the adoption of a new policy and the elimination of a banned book list. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that The Human Rights Defense Center has cited a list of more than 200 books and magazines that administrators have recently blocked, including Richard Powers's Pulitzer Prize winner "The Overstory.'' In May, the center revealed that the prison system maintained a list of 7,000 banned books. Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda abolished the list after his arrival in July. He adopted a policy that allows for the review and appeal of confiscated publications earlier this year. Department spokesman Randy Bowman says the policy is based on the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on obscenity.

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Lawrence Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Shooting at Officer

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 36-year-old Lawrence man who shot at a police officer has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. Abdul Jalil Hussein was sentenced Monday after he shot at an officer in June 2018 at his home in northwest Lawrence. Several cases against him were resolved when he pleaded no contest to attempted murder and aggravated burglary. Hussein was accused of exchanging gunfire with the officer outside his home. Neither man was injured. He also had been charged after an hours-long police standoff in December 2017 and violent incidents at his mother's home. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Hussein’s mother, Grace Torko, said Monday the family tried unsuccessfully to get help for him from mental health groups and the police in the months before the shooting.

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Police Are Searching for Evidence in 20-Year-Old Cold Case

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have used ground-penetrating radar to search for evidence in a 20-year-old missing person case. Kansas City, Kansas, police said in a news release that officers searched Monday on an empty lot and found an anomaly in an area that once contained a home where Star Boomer stayed off and on with her boyfriend. The release says the images don’t show exactly what is under the soil, but that the investigation will continue as police work to “bring an end to this cold case and hopefully some closure to the family. Boomer was last seen in February 1999 at a bar in the area. The Kansas City Star reports that two Kansas City, Kansas, men were charged in her disappearance in October 1999. The case was dismissed after witnesses refused to testify. Detectives reopened the cold case in 2017.

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Man Jailed in Suspected Drug-Related Wichita Shooting

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a suspect has been arrested in a suspected drug-related shooting that left one man dead and another wounded in Wichita. The Wichita Eagle reports that 20-year-old Carver Khalid Soliman is jailed in Sedgwick County on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. Wichita police say 24-year-old John Buess-Wheeler, of Augusta, was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest when officers were dispatched early Saturday to the shooting at a home in the southern part of the city. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. The second shooting victim drove himself to a hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators determined there was a fight among the three men, and the suspected killer shot his gun during the fight, hitting the other two people.

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Settlement Clears Way for Return of Man Banished from Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A deal has been struck that clears the way for the return to Kansas of a man who had been banished from the state as a condition of a criminal plea deal. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas said Monday it has reached an agreement with Montgomery County that dismisses the lawsuit it brought on behalf of Bo Dana Rupert in exchange for an amended plea agreement.

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Man Dies from Injuries After Fire at Topeka Nursing Facility

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Fire officials say a 64-year-old man injured in a fire at a Topeka nursing facility has died. Topeka Fire Marshal Mike Martin said Alvie McCluskey was injured in the fire at Rose Villa on Saturday. His death was announced Monday. Martin said in a news release that fire crews arriving at the building found smoke in the hallways. Nursing staff led firefighters to McCluskey, who was taken to a Topeka hospital. The blaze was contained to the room where it started and was out when firefighters arrived. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports a preliminary investigation indicated the fire was accidental and likely caused by careless use of smoking materials. The building was not damaged. Martin said smoke detectors in the building worked as designed.

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Kansas City Police Say Detective Fatally Shot Man, Gun Found

Kansas City police say a detective shot and killed a person at a home on the city’s east side. Spokesman Tim Hernandez said Tuesday’s confrontation began after officers were investigating a disturbance between two vehicles. When a police helicopter tracked one of the vehicles to a home, a detective approached a man sitting inside a vehicle and eventually shot him.

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Survey Suggests Economy Slowing Down in Nine Midwest States

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of business leaders suggests the economy is slowing down in nine Midwest and Plains states as the U.S. trade war with China continues. The overall index for the region slipped into negative territory at 48.6 in November from October’s 52.6. The Kansas Business Conditions Index for November decreased to 51.0 from October’s 54.6. conduct the monthly survey. Economist Ernie Goss of Creighton University oversees the monthly survey. He says Aerospace product and parts manufacturers are adding jobs at a solid pace, while food producers are experiencing flat job levels. The overall index declined below growth neutral for the third time in the past four months to its lowest level in three years. The index surveys business supply managers in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma. Survey results for December will be released on the first business day, January 2.

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Ex-Garden Plain Water Operator Sentenced for False Report

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ The former operator of the water system in Garden Plain was sentenced to a year of federal probation for submitting a false report about the quality of the city's drinking water. Federal prosecutors say 64-year-old Arthur Wolfe, of Norwich also was ordered Monday to pay a $1,000 fine. Wolfe pleaded guilty in September to making a false statement in a report to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that was required by the Environmental Protection Agency. The original indictment accused Wolfe of claiming water samples came from four homes in Garden Plain, when the samples actually came from the city's water treatment plant. Garden Plain, a town of about 900 residents, is about 29 miles west of Wichita. 

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Bystander Wounded in Club Shooting Dies of Injuries

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a bystander who was wounded in a shooting at a Wichita club has died. KWCH-TV reports that police identified the victim Monday as 19-year-old Sonja Brown, of Wichita. She was in the club early Sunday when two men got into a fight. One of the men then opened fire, scrambling the crowd. Captain Brent Allred says Brown was among those running for cover when she was struck.

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School Bus Crash Injures Student, Vehicle Driver

RIVERTON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating after a southeast Kansas school bus was hit from behind while it was stopped on a highway picking up a student. Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves said the Riverton school bus carrying 13 students was hit Tuesday morning on U.S. 166 about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) east of Baxter Springs. The patrol says a 13-year-old male student on the bus and the driver of the vehicle were taken to Mercy Hospital in Joplin. Riverton superintendent Todd Berry told The Joplin Globe the student was later released from the hospital. The driver’s condition was not available. The patrol said the bus and the vehicle both were severely damaged.

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Woman Arrested in Death of Her Husband in Salina

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a woman in the killing of her husband in Salina. Sixty-year-old Melani Grubbs was booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the death of her husband, 52-year-old Phillip Grubbs Jr. Police say emergency crews found him dead Saturday while responding to an emergency call.

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Fetus Found in Wichita Died of Stillbirth/Miscarriage

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Wichita police say a human fetus found near a river in Wichita in November died from stillbirth or miscarriage. The Wichita Eagle reports an autopsy report filed last month in Sedgwick County District Court found the fetus, which was estimated to be about three months gestation, was not capable of living or developing outside the womb. The report said the fetus showed no evidence of genetic malformation or disease. A 57-year-old woman found the fetus November 3 by the Arkansas River in south Wichita. It was wrapped in a baby blanket in a black shoe box. When the fetus was fund, authorities said they did not believe a crime had occurred. Officer Charley Davidson said Monday authorities were able to talk to everyone involved in the case.

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Woman Dies in Wichita Fire After Being Trapped Upstairs

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Wichita woman died in a house fire after she became trapped on the home's second floor. Fire Marshal Stuart Bevis said the woman's husband discovered the fire when he came home Monday but was unable to make it up the stairs. Firefighters got the woman out of the house but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Bevis said the woman had mobility issues and wasn't able to leave the house on her own.

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Man Pleads Guilty to IIlegal Possession of Firearms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A 28-year-old Missouri man who illegally bought 15 firearms after denying he used drugs pleaded guilty to two federal charges. Jay Miller, of Lee's Summit, pleaded guilty Monday to illegally possessing firearms and to making a false statement on a federal form in order to buy the weapons. Federal prosecutors say Miller used heroin and other controlled substances, which made it illegal for him to own firearms. He also lied about his drug use on a federal from in order to buy a firearm.

 

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Louisville Is New No. 1 in AP Poll; KU at No.2, Unranked Michigan Goes to No. 4

Louisville climbs to No. 1 in the latest reshuffling of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, while Michigan has matched a record by going from unranked to No. 4. The Cardinals became the fourth No. 1 in five weeks this season following Duke’s home loss to Stephen F. Austin. KU is ranked No. 2, followed by Maryland, Michigan and Virginia. The Wolverines matched KU's feat in 1989 for the biggest jump from being unranked in the history of the poll that dates to 1949.

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KPR's daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day.  KPR's weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.

 

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