KCK Police: 2 Killed in Fatal Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after two people were killed in a Kansas City, Kansas, shooting. Police said in a news release that officers responded to the scene around 10 pm Monday and found the victims dead in a parking lot. Police didn't immediately release the names of the victims or any suspect information.
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Topeka Police: 18-Year-Old Arrested in Deadly Shooting
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old in a deadly Topeka shooting. Topeka police said in a news release that Dmario Valdivia was taken into custody around 2 pm Monday and later booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in the death of 19-year-old Ja'Sean Alston. No formal charges have been filed, and it wasn't immediately clear if Valdivia had an attorney. Police say Alston was found suffering from life-threatening injuries in a car around 1:30 am Friday. He then was taken to a hospital, where he died. Police haven't release a motive for the shooting.
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U.S. Supreme Court Approves State Charges for Immigrants Who Use Fake IDs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is making it easier for states to prosecute immigrants who use fake Social Security numbers to get a job. The issue for the court was whether states could pursue the immigrants in court or had to leave those choices to the federal government, which typically has authority over immigration. The court ruled 5-4 Tuesday, with conservatives in the majority, that nothing in federal immigration law prevents states from going after immigrants who use phony identification. It reversed a ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that the federal government has exclusive authority to determine whether an immigrant may work in the United States.
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Kansas Legislature Considers Bill to Restrict Transmission Lines
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Legislature is considering a proposal that would require utilities to undergo a rigorous permitting process before they install transmission lines in urban areas, including allowing communities to comment on the plans. In 2018, Evergy replaced older, wooden poles with metal poles that were taller and wider in some Wichita neighborhoods. The project occurred with little public notice in predominantly low-income and black communities, and prompted a wealth of complaints. The bill requires utilities to undergo a permitting process for transmission lines in urban areas that includes a public hearing. The House approved the legislation last week and it now goes to the Senate.
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University of Kansas Settles Age Discrimination Suit
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCUR-FM) — The University of Kansas has settled an age discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of a former employee who said he was ousted in retaliation for raising the alarm that his department was told to fill job openings with mainly young people. KCUR-FM reports that under a consent decree last week with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the school pledged to not discriminate against employees or applicants based on age and to give the former worker, Jeffrey Thomas, $144,000 in back pay and damages.
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2 More Kansas State Football Players Arrested, Both on Pot Charges
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas State football players are facing marijuana possession charges. Nineteen-year-old safety Wayne Jones and 21-year-old linebacker Daniel Green were arrested Monday night. They both posted $1,000 bond. The arrests come after three other Kansas State players were arrested over the weekend. Freshman running back Jacardia Wright was arrested for an outstanding warrant for failing to show proof of insurance. Linebackers DeMarrquese Hayes and Nick Allen were arrested separately on suspicion of DUI. Kansas State says coach Chris Klieman will handle any internal discipline. Klieman says he is extremely disappointed.
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Missouri Man in Prison for Wife's 1990 Death Seeks Clemency
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 75-year-old Missouri inmate who has insisted for 30 years that he didn't kill his wife is clinging to hope that Governor Mike Parson will grant him clemency. Kathy Middleton died from a gunshot wound in her Blue Springs home on February 20, 1990, and her husband, Ken, was sentenced to life and 200 years for first-degree murder. Middleton's son and investigators who have studied the case contend evidence didn't support Middleton's conviction. They allege corruption and the incompetence of police, defense attorneys and prosecutors landed him in jail. Parson's office refuses to discuss any pending clemency requests.
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Woman Rescued, Man Dies in Attempt to Pull Truck from Brink in Northeast Kansas
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — Officials in northeastern Kansas say an attempt to pull a truck found dangling over a culvert ended with the vehicle flipping over and landing upside down in a full ditch, killing a man inside. KSNT TV reports that the incident happened Friday night on state Highway 116 about four miles east of Holton. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says a passerby who came upon the stranded truck tried to get it back on the road when it flipped over into the ditch. A woman in the truck was pulled to safety, but Morse says the man in the truck could not be saved. His name has not yet been released.
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Victim Killed in Missouri Entertainment District Was 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say the victim killed in a shooting that also wounded four people in a popular Kansas City entertainment district was just 17 years old. Police identified the teen Monday as Devin Harris, and said three men injured in the Westport shooting are in stable condition. Two of them had been in critical condition. A women also sustained non-life threatening injuries around 1:30 a.m. Saturday after shots were fired by occupants of a sport utility vehicle. Twenty-five-year-old Devon Carter is jailed on $150,000 bond on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action in the shooting.
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Police Arrest Man in Deadly Weekend Shooting in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting in a popular Kansas City entertainment district that killed one person and injured four others. Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said 25-year-old Devon L. Carter has been charged with armed criminal action in connection with the shooting that happened around 1:30 am Saturday. Prosecutors said the shooting appeared to be related to an earlier altercation that took place inside a Westport nightclub. Police said a gunman fired shots from a white sport utility vehicle traveling in the Westport district in midtown Kansas City, Missouri.
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Police: Man Shot to Death in Domestic Dispute in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Topeka say a domestic dispute led to the shooting death of a 51-year-old man. Police say the shooting happened shortly before 1 am Saturday. Officers called to the area found a man dead and later identified the victim as Kelly Parker Sr. Police arrested 47-year-old Raishawn Smith-Parker on suspicion of second-degree murder. Police did not release details on what led to the shooting. Parker's death is the city's third homicide this year.
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Report: Coronavirus Outbreak Making Mark on Midwest Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Worries about a new virus that's infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. A new survey report says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the softer reading and the economic harm from the virus should concern policymakers. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below suggests decline. The survey covers Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
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Man Dies in Western Kansas Crash While Escorting WW II Veteran's Body
GOVE COUNTY, Kansas (AP) — A motorcycle rider who was escorting the body of a World War II veteran died after he lost control of his motorcycle in western Kansas, and a second deadly crash happened minutes later when a car crashed into a firetruck responding to the first crash. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the motorcycle crash happened on Interstate 70 in Gove County shortly after 7 pm Saturday. The second crash happened a few minutes later. The motorcycle driver was identified as 65-year-old Lennie Riedel of Colby. The car's driver was 81-year-old Cal Silvrants of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
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Leavenworth Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Death of Infant Son
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 32-year-old Leavenworth woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for the death of her infant son. Catherine Smith was sentenced Friday for involuntary manslaughter and other charges in the November 2018 death of her son at their home. The boy was found unresponsive and died after unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. The Leavenworth Times reports a coroner said the child probably died of hyperthermia, an abnormally high temperature. Law enforcement officer said the boy was found in an upstairs room where the temperature was close to 100 degrees. His temperature at the hospital was 105 degrees.
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Report: Kansas Female Prison Population Outpacing Male Prison Population
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights says the number of women in prison in Kansas is growing far faster than the number of men, outpacing national trends. Kansas News Service reports that from 2000 to 2019, the women's prison population in Kansas rose by 60% while the men's rose by 14%. The report doesn't say why Kansas' female prison population grew so much, but policy changes intended to reduce the number of inmates likely had different effects on men and women. Topeka Correctional Facility Warden Gloria Geither says the prison is trying to manage overcrowding and improve inmates' lives.
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Man Who Died in Kansas City Police Chase Was Murder Suspect
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say a man who died during a police chase last week was a murder suspect. The man, 22-year-old Twashon Wilkins, died Thursday when a vehicle he was driving hit a power pole at a high rate of speed. The car continued through a fence and hit an apartment building. Police said Monday that Wilkins was a suspect in the Feb. 23 death of Antonio Smith in Kansas City. The chase began when police tried to arrest Wilkins on a felony warrant. He rammed a police vehicle and fled the scene. A passenger in his car was seriously injured.
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Wichita Man Sentenced for Embezzling from Retired Widow
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A retired financial adviser who took more than $800,000 from a retired widow has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison. Seventy-three-year-old Walter Hollis, of Wichita, was sentenced Tuesday for one count of felony theft. Prosecutors say he embezzled the money from a 75-year-old widow between 2014 and 2018 after she had been his client for several years. Hollis took the money from two trust funds. He was ordered to pay $822,322 in restitution. The woman testified Tuesday that Hollis destroyed her sense of security and denied her descendants their inheritance. Hollis blamed his crime on a gambling addiction and a difficult upbringing.
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Medical Marijuana Licensing Generates Hundreds of Appeals in Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — More than 800 appeals have been filed by companies that were denied state permits to grow, sell or distribute medical marijuana in Missouri. As part of the process to launch Missouri's new medical marijuana program, the state received 2,266 marijuana business applications filed by at least 700 different groups. It awarded 60 licenses to grow marijuana, 86 to make marijuana-infused products and 192 to open dispensaries. The state's Administrative Hearing Commission had received 845 appeals of those denials by Friday. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has hired three outside lawyers to help the state's legal team review all the appeals.
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KU Unanimous No. 1 in Top 25; Baylor Down 2 Spots to 4th
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas is the unanimous No. 1 in a week of upheaval in the AP Top 25. The Jayhawks received all 64 first-place votes from the media panel in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. Gonzaga was No. 2, with Dayton, Baylor and San Diego State rounding out the top five. The Aztecs, No. 9 Maryland and No. 18 Iowa were the only teams to hold their place after a week in which nine Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents. Dayton has its highest ranking since reaching No. 2 in 1955-56 after stretching its winning streak to 18 games. Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin moved into the poll. West Virginia, Colorado and Texas Tech fell out.
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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.
