Authorities: Missing Overland Park Woman's Body Found in SUV, Inside Shipping Container
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) — Authorities in Arkansas say a woman's body was discovered inside a vehicle belonging to an Overland Park woman who was reported missing earlier this month. The Crittenden County Sheriff's Office says no foul play is suspected. Authorities say the body has not yet been positively identified but investigators believe it is Marilane Carter. The vehicle, with Carter's purse and credit cards inside, was found Tuesday inside a shipping container, in a field, in West Memphis, Arkansas, just across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. Family members say Carter had been experiencing mental health issues.
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Two New COVID-19 Outbreaks Identified in Riley County
MANHATTAN, Kan. (The Manhattan Mercury) — There are two new coronavirus outbreaks in Riley County. Officials with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Riley County Health Department confirmed that they have identified outbreaks with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Kansas State University and the Blue Valley USD 384 District Office in Randolph. Officials said 13 fraternity members have tested positive at Phi Delta Theta. Seven people — staff members and school board members — have tested positive at the small Blue Valley school district. RCHD made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. The announcement concerning the fraternity comes after K-State began the fall semester Monday. USD 384 Superintendent John Cox told The Manhattan Mercury that the school district is still preparing to start classes next week, but the situation will be reassessed closer to the scheduled first day of school, August 26.
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Colleges Grapple with Coronavirus as Students Return to Class
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The University of Notre Dame and Michigan State universities have become the latest colleges to move classes online because of the coronavirus. Officials at both schools announced the switch on Tuesday. As COVID-19 makes its mark on colleges across the U.S., many are reconsidering plans to hold in-person classes or implementing new testing regimes. Others are threatening crackdowns on students who ignore social distancing rules. Over the past few days, college students at Notre Dame and at schools in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Vermont, North Carolina and Tennessee have tested positive.
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Coronavirus Cases Continue Steady Climb in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) _ Kansas is reporting another increase in COVID-19 cases. The state Department of Health and Environment reports 35,890 cases, including 411 deaths, since the pandemic began. The largest number of cases are currently being reported in Johnson and Sedgwick Counties. Today's (WED) numbers come a few days after KDHE reported Kansas's biggest seven-day increase in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. An updated list of cases and summary of case statistics will be released online Friday.
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- Updated Regularly: What Kansans Need to Know About the Coronavirus
(–Related–)
Pandemic Death Toll Rises with 6 New Deaths in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas death toll from the coronavirus pandemic rose to 411 as public health officials reported six more deaths. The state Department of Health and Environment also reported Wednesday on its website that Kansas had another 723 confirmed and probable cases since Monday, an increase of 2%, for a total of 35,890. The actual number of cases is thought to be far higher because people can be infected without feeling ill and because of a lack of testing, particularly early in the pandemic. Kansas has had 441 coronavirus clusters since the pandemic began, with 209 deaths at long-term care facilities.
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Kansas State Limits Stadium Capacity at 25% for Football Games
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fans can attend Kansas State University football games this fall, but no tailgating will be allowed. This week, the Riley County Commission approved the university's plan to open the Bill Snyder Family Stadium at about 25% capacity. Face coverings will be required upon entering the stadium and while inside when 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained. K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor says they are implementing several new policies that will be strictly enforced.
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Trump Lashes Out at Goodyear About Its Policy on MAGA Wear
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is urging people not to buy tires from Goodyear. He claims that the Ohio-based manufacturer has banned MAGA hats. His tweet immediately sent the company’s stock downward on Wednesday. The President's tweet came after some conservative media outlets had called attention to a WIBW report on the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's policy concerning political expressions in the workplace. The stock had lost about 3.8% percent of its value in mid-day trading. Goodyear responded to Trump with a tweet of its own, saying that the company was the focus of a conversation that “created some misconceptions about our policies and our company." Goodyear says it simply asks its workers to “refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues.”
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Kansas City Man Charged in Sunday Shooting Death of Wife
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. The Kansas City Star reports that the shooting happened Sunday, when 63-year-old Larnell McDonald called 911 and said he needed police. Arriving officers found 44-year-old Kimah McDonald in a bedroom in the home, dead from a gunshot wound. Police say Larnell McDonald told officers he was holding a gun while he and his estranged wife were arguing and that it accidentally fired. Prosecutors charged him Monday with murder and armed criminal action. He's being held on $150,000 bond.
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Man Charged in July Shooting Death of Kansas City Woman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a Grandview man with murder and other counts in the July death of a woman he's accused of beating and pistol whipping before chasing her down and shooting her to death. The Kansas City Star reports that 22-year-old Michael Skinner has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the July 24 killing of 21-year-old Chieyenne Wallis outside the Cloverleaf Apartments in Kansas City. Witnesses told detectives that Skinner and Wallis had been arguing when Skinner pulled handguns, said he was going to kill Wallis and punched and pistol-whipped her inside an apartment unit. Police say when she ran from the complex, Skinner chased her and shot her several times.
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Douglas County DA: Officers Won't Face Charges in Fatal Shooting of Murder Suspect in Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (Lawrence Journal-World) - The Douglas County district attorney will not file charges against officers involved in a fatal shooting of a suspect on June 15. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the shooting, which involved officers from the Kansas Highway Patrol and the University of Kansas Police Department, killed 31-year-old Nicholas Hirsh, of Omaha, Nebraska. There was “ample evidence” to indicate that deadly force was necessary to protect the public and the officers from death or great bodily harm, according to a news release from the DA’s office. Hirsh was a suspect in two homicides in Nebraska. The shooting was investigated by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, the Journal-World has reported.
(–Additional Reporting–)
Officers Justified in Fatal Shooting of Homicide Suspect
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor has ruled that law enforcement officers were justified in fatally shooting a man linked to two Nebraska killings. Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announced his findings Tuesday after reviewing the deadly June 15 shooting of 31-year-old Nicholas Hirsh. Authorities have said they believed Hirsh had been in Kansas since June 12 when a car was stolen from Clay Center. The Marshals Service was helping to look for the vehicle when the Kansas Highway Patrol spotted it near Perry Lake in northeast Kansas. Troopers pursued the vehicle into Lawrence, where gunfire was exchanged, and Hirsh was killed.
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Investigators Search for Oklahoma Girls Missing Since 1999
PICHER, Okla. (AP) — Investigators are searching a site in the former northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher for the remains of two girls who disappeared in 1999. Searchers have begun excavating a vacant lot for the remains of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, who haven't been seen since December 30, 1999, after Freeman's parents were found murdered in their burned mobile home in Welch. The location, in what is today a ghost town, was provided by Ronnie Busick of Wichita, who pleaded guilty in July to accessory to murder charges in the case as part of a deal that requires him to provide information leading to the recovery of the remains of the girls, who were both 16 when they vanished.
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Wichita Police Arrest Suspect Following Fight that Led to Fatal Shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police have announced an arrest in the death of a man investigators say was shot to death in southeast Wichita during an argument. Police say 25-year-old Donovan Harrington, of Wichita, was arrested Tuesday for the Monday morning shooting death of 27-year-old Miguel Tapia. Police found Tapia found lying outside a vehicle with gunshot wounds. He later died at a hospital. Investigators believe Harrington, Tapia and two women were inside the vehicle when Tapia and Harrington began arguing. Police say Harrington pulled a gun and shot Tapia, then he and the women fled on foot and flagged down another vehicle to get a ride from the area.
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UPDATE: 'Satanist' Ex-Soldier Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Bomb Plot
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former U.S. soldier described by prosecutors as a Satanist has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for distributing information through social media about building a bomb and making napalm. Twenty-four-year-old Jarrett William Smith also has been linked to a neo-Nazi group by the Anti-Defamation League. A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a request from Smith's attorney for a lenient sentence of 15 months. Smith pleaded guilty in February to two felony charges of distributing explosives information. Prosecutors have said Smith distributed the information “for the glory of his Satanist religion" and had a plan to overthrow the U.S. government.
(–Earlier Reporting–)
Prosecutors Seek Prison for Ex-Soldier They Describe as a Satanist
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say that a former U.S. Army soldier they have described as a Satanist, who hoped to overthrow the U.S. government, should spend around three years in prison for providing viable instructions for building bombs to people who wanted to commit violence. Jarrett William Smith was a private first class stationed at Fort Riley. The 24-year-old will be sentenced today (WED) after admitting earlier this year that he provided information about explosives to an undercover FBI agent. Prosecutors are opposing the more lenient sentence of 15 months sought by the defense.
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Write-In Campaign Launched Against Kansas Democrat Who Engaged in Blackmail, Revenge Porn
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A veteran Kansas House member has launched a write-in campaign after a narrow primary loss to a 19-year-old candidate who has been disowned by many Democrats over his incendiary and abusive social media posts. State Representative Stan Frownfelter lost to Aaron Coleman by 14 votes in their Kansas City, Kansas, district. Coleman initially led by just five votes. But when provisional ballots were counted Monday, the teenager picked up 16 more. Frownfelter picked up seven, making the final vote count 823-809. Coleman, who currently works as a dishwasher, admits to making incendiary comments on social media. He also acknowledges engaging in abusive behavior online toward girls while he was in middle school. He has apologized for the comments and said his past actions were those of "a sick and troubled" 14-year-old.
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Chicago Adds Kansas to Quarantine List; City's Navy Pier to Close Again
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago's Navy Pier is closing again until next spring because attendance has been so low during the coronavirus pandemic. The tourist spot began reopening June 10, but officials say they're only seeing about 15% to 20% of the usual crowds during what's generally the busiest time of year. Pier president and CEO Marilynn Gardner says the closures will help limit losses. Also Tuesday, Chicago officials added Iowa and Kansas to its list quarantine list and removed Wisconsin and Nebraska. People from those states who travel to the city are expected to quarantine for two weeks or face possible fines.
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Can You Spare a Dime? Coin Shortage Hits Retailers, Laundromats, Tooth Fairy
UNDATED (AP) - A convenience store chain is offering a free beverage or sandwich in exchange for them. A laundromat owner drove 4 hours to get $8,000 worth. A young girl in Illinois wrote the tooth fairy saying she'll gladly take dollars as a substitute if it helps. There is a shortage of coins across the U.S., yet another odd side effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Coins aren't circulating as freely as they usually do because many businesses have been closed and people aren't out spending as much. The U.S. Mint and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin have urged Americans to use coins or turn them in to banks.
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Reds-Royals Tuesday Game Postponed; Harvey to Pitch for Royals in Wednesday's Doubleheader
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals were supposed to begin a two-game series in Kansas City Tuesday night, but Major League Baseball decided to postpone the game to give Cincinnati more time for testing. Now, the clubs will play a doubleheader today (WED) with the first seven-inning game taking place at 4:05 p.m. The second game will be played about 30 minutes after the first game is completed. Matt Harvey will start Game 2 for the Royals in his return to the mound after more than a year. He once pitched for the Mets against Kansas City in the 2015 World Series, but has struggled to regain his former All-Star form.
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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 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.