Vatican Defrocks Former Cardinal McCarrick over Sex Abuse
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has defrocked former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after Vatican officials found him guilty of soliciting for sex while hearing confession and of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Holy See said Saturday. 88-year-old McCarrick is the highest-ranking Catholic churchman to be laicized, as the process is called. It means he can no longer celebrate Mass or other sacraments, wear clerical vestments or be addressed by any religious title. He is the first churchman who reached the rank of cardinal to be defrocked in the church's sex abuse scandals. McCarrick's civil lawyer, Barry Coburn, told The Associated Press that for the time being his client had no comment on the defrocking. McCarrick lives at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, next to the Basicila of St. Fidelis, known as the "Cathedral of the Plains." where he had moved when Francis ordered him to live in penance and prayer while the investigation continued.
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Treacherous Driving in Kansas, Missouri; Another Winter Blast on its Way
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas and Missouri are digging out from a winter blast, and the National Weather Service is predicting more winter weather for today. Friday's storm caused treacherous driving conditions and prompting schools to cancel classes. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Friday afternoon that sections of Interstate 70 across Missouri closed because of traffic accidents, including a fatal accident involving more than 40 cars about 27 miles east of Kansas City. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued another Winter Weather Advisory for this afternoon and overnight, affecting the eastern half of Kansas and almost the entire state of Missouri.
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Governor says Kansas was 'Hoodwinked' on New State Prison
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says Kansas was "hoodwinked" into hiring a private company to build a new prison based on a promise that the new lockup would require less staff. Kelly's comment during an Associated Press interview Friday comes as her corrections secretary questions whether the savings will materialize because of what he sees as a less-than-ideal prison design. Savings are supposed to pay for building a new prison in Lansing to replace the existing one. Former Republican Governor Sam Brownback pushed the project as a way to replace the deteriorating prison at no additional net cost to the state. His administration assured lawmakers that the new prison could run safety with 45 percent fewer employees. Kelly says: "We were just, you know, hoodwinked, I think."
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KC Newspaper calls Kansas Senate Leader's Lawsuit 'Meritless'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City Star is asking a Kansas judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against the newspaper by state Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning. The Star's attorney said in a filing Friday in Johnson County District Court that the lawsuit over a column about Denning last month is a "meritless hand grenade." The paper says Denning and his lawyer filed it to advance the lawyer's bid to become Kansas Republican Party chairman. Denning called those allegations "absurd." Denning's lawsuit alleges that the newspaper and freelance columnist Steve Rose defamed him by falsely attributing multiple statements to him about Medicaid expansion. The Star said Rose told an editor Denning made the statements last year. Rose resigned as a columnist. The Star argues that it acted responsibly in handling his column.
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Kansas Parents File Lawsuit in Fatal Boat Crash
CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) — The parents of two suburban Kansas City victims of a Lake of the Ozarks boat crash have filed a lawsuit. The Kansas City Star reports that the suit was filed in Camden County, Missouri, Circuit Court on behalf of the families of 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, of Overland Park, Kansas, and 21-year-old Hailey Hochandel, of Olathe, Kansas. They were killed in May along with 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, who was driving the boat when it slammed into a rock bluff in the dark. Two others were injured, including the boat's owner, 22-year-old Hayden Frazier. The suit alleges that Lewis was intoxicated and operated the craft in a negligent and careless manner. It says Frazier was negligent in allowing him to do so. The suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
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Kansas Jail Search Spurred by Gang-related Inmate Fights
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say more than five inmate fights that all occurred within a week at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility prompted jail officials to move up the timing of a large-scale search that confiscated contraband, including inmate-made weapons. Jail spokesman Jordan Bell said Friday the fights were all gang-related and none of the inmates suffered serious injuries. The fights broke out among two or three inmates and involved "homemade stabbing devices." Several inmates were treated for injuries at the facility's clinic. No staff members were hurt. The facility temporarily halted visitation privileges the weekend of Feb. 2-3 and restricted movement of inmates because of the fights. Tuesday's search involved more than 1,000 inmates in the jail's central unit yielded 46 weapons, 10 cell phones, eight phone chargers, illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia.
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Payless ShoeSource to Shutter Remaining U.S. Stores
NEW YORK (AP) — Paylesss ShoeSource is shuttering all of its 2,100 remaining stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, joining a list of iconic names like Toys R Us and Bon-Ton that have been shuttered in the last year. The Topeka, Kansas-based chain said Friday it will hold liquidation sales starting Sunday and wind down its e-commerce operations. All stores will remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May. The debt-burdened chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017, closing hundreds of stores as part of its reorganization. At the time, it had over 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries. It emerged from restructuring four months later with about 3,500 stores and eliminated more than $435 million in debt.
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Man Sentenced in 2015 Topeka Murder
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for a fatal shooting in 2015. Fernando Diaz was sentenced Friday for involuntary manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Christopher Galvan. Topeka police responding to a call of a vehicle crash in east Topeka found Galvan inside a car suffering from a gunshot wound. He died three days later. Diaz fled to Mexico, where he was arrested in September 2018. He originally was charged with second-degree murder. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Diaz was sentenced to about 10½ years. That will be served consecutively with a 2014 case in which Diaz pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and interference with a law enforcement officer.
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House Rejects Governor Kelly's Pension Refinancing Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has rejected a measure that would extend out the time it would take to fully fund the state's obligations to current and future retirees. The Wichita Eagle reports that the House voted down the pension refinancing measure 36-87 on Thursday. Governor Laura Kelly put forward the plan as part of her state budget proposal. Kelly contends that the current contribution levels aren't affordable. Pension officials said the refinancing plan would save the state $770 million over the next five years. But over 30 years, Kansas would ultimately have to contribute $7.4 billion more than currently projected. The plan faced widespread opposition among Republican lawmakers, who viewed it as Kelly's way of freeing up funds for additional spending on public schools and government programs.
