BREAKING: Senate Leader, GOP Presidential Candidate, Kansan Bob Dole Dies at 98
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Elizabeth Dole has tweeted that her husband, Republican political icon Bob Dole, has died at age 98. Dole overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans. Dole announced in February 2021 that he'd been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. During his 36-year career on Capitol Hill, Dole became one of the most influential legislators and party leaders in the Senate, combining a talent for compromise with a caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn't hesitate to turn on others, too. Tributes and reactions to Dole's passing have been pouring in from both sides of the political aisle. ( Read more.)
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President Biden to Visit Kansas City Next Week
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit Kansas City Wednesday to promote the recently passed infrastructure law. The White House on Saturday did not announce the exact location of Biden's visit. It is his first time in Kansas City as president but he visited the area in March 2020 as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill on November 15th. It contains money for roads, bridges, broadband, water systems and a shift to electrical vehicles.
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Kansas City Jewish Center Vandalized
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police are investigating vandalism at a Jewish community and education center. Rabbi Yitzchak Itkin says the vandals threw papers and books around, ripped out wires and caused water damage throughout the center on the city's Country Club Plaza. Police responded to the center early Tuesday morning after a report of someone hearing glass break and a black SUV driving off from the Chabad. Officers later saw a vehicle matching the description but were unable to stop it after the driver sped away. Itkin says the organization is conducting a fundraising campaign to repair the damage, and is seeking a temporary home for its activities.
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Sheriff Identifies Girl, Suspect Killed in KCK Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Wyandotte County authorities have identified the suspect in two shootings that left a child dead and two other people injured before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The sheriff's office said 38-year-old Keith Johnson Jr. is believed to have shot his girlfriend at Welborn Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on Wednesday. He then went to his home and barricaded himself inside. When officers eventually entered the home, they found Johnson and 7-year-old Cariya Reed dead from gunshot wounds. A 3-year-old boy was also shot. The boy and Johnson's girlfriend remain hospitalized in critical condition.
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Man Shot, Wounded by Officer in Southern Kansas
HARPER, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a police officer in Harper shot and wounded a man during a struggle at an apartment complex. The KBI says the man underwent surgery and was in good condition after the shooting Friday afternoon. A Harper officer responded after police received a report of a man damaging property at an apartment complex. The KBI says the man, 61-year-old Kenneth Smith, was shot once in the arm when he walked toward the officer with a knife after a struggle. No officers were injured. Harper is about 50 miles southwest of Wichita.
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Police Identify Pedestrian Killed at KCK Walmart
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a man killed when a vehicle hit two pedestrians and then a Walmart in Kansas City, Kansas. 82-year-old Lawrence Walford of Kansas City, Kansas, died when he was struck by the vehicle Thursday outside a Walmart in the Legends Outlet shopping area. Police spokeswoman Nancy Chartrand says another pedestrian who was hit has been released from the hospital. The 56-year-old driver remains hospitalized in critical condition. The cause of the crash remains under investigation but Chartrand said there is no indication it was intentional and the driver might have suffered a medical emergency before the collision.
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Silver Lake Man Acquitted in Granddaughter's Carbon Monoxide Death
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been acquitted on all charges related to the death of his 4-year-old granddaughter from carbon monoxide poisoning. A Shawnee County jury on Friday acquitted 58-year-old Timothy Wayne Funk Sr. of three charges, including first-degree murder. He was charged after his granddaughter, Brandy Funk, of Beatrice, Nebraska, died in July 2019 at her grandfather's home in Silver Lake. Court records show Timothy Funk acknowledged he left a generator running in the house’s garage with its door shut while he was watching the girl and another granddaughter, who survived. He said he didn't intend to leave the door closed for as long as he did.
