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The Kansas Jayhawks rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to win the NCAA National Championship with a 72-69 victory over the North Carolina Tar Hells.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's top budget adviser says the administration has identified $101 million in savings to help the state reduce a $238 million budget shortfall predicted for July 2016. Budget Director Shawn Sullivan says the savings are in addition to efforts by seven major state agencies to review programs to find efficiencies. Sullivan discussed the initiatives amid a debate over income tax cuts enacted at Brownback's urging. The Republican is seeking re-election and Democratic challenger Paul Davis argues the tax cuts are wrecking the state's finances. Sullivan says the state is standardizing computer systems and lowering prescription drug costs in various programs. The state also has lower-than-expected costs in the state employee health plan, is refinancing Statehouse renovation bonds and is working with federal officials to collect debts.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former top aide to Governor Sam Brownback is among three finalists for a vacant seat on the Kansas Supreme Court. A special nominating commission on Tuesday chose Court of Appeals Judges Caleb Stegall and Karen Arnold-Burger and state District Judge Merlin Wheeler from 13 applicants for the high court. Brownback has 60 days to appoint one of them to replace Justice Nancy Moritz, who left to join the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Stegall was Brownback's chief counsel until the governor appointed him to the state Court of Appeals in January 2014. Arnold-Burger has served on that court since 2011. Wheeler is chief judge of the 5th Judicial Circuit, made up of Lyon and Chase counties.

Topeka, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Court of Appeals has ruled that the state's top water regulator doesn't have power to reduce a landowner's water rights once a permit has been issued. This month's decision could limit the state's ability to conserve water resources in the dwindling Ogallala Aquifer. The appeals court also found the chief engineer of the Division of Water Resources may require farm irrigators to install costly metering equipment on their wells to ensure compliance with their permits. The case involved one of the largest family-owned farming corporations in the state, Clawson Land Partnership. Together with a closely affiliated group, Clawson Farm Partnership, the group operates in several counties in western Kansas and the panhandle areas of Oklahoma and Texas. ###

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A consumer advocacy agency's top attorney says he'll petition the Kansas Corporation Commission to rethink new policies that would let it continue holding some discussions in private. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that David Springe of the Citizens' Utility Ratepayers Board says the new KCC policies wouldn't comply with the Kansas Open Meetings Act. CURB is a state agency that represents small businesses and residential customers before the KCC, which regulates utilities. KCC officials declined to respond to Springe's criticism. Springe objects to the new policies because the commission still could have private discussions, although any official action would have to take place in public. The commission rewrote its policies after scrutiny of a practice in which members meet individually to approve rate increases without holding a public hearing.

Olney, England has come out on top in the 64th annual International Pancake Race showdown with Liberal, Kansas. Larry Phillips of the Leader & Times online reports that Caitlin Demarest, age 27, won the Liberal portion of the contest with a time of 64.3 seconds. But Olney's Devon Byrne won the competition, turning in a world-record time of 56.0 seconds for the English. The annual competition between the women of Liberal and Olney for pancake racing supremacy began in 1950. The event celebrates the Christian tradition of Shrove Tuesday, when pancakes were traditionally made to use up pantry items that were forbidden to be consumed during the season of Lent. The won-loss record now stands at 36 wins for Liberal, and 27 wins for Olney.

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Baker University has named a top administrator from Gallaudet University as its next president. The private university in northeast Kansas announced the appointment of Lynne Murray on Thursday. She will succeed Pat Long, who's retiring next year. Murray is currently Gallaudet's vice president of development and alumni and international relations. The Washington, D.C., school is the nation's leading university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Murray was among 71 applicants who visited the Baldwin City campus last month. Presidential search committee chairman Hoot Gibson said Murray stood out for her success in fundraising and university advancement at Gallaudet and Georgetown University, where she also worked. The Maryland native holds a master's degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in special education administration from Gallaudet.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says Budget Director Steve Anderson is resigning at the end of this month to return to private life. Brownback announced Friday that Anderson's resignation is effective August 31. Anderson has been a top adviser to Brownback since December 2010, a month before the Republican governor took office. Anderson is a certified public accountant who was a consultant for the anti-tax, small-government group Americans for Prosperity before joining Brownback's administration. Anderson said in a statement that his family has supported him, but it's time to be with them. Brownback said Anderson's work helped make Kansas competitive in a global economy. But earlier this year, Anderson apologized after supplying Brownback with an incorrect figure that led the governor to make erroneous claims about state spending.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The top election official in Kansas says voters who registered using a federal form without providing proof of citizenship will be given provisional ballots when they vote in the August 5 primary elections. Secretary of State Kris Kobach told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while the provisional ballots will show all primary races, only votes cast for federal offices will be counted. Kobach says fewer than 100 Kansas voters who used the federal form to register to vote will be affected. A federal appeals court will hear arguments August 25 in a lawsuit attempting to force the federal government to help Kansas and Arizona enforce proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. That hearing will take place after the Kansas primaries. About 18,600 Kansans have their registrations suspended pending documentation of citizenship.

President Bush says it is "vital" that Congress quickly confirm the changes he has made to his national security team. With new commanders and new policies in the works for Iraq, the White House seems to be clearing the decks at home as well, with a number of top-level personnel changes.