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The first three days of the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump went about as well as they could have for Democratic House impeachment managers.

The judge in the Lewis Libby case reluctantly releases recordings of Libby's grand jury testimony. The prosecution says the recordings capture Libby lying under oath about his role in the leak of a CIA agent's identity.

There is no good time for a book as critical of one's own party as Oath and Honor, but it is particularly uncomfortable for the GOP to be taking these punches right now.

Here's a commercial-free summary of area news headlines, as heard on KPR. Enjoy scrolling these news briefs without fear of being interrupted by pop-up ads or embedded videos. These headlines are usually posted by 10 am Monday through Friday.

It's been a confusing and fast-changing couple of months for rules about getting a COVID shot. It should be a little easier now, after a panel of vaccine advisers met last week.

New Kansas Figures Show Bigger Deficit from Tax CutsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — New figures from the Kansas Legislature's staff project that a compromise plan for cutting taxes will leave the state with a budget shortfall exceeding $700 million by mid-2018. The new figures from the Legislative Research Department circulated Wednesday, two days after the same agency projected that the tax plan would create a budget shortfall of $161 million by July 2018. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the projections from a legislative source. Lawmakers in both parties say they need assurances that the tax plan they pass won't create a shortfall. The plan, drafted by House and Senate negotiators, would cut the state's individual income tax rates, exempt 191,000 businesses from income taxes and reduce the sales tax to 5.7 percent in July 2013 from its current 6.3 percent.=================================Kansas Governor's Team Contests Budget Gap ProjectionsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback's administration is disputing new projections from legislative staff showing that proposed tax cuts would create a budget gap of more than $700 million in 2018. Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said Wednesday he's confident an analysis by his office will show no shortfall if lawmakers pass a compromise tax-cut plan. Brownback has endorsed the plan. Jordan and Brownback's budget director said they disagree with the Legislative Research Department's methods for calculating the cumulative effects of tax cuts in future years. The administration expects to have its own projections Thursday. Lawmakers in both parties say they want to ensure that tax cuts don't create future budget problems.=================================Bill Would Allow Smoking in Some Kansas BarsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A House committee has approved a bill that would allow smoking in Kansas bars. The bill approved yesterday (TUE) by the House State and Federal Affairs Committee would allow smoking in any private business that has only patrons and employees who are at least of legal drinking age. Rep. Steve Brunk, a Bel Aire Republican, is chair of the committee. He said it's unlikely the bill will become law this year because it was introduced so late in the legislative session. Brunk, who doesn't smoke, told The Wichita Eagle that he supports the bill. He says it is consistent with state law that allows smoking in state-owned casinos and it protects private property rights. Kansas banned smoking in most private businesses in 2010.==============================Kansas Congressional Map Emerges from CommitteeTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Senate panel has endorsed a new congressional redistricting map that adjusts the lines of the four Kansas U-S House seats.The map was advanced Wednesday and could get a full Senate vote later this week. The proposal shifts the boundaries of the districts to reflect changes in the 2010 census. Among the issues resolved in the map is where to put Riley County and the shape of the 4th District, which centers on Wichita and Sedgwick County. Riley County would remain in the 2nd District. The county is home to Manhattan and Kansas State University. The 4th District shifts east, picking up additional counties in southeastern Kansas but shedding south-central counties that would become part of the 1st District. ================================Kansas House Panel Introduces Rival Senate MapTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ In a rare move, a House committee has introduced a map that redraws Kansas Senate districts. Traditionally, the House and Senate draw redistricting maps only for their own chambers. The House Appropriations Committee introduced the map of Senate districts Wednesday, a day after the Senate approved its own version of the map. House Speaker Mike O'Neal says the map approved by senators has problems and he doesn't think it would get much support in the House. O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, says the House proposal is similar to one drawn by Sen. Steve Abrams that merges two districts in south-central district instead of merging two in western Kansas. That plan was defeated during Tuesday's Senate debate, but the speaker says it may have support in the House.=============================== Government Opposes Ex-KU Consultant Sentence Reduction BidWICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Prosecutors are opposing a request by a former consultant for the University of Kansas to have his sentence shortened for his part in a ticket scalping conspiracy that he helped conceal. Thomas Blubaugh is asking that his 46-month sentence be reduced to 33 months. The government argued in a court filing Wednesday that Blubaugh's request must fall on "disbelieving ears." It urged U.S. District Judge Monti Belot to deny the request because it is without merit. Blubaugh argues the court improperly considered the value of tickets he had hidden in private storage. He also claims he had ineffective counsel and was promised probation. Blubaugh and his wife, Charlette, the university's former ticket director, were among seven people convicted in a scheme that cost the university athletic department $2 million.================================House Panel Advances Proposed KS BudgetTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House panel has finished writing a proposed $14 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts in July. The House Appropriations Committee made its final changes to the plan yesterday (TUE). The measure also contains supplemental funding sought by Governor Sam Brownback for the current budget year, including $24.6 million for public schools. Committee chairman Marc Rhoades said the House will probably debate the bill next week, although the chamber could take it up later this week. The Senate expects to begin debating its version of the budget starting Wednesday.================================Kansas Senate Expected to Vote on Anti-Abortion BillTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents in the Kansas Senate plan to force a vote on a bill giving greater legal protection to health care providers who refuse to participate in terminating pregnancies. Senator Garrett Love, a Montezuma Republican, said he'll ask for a vote Wednesday evening. The House already has approved the bill. Senate passage would send the measure to Republican Governor Sam Brownback, who's likely to sign it. Kansas law already says doctors and hospitals can't be penalized for refusing to participate in abortions or sterilizations. This year's bill would expand that protection to other health care providers, including clinics and pharmacists. It also would cover their refusal to dispense abortion-inducing drugs. Opponents contend the bill would restrict access to birth control as well.================================KS House OKs Plan to Join Arts, Film CommissionsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has sent Governor Sam Brownback a measure establishing a new arts group that merges separate arts and film services. The new Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission approved yesterday (TUE) was sent to the Republican governor, who proposed the idea in January. Senators have already approved the changes. The final version was drafted by House and Senate negotiators. The new commission would have 11 members and be part of the state Department of Commerce. Brownback sought last year to abolish the Arts Commission. He vetoed its entire budget, costing the state $1.2 million in outside arts funds. Restoring some of the state funding for the arts is contained in another bill yet to be debated.===============================State of KS Takes Custody of Ex-Doctor's Discarded Abortion FilesTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has granted a state board temporary custody of a former abortion provider's patient files after hundreds of his records turned up in a recycling bin. The State Board of Healing Arts went to court last week for custody of the discarded documents plus others still in the possession of Krishna Rajanna. Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis granted the board's request Monday. The board revoked Rajanna's medical license in 2005. A woman later found hundreds of his files dumped in a recycling bin near his home in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City. The state board expects to keep the records until it finds a permanent custodian or until they're more than 10 years old and can be destroyed.==============================3 Teens Charged in Break-in and Theft at Cabela'sKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Three teenagers have been charged as juveniles in last week's break-in at a northeast Kansas sporting goods store where guns were stolen. The Wyandotte County prosecutor announced the charges yesterday (TUE). The three males — ages 14, 15 and 17 — were ordered held pending their next court dates later this month. KCTV reports 11 handguns were taken during the April 26 overnight burglary at Cabela's in Kansas City, Kan. Officials say some of the guns have been recovered. Cabela's is located in a retail complex near Kansas Speedway in western Wyandotte County.================================= Kansas Wheat Trek Finds Most Fields Maturing EarlyWICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Participants in the annual Kansas winter wheat tour are finding most fields ripening two to three weeks early throughout the state. But the potentially record-setting yields that participants noted in northern Kansas on the tour's first day are being offset by the drought-stressed wheat they viewed Wednesday in the southwest portion of the state. Aaron Harries, marketing director for the trade group Kansas Wheat, said Wednesday that members are getting a fuller picture of the drought's effects from Garden City to the Great Bend and Hoisington area. Fields in that region are expected to yield 20 to 40 bushels per acre. That comes in sharp contrast to the estimate of 53.6 bushels per acre for fields in northern Kansas. The tour concludes Thursday at the Kansas City Board of Trade, where participants will offer estimates of total Kansas wheat production.============================ 3 Suffer Minor Injuries in Helicopter CrashVALLEY FALLS, Kan. (AP) _ Three people suffered only minor injuries when a helicopter crashed in northeast Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the privately-owned helicopter crashed about 9:45 Wednesday in Valley Falls, about 30 miles northeast of Topeka. The three people on board were taken to a Topeka hospital with minor injuries. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig says the helicopter missed several trees before landing on its side on an old railroad bed that has been converted to a walking trail. No one on the ground was injured. Herrig said the Bell Ranger 206 was owned by Hawkeye Aviation of Ottawa. He says the crew was checking pipelines when the pilot lost rotor speed. Witnesses reported the chopper was spinning before it crashed.==============================Kansas School to Be Featured on Missouri License PlatePITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The fierce face of a Kansas university's animal mascot will soon be appearing on specialty license plates issued by the state of Missouri. Pittsburg State University says about 1,700 Kansas vehicles already carry specialty Kansas plates featuring the red and gold image of the gorilla. The southeastern Kansas school says many of its nearly 10,000 graduates living in Missouri expressed interest in showing their gorilla pride the same way. Johnna Schremmer, director of alumni and constituent relations, announced this week that more than enough applications were submitted for Missouri to begin making the plate. Schremmer expects Missouri's first Pittsburg State plates to be on the road within two to three months.==============================U.S. Claims Father Illegally Moved Kids to GazaWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. authorities have filed criminal charges against a divorced Palestinian father who took his three children from Kansas to live in his native Gaza in an alleged violation of his custody decree. Bethany Gonzales wants her children back in America. The divorced Muslim parents lived in suburban Kansas City until Ahmed Abuhamda took their children to Gaza in February. He was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Kansas with intent to avoid prosecution on three state felony counts charging him with aggravated interference with parental custody. The mother says she signed off on passports so the children could attend a wedding and that the father indicated he would bring them back. The father says she knew he was moving them to Gaza.=============================="Doomsday Prepper" Heads to Prison for Prepping BombsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 65-year-old Army and Marine veteran from southeastern Kansas who was preparing for the end of the world will go to prison for possessing incendiary bombs. The U.S. Attorney's office says Alfred Dutton, of Eureka, has been sentenced to 21 months. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.==============================20 Years Later, New Information Released on I-70 KillingsST. LOUIS (AP) — Twenty years after a series of murders by the so-called "I-70 killer," police in one St. Louis suburb are releasing new information in the cold case. Tomorrow (THUR) marks the 20th anniversary of the death of 24-year-old Nancy Kitzmiller. She was found by customers at Boot Village in St. Charles, where she worked. Kitzmiller was one of six people killed in five Midwestern cities in April and May of 1992. Four of the murders were at small shops along Interstate 70 — two in Missouri, two in Indiana. The other two were at a bridal shop near Interstate 35 in Wichita. St. Charles police say that based on ballistic evidence and witness statements, the gun was .22-caliber, possibly an Intratec Scorpion or an Erma Werke Model ET 22.==============================Play Based on Greensburg Tornado to be PresentedGREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Some Greensburg residents will mark the fifth anniversary of a tornado that nearly wiped out their town with a play based on the experience. The play, called "Rooted: The Greensburg Odyssey," is the creation of author Marcia Cebulska of Topeka. It is sponsored by The Cornerstone Theater Company and the William Inge Center for the Arts in Independence. A cast of 22 will present the play at 7pm Saturday in the fellowship hall of First United Methodist Church in Greensburg. Producer Lois Lessman told The Dodge City Daily Globe that the group wanted to perform the play when Greensburg's Twilight Theater was completed. But the group decided to go ahead with a dramatic reading of the play to mark the anniversary, even though the theater is not ready.==============================Wichita Police to Use Electronic TicketingWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police will be able to write more tickets, more quickly when the department adopts an electronic citation system later this year. KAKE-TV reports that the City Council has approved a contract for the new technology. The program will cost about $500,000, to be covered partly with a grant, but police officials expect it will save the city $1 million over five years. Electronic ticketing spares officers from writing citations by hand. Instead, a driver's license is swiped through a machine that prints out the ticket. Wichita Police Capt. Darrell Atteberry says the department expects to write an additional 1,700 tickets a year, since the e-citations will let officers get back on the road more quickly.==============================New Catholic Salina Diocese Bishop OrdainedSALINA, Kan. (AP) — The Most Rev. Edward J. Weisenburger is serving his first full day as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina. The 51-year-old Weisenburger was ordained yesterday (TUE) as the diocese's 11th bishop. Weisenburger was the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City when he was chosen to become bishop in February. He replaces Paul S. Coakley, who was named archbishop of Oklahoma City in 2010. The Rev. Barry Brinkman, Salina diocese administrator, was interim bishop until a successor was selected. Weisenburger said his only goal as bishop is to encourage those in the diocese that the church has a bright future. The Salina Journal reports that 26 bishops and archbishops and more than 150 priests attended the ceremony.==============================Wichita Lifts Ban on BurningWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita has lifted a burn ban that's been in effect since April. The city said in a news release that residents can conduct outdoor burning within the city limits according to local and state laws. Residents can also use outdoor fire places, cooking grills and similar items. Open burning in certain areas of the state, including Wichita, was restricted during April to address air pollution in the region. The city said ozone is the top air pollutant for Wichita.==============================Fort Leavenworth MPs to Host Safety DayFORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Military police at Fort Leavenworth will let their guard down on Friday to help families focus on summer safety. The 15th Military Police Brigade at the northeast Kansas post is holding "Spring into Summer," a daylong event promoting safety. The event will include displays and presentations on fire, watercraft, hunting, all-terrain vehicles, swimming, motorcycle riding and personal security. There will also be inflatable bounce houses for children and a motorcycle show.===============================Kansas Senate Approves Remap Plan Amid AcrimonyTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a plan for redrawing its 40 districts, but revisions aimed at appeasing conservative Republicans may not be enough to get it through the House. The Senate passed the measure yesterday (TUE) on a vote of 21-19, sending it to the House. Senate Republicans have been bitterly divided over redistricting. Critics argued the Senate map was designed to keep the chamber's moderate GOP leaders in power. But those leaders backed successful amendments placing two conservatives in the districts of moderate Republicans they want to challenge in the party primary. Senate GOP leaders say the changes were part of a deal with House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a conservative Hutchinson Republican, to smooth the plan's path to House passage. O'Neal denied there was an agreement. **this story has been updated. Please see above.

UPDATE: Kansas Governor Mulls Releasing Names of Appeals Court HopefulsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is considering releasing the names of applicants for a new seat on the state Court of Appeals. Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said Tuesday the Republican governor had not made a final decision, however. The governor's office had said previously that it wouldn't release the names. Then, Hawley said Tuesday that Brownback had changed his position because wants the focus to be on appointing a high-quality judge to the state's second highest-court. Later in the day, Hawley revised that statement, saying she had been premature in announcing that the governor had decided to release the names. Brownback had faced criticism for not releasing them. Under a selection process enacted this year, the governor will appoint judges to the court of appeals, subject to state Senate confirmation.===============Judge Won't Seal Documents in Ottawa Quadruple HomicideOTTAWA, Kan. (AP) — Pretrial hearings in the case of a man accused of killing four people on an Ottawa farm are expected to stretch into 2014. A Franklin County judge on Monday set a schedule of pretrial hearings for 27-year-old Kyle Flack of Ottawa that will take more than seven months. Flack is charged with capital murder and several other charges in the deaths of two men, a woman and her 18-month-old daughter in May. During a hearing Monday, Franklin County District Judge Thomas H. Sachse said some documents filed in the case could be open to the public. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the judge also said he will rule later this week on whether prosecutors can order DNA testing that might destroy several potential pieces of evidence in the case.===============UPDATE: KS School Board Seeks $670M Increase TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State Board of Education members are asking state legislators and Gov. Sam Brownback to increase school funding in the next state budget by more than $670 million. The request, approved by a 7-3 vote Tuesday afternoon, asks legislators to boost education spending starting next year by more than 20 percent. The request includes general state aid and money for professional development and school lunch programs during the fiscal year that starts in July 2014. A similar request was made by the state board last year. The board's budget recommendations go the Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature. The board would begin lobbying legislators after they open their next annual session in January. A lawsuit over education funding is pending before the Kansas Supreme Court, with arguments set for October. ===============Kansas Foes of Common Core Standards Focus on TestsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Opponents of multistate reading and math standards adopted for Kansas public schools are pushing the state school board not to join other states to develop annual tests to measure how well students learn. Critics of the Common Core standards urged the board Tuesday to rely on a center for educational testing at the University of Kansas to develop the annual tests. Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker said having the Kansas center develop the tests remains an option, as is joining with one of two coalitions of states. DeBacker said the board isn't likely to make a decision until at least November. The board adopted the Common Core standards in 2010, concluding that they'd improve teaching. Critics worry that Kansas is giving up some control over its schools.===============State of Kansas Considers Tolls for KC-Area HighwaysKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas officials are considering the long-term possibility of adding toll costs to some Kansas highways in the Kansas City area. The Kansas Department of Transportation says tolls may be an option decades from now for commuters on parts of Interstate 35, Kansas 10 and other highways on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Kansas City Star reports that state officials stress that any new tolls would apply to new lanes, not existing ones, so taxpayers won't have to pay double for roads they use. Express lanes for drivers willing to pay more to avoid traffic are seen as a possible way to address hundreds of millions of dollars in highway needs in the Kansas City area, where there can be considerable traffic congestion.===============Utility Crews Find Human Remains in KCKKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Utility crews have found a decomposed body in a vacant lot in northeast Kansas City, Kansas. Police spokesman Tom Tomasic says the remains were found early Tuesday. He says authorities have not been able to identify the victim's gender, age or race because of the advanced state of decomposition. Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the department.=============== K-State Student Gets 30 Years for Arson DeathTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas State University student who set a fire that killed a university researcher has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson sentenced 20-year-old Manhattan resident Patrick Martin Scahill on Monday for starting the February 6 fire at Lee Crest Apartments in Manhattan that killed 34-year-old Vasanta Pallem. Scahill admitted he started the fire as a diversion that would prevent police from finding evidence in his residence of an armed robbery and drugs. Robinson also sentenced 20-year-old Virginia Amanda Griese of Manhattan to 20 years for her role in the fire. In her guilty plea, Griese admitted buying a 5-gallon gas can and filling it with 4.7 gallons of fuel that Scahill dumped in the apartment complex's lower-level hallway and ignited.===============Wichita Police Identify Type of Vehicle Suspected in Fatal CollisionWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police have identified the type of car they suspect was involved in a collision that killed a horseback rider and injured a 6-year-old boy. Police say a silver or gray Mercury Grand Marquis likely struck the horse carrying 49-year-old Lloyd Ferguson and the child Friday night. Ferguson died, and the child has been hospitalized. The horse was reportedly euthanized. Captain Brent Allred told The Wichita Eagle that investigators are using parts of the car knocked off by the collision to identify the vehicle. Two witnesses who tried to help the man and boy also were hospitalized after they were hit by a different car shortly after the first collision. Police said area street lights were knocked out by recent storms and had not yet been repaired by Westar Energy.===============State Librarian Names Notable Kansas Books for 2013TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A biography of President Dwight Eisenhower, a history of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and novels set in the state and elsewhere are among this year's 15 notable Kansas books. State Librarian Jo Budler announced the list Monday. It honors books published last year by a Kansas author or on a Kansas topic. Annual lists began being issued in 2006. This year's list includes "Beyond Cold Blood," a history of the KBI by former Director Larry Welch. Also honored is "Eisenhower in War and Peace," by Jean Edward Smith. The novels include "The Yard," by Alex Grecian, about London's murder squad in the late 19th century, and "The Chaperone," by Laura Moriarty, a story of a young actress and her visit to New York.=============== Wichitan's Nephew Facing Execution in IraqWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man says he's doing all he can to save his nephew from execution in Iraq. Musadik Mahdi, a Wichita aerospace engineer, says he fears his efforts will be in vain because his nephew is being held at a prison where executions happen on a whim. His nephew, Osama Jamal 'Abdallah Mahdi, was sentenced to death after an Iraqi army officer was killed in an explosion. Musadik Mahdi says his nephew confessed to a crime he didn't commit after being tortured. The Wichita Eagle reports that Amnesty International has taken up the Mahdi case after verifying that he had been tortured. And his uncle says he has appealed to the Iraqi president, parliament, prime minister and human rights minister, with little success.=============== KU's Research Funding Sets RecordLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas says its research funding set a record in 2011-12, reaching $275.2 million. It's the fifth straight year the funding increased but university officials say federal budget cuts might halt that trend. University official Steve Warren says the school is likely to set another record for 2012-13. But Warren says mandatory federal budget cuts of about 5 percent that took effect in March is already affecting funding for the university's research. Federal funding accounted for $223.4 million in research money at KU in the 2011-12 year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university's School of Education is already feeling the effects of the federal cuts. The U.S. Department of Education has awarded almost no new research grants this year.===============Wichita Schools Get $3 Million More for RepairsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita school board has approved $3 million more to repair buildings damaged by storms that hit the city May 19. The money approved Monday comes on top of $2 million in funding for repairs the board already approved at its June 10 meeting. School officials say all but about $250,000 should be reimbursed by the district's insurance. District officials say rain, hail and wind damaged more than a dozen school sites, including major damage at Brooks Middle School. The school board also approved $225,000 in funding for repairs at Wilbur Middle School, which was damaged by a storm on June 27.=============== 2 Die in Barton County Oilfield AccidentCLAFLIN, Kan. (AP) — Barton County officials say a man and his son-in-law died in an oilfield-related accident. Sheriff Brian Bellendir says the men died Monday about one mile northeast of Claflin. The victims, 50-year-old Curtis Hoffman and 30-year-old Kebby Myers, apparently died after being overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas. KWCH says that preliminary reports indicate Hoffman was working on a valve and called Myers to bring some parts. Hoffman apparently was overcome by the gas and Myers was also overcome when he arrived with the parts. Family members went to check on the men when they didn't arrive home. Hydrogen sulfide gas is a byproduct of the production of oil and natural gas. A hazardous materials crew was called in to clean up. The accident is under investigation.===============Former UMB Employee Indicted for EmbezzlementKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City woman and several of her friends and family members have been indicted on charges accusing them of stealing more than $650,000. The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said in a release Tuesday that a federal grand jury has indicted 53-year-old Lisa Taylor and 11 of her friends and relatives on charges accusing them of taking part in embezzling more than $650,000 while Taylor worked at UMB Bank from 2006 to 2010. The 12 defendants were charged in a 44-count indictment that was unsealed Monday after several defendants were arrested and made their initial court appearances. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud. Taylor's public defender wasn't available for comment Tuesday.===============Man Riding Bicycle Killed in KCK CollisionKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City, Kansas police say a bicyclist in his 30s has died after colliding with a car at an intersection in the city. Police say the man was riding north around 2 pm Tuesday when he went into the intersection and struck a westbound car. The victim, who is not being identified until family members have been notified, was transported to an area hospital where he died.===============Judge Sets Resentencing in KS Hunting Camp CaseWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has set for resentencing the case of two Texas brothers who ran a Kansas hunting camp where hunters paid thousands of dollars to illegally shoot deer. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot on Tuesday set an August 28 resentencing for James and Marlin Butler after an appeals court overturned their prison terms. Belot told attorneys he would hear testimony at the resentencing about the fair market price of wild deer parts. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said last year that the district court made a mistake in 2011 in calculating sentences based on the full price of a guided hunt, rather than the actual value of the animals. The Butlers, of Martinsville, Texas, ran Camp Lone Star near Coldwater, Kansas.=============== Several Kansas Sites Added to Historic RegisterTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Wamego home and a former high school in Belleville are among the newest Kansas sites added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Kansas Historical Society said in a release that the listings were entered into the National Register on June 25, bringing the total number of Kansas listings in the National Register to 1,317. The several new listings include the Cassius and Adelia Baker House in Wamego. The Craftsman-style home was built in 1910 for Baker, who was a prominent member of the local business community. Belleville High School in Belleville, which dates back to the early 1930s, was also added to the list. It was designed by Wichita architect Samuel Voigt and is an example of the Collegiate Gothic style.=============== Body in River Identified as Missouri Man Who Jumped with DaughterKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a body found in the Missouri River in May was that of a 64-year-old man who jumped into the river with his daughter. The 29-year-old daughter's body has not been found. Witnesses said the two, who lived in Peculiar, were holding hands when they jumped into the river from the Christopher Bond Bridge in Kansas City. Fishermen found the father's body May 10. The Kansas City Star reports that the man's ex-wife asked that names not be published. She says the father's body was cremated but won't be buried until her daughter's body is found. Relatives had reported that the father and daughter battled depression.=============== Former Doctor Seeks Delay of Kansas Gun, Drug TrialWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A court document is offering a glimpse into the government's case against a former Kansas doctor accused of unlawfully possessing drugs and a firearm. The attorney for Lawrence Simons asked a judge on Monday to delay until September a trial scheduled for later this month. A defense filing cites the "overwhelming" contents of storage lockers where authorities found prescription drugs. Video and photos depict nine tables covered with drugs and medical paraphernalia. Prosecutors have also turned over multiple CDs. Simons's attorney seeks more times to prepare a defense. Simons is a convicted felon who allegedly gave a bondsman a gun as partial payment for bailing him out of jail in an unrelated criminal threat case. Simons had surrendered his license to write prescriptions, and could not lawfully possess controlled substances.===============Sprint Completes Acquisition of ClearwireNEW YORK (AP) — Majority owner Sprint has completed its acquisition of wireless network operator Clearwire Corporation. Sprint Nextel paid $5 per share for the 51 percent of Clearwire it didn't already own. Bellevue, Washington-based Clearwire runs a mobile broadband network that Sprint uses to provide "4G" service on many of its phones. Clearwire shareholders voted to sell to Sprint on Monday. Its stock will stop trading on the Nasdaq after the market closes on Tuesday. Sprint hopes the deal will make it more competitive with rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. It raised its original bid for Clearwire to overcome a competing bid from Dish Network. Meanwhile, Overland Park-based Sprint has agreed to sell 78 percent of itself to Japan's Softbank for $21.6 billion. That deal is expected to close Wednesday.=============== Mizzou Music Fest to Offer Shuttles from KC, STLCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — An annual music composition festival in Columbia is offering free transportation for a limited number of concert-goers from St. Louis and Kansas City. The Mizzou International Composers Festival begins July 22 and continues through July 27. Venues include the downtown Missouri Theatre and several concert halls on the University of Missouri campus. Performers include the ensemble Alarm Will Sound. The 20-person MoX shuttle rides leave for Columbia on Friday and Saturday afternoon and return after the concluding Saturday night concert. Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis through Friday. Patrons are responsible for their own tickets and any lodging. The St. Louis pick-up point is Mid Rivers Mall in St. Charles County. The Kansas City pickup is the Kauffman Center. More details can be found online at http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/shuttle.html.

Freight Trains Collide in Central KS; No InjuriesGALVA, Kan. (AP) — Two Union Pacific freight trains collided in central Kansas but no injuries or major hazardous waste spills were reported. The collision occurred early today (THUR) in McPherson County between Galva and Canton. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis says an eastbound train hit the back of a westbound train that was moving onto a side track to let the other train pass. The trains were flat cars carrying ocean-going containers packed mostly with consumer goods. A train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago had two locomotives and five rail cars derail, while 15 cars and a locomotive on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles derailed. Davis said it wasn't clear how much track was damaged or when the line will be reopened. About 20 trains use the line every day.==============================Kobach Seeks to Intervene in Kansas Senate DisputeTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is trying to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled Democratic voter to force the party to name a new U.S. Senate nominee. Kobach filed a motion Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court. The case was filed by David Orel of Kansas City, Kansas. He is a longtime registered Democrat but his son works on GOP Governor Sam Brownback's re-election campaign. Democrat Chad Taylor dropped out of the race against Republican Senator Pat Roberts earlier this month, leaving independent candidate Greg Orman as the only major rival to Roberts. Kobach said in his filing that his office supervises elections and Orel's case must be settled by October 1st.==============================2 Charged in Topeka Girl's KidnappingTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A man and woman have been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl over the weekend in Topeka. 28-year-old Jeremy Lindsey and 23-year-old Michelle Harris were charged with the attack Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court. The two are jailed on $1 million bond. The Shawnee County court website listed Lindsey's attorney as Joseph Huerter, but a woman at his law firm said the case hadn't yet been formally assigned to Huerter. Harris' attorney in the Shawnee County public defender's office didn't immediately return a phone call. The girl was missing for nearly six hours when she was found Saturday afternoon walking along a road about two miles away from her home. About 50 people participated in the search.==============================Naked, Bloody Man Arrested at Scene of Topeka HomicideTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Topeka police have identified a woman whose body was found outside a home where a blood-covered naked man was detained. Police say the woman was 22-year-old Lacie Atchison of Topeka. Police are investigating her death as a homicide but haven't announced how she died. The investigation began Wednesday morning after neighbors called to report that a naked man had been running around outside screaming. Officers used a stun gun to subdue the man and found the woman's body at the top of a wooden wheelchair ramp that leads to a home. Blood could be seen smeared across a large area on the southwest portion of the house, and officers were keeping people well away from what they described as a graphic crime scene.==============================Lawrence Businessman Admits Embezzling $1 MillionTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Lawrence man has pleaded guilty to embezzling about $1 million from his company and business partners over a 10-year period. The U.S. Attorney's office says 55-year-old Mark Elzea agreed to pay restitution under terms of the plea he entered Wednesday in federal court. Elzea was the controller and part-owner of a Lawrence janitorial and cleaning equipment business called Pur-O-Zone. He admitted that he began stealing from the company and his three business partners in 2004. The crime was discovered earlier this year when a vendor contacted one of the co-owners about not receiving a check. Prosecutors said the partners then discovered numerous unauthorized checks that Elzea had written to a credit card company. Elzea faces up to 10 years in federal prison. The sentencing is set for December 19.==============================State of KS Auctions Off Sex Toys, Porn to Get Back Taxes TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - An online auction of sex toys that were seized by Kansas authorities in a tax delinquency case could boost the state's revenues. State Revenue Department spokeswoman Jeanine Koranda said Wednesday the agency seized items in July from five adult stores operated by United Outlets LLC under the name Bang. Two were in Topeka and one each in Kansas City, Kansas; Junction City, and Wichita. They were seized for failure to pay sales, income and withholding taxes of $163,986. Koranda said the assets were released back to the owner, so that he could auction the property to raise money to pay off the tax debt. The auction is on equip-bid.com. The owner of United Outlets is Larry H. Minkoff of Prairie Village. He didn't have a listed phone number.==============================Grasshoppers Invade Parts of Kansas AgainST. LEO, Kan. (AP) — Grasshoppers are once again infesting parts of Kansas, causing at least one small farmer in south-central Kansas to go out of business. Experts say the years of drought left perfect conditions for grasshoppers although there numbers are not expected to be larger than normal in Kansas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture shows significant grasshopper infestations from Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska west this year. Gary Gantz, who operates DE Bondurant Grain in Ness City, says the insects are everywhere this year and farmers are worried any new growth they plant will be eaten. The Hutchinson News reports Keven and Mary Ford are giving up their dream of running a small vegetable and livestock farm near St. Leo because, for the second year in a row, grasshoppers have decimated their crops.==============================Kansas Senator Quits Eisenhower Memorial ProjectWASHINGTON (AP) — After more than a decade of planning and millions spent to build a memorial near the National Mall honoring the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a key lawmaker who has helped oversee the project from the start is stepping away. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran has resigned from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission as the panel votes Wednesday on how to move forward after years of controversy over the design. Moran quietly submitted his resignation last week. A spokeswoman says he concluded that including homage to Ike's home state of Kansas has become a stumbling block for architect Frank Gehry's design for the memorial park. Gehry proposed a memorial park with statues of Ike as president and as World War II general. A large metal tapestry would depict the Kansas landscape of Eisenhower's boyhood home. Eisenhower's family has opposed the tapestry concept and called for a simpler design. Critics have mounted a campaign against the design that has delayed the project for years.==============================Gov Appoints Coffey County Prosecutor to District JudgeshipTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Governor Sam Brownback has named Coffey County's prosecutor to an open judge's position on the district court for four east-central Kansas counties. Brownback announced the appointment of Douglas Witteman on Wednesday. Witteman, from LeRoy, is the Coffey County attorney. He will replace Franklin County District Judge Thomas Sachse, who retired in May after 23 years on the bench in the 4th Judicial District, which also includes Anderson and Osage counties. A district nominating committee picked Witteman and Brandon Jones as finalists from among four applicants. Jones serves as county attorney in Anderson and Osage counties. Brownback said in a statement that Witteman's depth of legal knowledge will be an asset to the court. Witteman received his law degree from Washburn University of Topeka in 1991.==============================McCain Praises Pat Roberts at Campign RallyOVERLAND PARK, Kansas (AP) - Republican Senator John McCain is in Kansas praising three-term Senator Pat Roberts as "a steady hand" and calling Roberts' independent opponent a Democrat in disguise. At a rally Wednesday in Overland Park, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee fired up the crowd of Roberts supporters. Roberts has called Orman, a businessman from Olathe who has run as a Democrat and made contributions to Democratic candidates, a vote for Senate Democrats, should he win. McCain repeated those criticisms, saying, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might be a duck!" Orman's campaign called the critique "desperate." McCain is scheduled to headline a Roberts fundraiser in Olathe on Thursday.==============================Palin Stumps for Roberts in KansasINDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) - Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is calling for Republican Party to unify now that the primary is over. Palin was in southeast Kansas Thursday campaigning for U.S. Senator Pat Roberts at a breakfast in Independence. Roberts is locked in a close race with independent challenger Greg Orman. The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee told the crowd of more than 250 that the nation is watching the race in Kansas in hopes voters will make what she calls the right decision. Roberts told the crowd the GOP is united because supporters realize control of the U.S. Senate is at stake. Kansas Republican Party Executive Director Clay Barker says it makes sense to have Palin in southeast Kansas because it is a strong area for tea party Republicans.==============================Perry Campaigns for Brownback in WichitaWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Texas Governor Rick Perry says Kansas has created a very competitive climate to entice businesses and calls Governor Sam Brownback his competitor for economic development. The Texas governor campaigned Wednesday for Brownback at a rally attended by fewer than 100 people at Republican headquarters in Wichita. Private receptions for donors were also planned. Brownback told his cheering supporters that Kansas now has a business climate that is better than Texas. The Republican governor is locked in a close race with Democratic challenger Paul Davis. Kansas Democratic Party chairwoman Joan Wagnon says Brownback has modeled his administration after Perry's. She says Perry has made deep cuts to public schools and overseen a troubling rise in childhood poverty.==============================Arguments to Begin in Missouri Same-Sex Marriage LawsuitKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City judge is preparing to hear arguments in a Jackson County lawsuit challenging Missouri's rejection of same-sex marriages that have been performed in other states. Ten same-sex couples who were married in other states are suing Kansas City and state officials, including Governor Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster, for violating their due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs say Missouri recognizes different-sex marriages performed elsewhere and that under a 2013 Supreme Court ruling it is obligated to treat same-sex marriages the same way. They are seeking a permanent injunction requiring the state to recognize all same-sex marriages performed in other states. The lawsuit is one of at least three legal challenges to Missouri's ban on same-sex marriages.==============================AGCO Plans to Lay Off Over 100 Workers in KansasBELOIT, Kan. (AP) - AGCO Corporation officials say the company plans to lay off a total of 111 workers at its plants in Beloit and Hesston. A statement from the corporate office in Georgia says the Hesston plant is in a second phase of job cuts, with 72 layoffs this week. Twenty-four jobs were cut in August. The Beloit plant will lose 39 hourly jobs. The Hesston plant makes hay and harvesting products, while the Beloit plant produces mostly tillage tools. The company said in a statement that the layoffs were the result of the cyclical nature of the agriculture economy.==============================Missing Children Found in KansasPINE CITY, Minn. (AP) - Sheriff's officials say a Pine County man accused of skipping a custody hearing and taking his two minor children without permission has been arrested in Kansas. The 44-year-old father was pulled over in Kansas Wednesday morning for a minor traffic violation. He was arrested after an officer ran his license and discovered he's wanted in Minnesota. The man's 12-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter were in the vehicle as well as two of his adult children. Pine County Sheriff Robin Cole says the younger children thought they were on vacation and didn't know authorities were looking for them.==============================Kansas Man Competent for Trial in Girl's DeathLEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) - A judge has ruled that an Atchison man is competent to be tried for murder in the death of a 5-year-old girl during a police chase. District Judge Gunnar Sundby ruled Wednesday that Marcas McGowan is able to stand trial for first-degree murder and several other felony charges in the July 18 death of Candence Harris. Authorities allege McGowan abducted the girl from a home they shared with the girl's mother in Atchison. Cadence was found dead from a gunshot in McGowan's car after a police chase ended when McGowan was shot after he pointed a gun at officers. The Leavenworth Times reportsMcGowan's preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 20. McGowan is being held in Leavenworth County Jail on $1 million bond.==============================6 to be Inducted into Cowboy Hall of FameDODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame says it will induct six people into the hall this year. The honorees will be inducted into the Dodge City institution on October 11. The new members announced Wednesday are Dusty Anderson, of Skiddy, a working cowboy; Fredric Young, of Dodge City, a cowboy historian; Barry Ward, of Dodge City, a cowboy entertainer/artist; C.L. "Bud" Sankey, of Rose Hill, a rodeo cowboy; and Bob and Wayne Alexander, of Council Grove, cattlemen/ranchers. The Dodge City Daily Globe reports that inductees are honored for making significant contributions to western heritage lifestyle and to the preservation of the cowboy culture in Kansas. They also must personify cowboy ideals of integrity, honesty and self-sufficiency, achieve statewide historic significance and be a Kansas native or resident.==============================OSHA Investigates Death at Pittsburg Plastic PlantPITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of an employee at a Pittsburg plant. Authorities say 51-year-old Harley Burch Jr. of Pittsburg died Tuesday after being injured in an accident at the Vinylplex plant, which makes PVC plastic pipe products. Lt. Tim Tompkins says Burch was working near a manufacturing machine and somehow came into contact with a piece of equipment. OSHA spokesman Scott Allen said Wednesday that investigators will interview witnesses and try to determine what caused the accident. Vinylplex officials declined to comment.==============================Wichita Officials Warn Pet Owners of Rabid SkunksWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita city officials are warning pet owners that three rabid skunks were found in the eastern part of the city. Officials announced Wednesday that the skunks came into contact with people's pets during separate incidents. They say some dogs have been placed under home quarantines for observation, which is the state protocol for possible exposure to rabid animals. Officials also encourage residents to vaccinate their animals, keep pets on a leash and stay away from wild animals.==============================Manhattan Discovery Center Gets New ExhibitsMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Two temporary exhibits are scheduled to open at a Manhattan heritage and science center. Visitors to the Flint Hills Discovery Center can access the new attractions starting on Friday. An exhibit titled "Flint Hills FORCES II" explores the time period between 1917 and 1963 when the city, Fort Riley and Kansas State University intertwined to become one community. Visitors can learn about World War I trench warfare, the Great Depression and the Roaring '20s. It will run until February. A center manager tells WIBW-TV the showcases provide access to items that have been kept behind closed doors. A children's exhibit titled "Animal Secrets" will be housed until January 14. Viewers can learn where chipmunks sleep or what an eagle feeds its young.==============================Royals Fall to Indians, 6-4CLEVELAND (AP) — The Kansas City Royals lost the 3rd game of this week's series Cleveland Wednesday night. The score was 6-to-4. A loss would have eliminated the Indians from the AL wild-card chase, but the win moved them to within 3½ games of Kansas City and Oakland in the wild-card standings. There are four days left in the regular season. The Royals, who haven't made the playoffs since 1985, fell two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

District Court Says KCC Violated Meetings LawTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Shawnee County District Court has fined the Kansas Corporation Commission for violating the Kansas open meetings law. Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor said Friday the court fined the KCC $500, which is the maximum allowed. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the court also ordered the KCC to stop using "notational voting," which is when staff meet individually with the three KCC members to secure their opinions before writing a public order. Taylor says the decision ends the litigation he pursued against the KCC after receiving a complaint from the Citizen Utility Rate Payer Board. Taylor says that during the litigation, the KCC acknowledged a technical violation of KOMA when two commissioners met during a notational voting process while considering a rate request for a Saline County water district.============KS Supreme Court Upholds Murder ConvictionTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the capital murder conviction and life sentence of a Montgomery County man. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the court rejected Christopher M. Lowrance's argument that he had not attempted to rape the victim, which is one of the standards necessary to establish capital murder. Lowrance was convicted in the 2007 death of Rachel Dennis. Lowrance said he did not remember killing or trying to rape her. The high court said in its decision released Friday that although there was no evidence of sexual trauma, testimony showed Lowrance drove an intoxicated Dennis to a place he used for sexual encounters. The victim was found partially unclothed, and her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, meaning she couldn't give consent to a sexual act.============Missouri Pet Food Manufacturer Moving to TopekaTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Pet food manufacturer Crosswind plans to move from Parkville, Mo., to Topeka. Crosswind president and CEO Doug Kinsinger told business officials Thursday that the move would create 62 jobs in Topeka. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Crosswind's pet food division produces foods and treats for generic and name brands. The company plans to spend about $4 million to convert a vacant Topeka building for its use.============Gingrich Endorses Roberts Senate Re-Election BidOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is praising Senator Pat Roberts for the Kansas Republican's lengthy career in Congress and says the state would lose much if it didn't re-elect him. Gingrich traveled Friday to the Kansas City area and helped Roberts formally open a campaign office in Overland Park. The appearance came a month after Leawood radiologist Milton Wolf announced that he'll challenge Roberts in next year's Republican primary. Johnson County is home to 21 percent of the state's registered voters, making it a key battleground. Wolf is running as a tea party candidate and has criticized Roberts as a career politician. But Gingrich said Roberts is a tough conservative. Gingrich served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999 and ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year.============Gingrich Blasts Push for Nuclear Deal with IranOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is strongly criticizing Secretary of State John Kerry's diplomatic push for an interim nuclear deal with Iran, calling it "a surrender." Gingrich said Friday that President Barack Obama's administration is punishing U.S. allies while trusting the nation's enemies. Gingrich was in Overland Park to campaign for Kansas Republican Pat Roberts's re-election to the U.S. Senate. The former House speaker called the diplomatic push "the Munich of the Middle East," a reference to the 1938 decision by major European powers before World War II to allow Nazi Germany to annex Czechoslovakia. Gingrich noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted any agreement was a "bad deal."============Kansas Flu Season Begins QuietlyTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state health official says flu season has started in Kansas but there isn't any indication that this year's outbreak will be any worse than previous years. Charlie Hunt, state epidemiologist for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, says Thursday that the first flu cases were reported in Sedgwick County but no widespread outbreaks have been reported. Hunt says many factors help spread the flu virus, but weather isn't the major indicator. He says the focus should be on the strain of the flu virus that is circulating. Residents are being offered two flu vaccines, one aimed at three seasonal strains and one targeting four.============Proposals Seek Room and Board Rate Hikes in KansasTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Room and board costs at the six public universities in Kansas would increase next year under a proposal before the state's Board of Regents. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that under the proposal, the traditional arrangement of two residents per room and a typical meal plan would increase 2.5 percent next year at the University of Kansas. Students would see increases of 4.5 percent at Kansas State University; 3.6 percent at Emporia State; 3 percent at Pittsburg State; and 2.1 percent at Fort Hays State. The proposed increase at Wichita State is not comparable to previous years because the school has a new housing facility. The Regents will take final action on the rates during their December meeting.============ KCC Approves Route for High-Voltage LineTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Corporation Commission has approved a route for a Texas company's proposed $7 billion high-voltage line that would funnel power from wind farms in southwest Kansas to out-of-state sites. The KCC said in a release Thursday it's approved Clean Line Energy's route for the Grain Belt Express direct current line. In Kansas, the transmission line would run 370 miles from wind farms in Ford County to Missouri, across Illinois and into Indiana. Houston-based Clean Line Energy still needs approval in Missouri and Illinois. The proposed line has drawn objections from Kansas residents. Marshall County filed to intervene in its development, saying the project is a burden because it's tax exempt for 10 years, residents can't use the energy and the county would have to provide police and fire protection.============ District Judge to Sit with Kansas Supreme Court in Atty Discipline CaseTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas trial judge will sit with the state Supreme Court in December to hear a case involving attorney discipline. District Judge Martin Asher, who serves Atchison and Leavenworth counties, was named Thursday to sit with six of the high court's justices. Justice Marla Luckert recused herself from hearing the discipline case involving attorney Brendon Patrick Barker. Asher will only hear the one case on the docket and will participate in the court's deliberations and drafting of the opinion regarding Barker.============Federal Appeals Court: Man Deserves Trial over Use of RestraintsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a Kansas man is entitled to a trial over his claims that the juvenile detention center in Sedgwick County violated his rights by using a restraining chair as punishment. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday mostly upheld the decision by a federal judge rejecting the request by the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners and its employees to dismiss the lawsuit. The court said the defendants didn't have qualified immunity. Brandon Blackmon sued in 2005 over the treatment he had gotten as an 11-year-old at the Kansas facility while awaiting trial on criminal charges that were later dismissed. The court says officials made 'liberal use' of the restraining chair they had gotten a few weeks before the boy arrived at the facility.============Hutchinson Branding Defendant Appears in CourtHUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — One of the three Hutchinson High School students charged with branding younger football players has made his first court appearance. The Hutchinson News reports that a Reno County judge appointed the public defender's office to represent 18-year-old Kendric Hudson during Friday's hearing. He is charged with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor hazing. Hudson is accused of using a heated wire hanger to brand two 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old in the school locker room last week. Aggravated battery carries a maximum sentence of 34 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Hazing carries a maximum six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 3. Hudson is free on bond and didn't immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.============Prosecutor Reviewing Kansas School Bus AccidentDOUGLASS, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor is reviewing whether to file charges against the driver of a school bus that toppled into a fast-moving creek. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated the October 31 accident at a low-water crossing in rural Butler County. The bus toppled on its side, and ten Kansas children had to scramble through an emergency side exit. They sat on top on the bus until they were rescued. One child and the driver were treated at a hospital. Trooper Gary Warner says the patrol gave its report to Butler County Attorney Darrin Devinney late this week.============Hoisington Opposes New Date for Kansas State FairHOISINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A proposal to move the Kansas State Fair to Labor Day weekend is getting bad reviews from supporters of another long-time tradition. Leaders in Hoisington and Barton County are concerned the proposal would overshadow Hoisington's 117-year-old Labor Day celebration. The Hutchinson News reports Hoisington city council members plan to pass a resolution saying they oppose an idea pushed by Governor Sam Brownback to start the state fair on Labor Day weekend. Barton County Commissioners signed a similar resolution Monday stating they strongly oppose the idea. Brownback has said moving the start date of the State Fair would increase attendance. Hoisington's celebration started in 1896 and is one of the state's largest Labor Day events.============KCK Man Found Guilty of Killing Using Box CutterOLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas man has been found guilty of killing a man at a hotel with box cutter. A Johnson County jury this week convicted 26-year-old Maurice Orlando Stewart of killing 57-year-old Stephen Cook of California at an Olathe hotel. He was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and theft. Olathe police found Cook's body in June 2010 inside the bathroom of his motel room at an Econo Lodge in Olathe. The Kansas City Star reports that an autopsy found Cook bled to death from numerous cuts. He also suffered a broken sternum and broken ribs. Stewart had occupied the room next to Cook.============Trial Reset in Kansas ID Theft CaseWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has delayed the trial of a Canadian man living in south-central Kansas on charges of stealing the identity of an infant brother who died decades ago. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Thursday set a January 28 trial date for 58-year-old Leslie Lyle Camick, of Winfield. The trial had been scheduled for November 19 but prosecutors sought a delay, citing the complexity and logistics of a case where witnesses and documents span two countries. Camick, a telecommunications field engineer, was indicted in March. He's charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, immigration document fraud and lying to the U.S. Patent Office. Prosecutors say Camick used his dead brother's birth certificate to flee Canada in 2006 to avoid overdue child support, back taxes and other legal difficulties.============Finney County Need for Foster Homes GrowingGARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Finney County child welfare official says the county is facing a severe shortage of foster homes. Angela Webster, recruitment specialist for TFI Family Services in Garden City, says the number of foster children in the county is growing at an alarming rate. The Garden City Telegram reports that in the last three to four months, the number of children needing foster care in Finney County has increased from 70 to 107. And since April, only 26 foster homes provided placement to children who can't live with their own families in the county. Webster says of the 26 foster homes, Family Services has only five. Webster and members of Family Service say they are trying to spread information about the need throughout the county.============ WVU Players Help Habitat for Humanity in LawrenceLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — West Virginia's volleyball team could have spent Thursday moping about the previous night's loss at Kansas. Instead, the Mountaineers headed to a Habitat for Humanity site in Lawrence to help build a house. 6NewsLawrence reports the women said working on the foundation of a Habitat home helped strengthen their own foundation. Mountaineers outside hitter Jordan Anderson says the volunteer work helped the players get closer as a team. Lawrence Habitat for Humanity outreach coordinator Maddie Hinds appreciated the athletes' efforts, calling them "hard workers, so fun, so upbeat and really positive." Mountaineers coach Jill Kramer says it was good for her players to remember there are bigger things in life than volleyball. This was the team's first project with Habitat for Humanity; Kramer says it won't be the last.============ Restaurant Destroyed in Downtown CaldwellCALDWELL, Kan. (AP) — Residents in a small south-central Kansas town say they hope a restaurant damaged by fire can reopen. Investigators say the fire Thursday at Richard's Last Chance Bar and Grill in Caldwell started in the kitchen but the cause has not been determined. No one was in the building when the blaze broke out. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion. No one else was hurt. KAKE-TV reports that the town's 1,000 residents are hoping the restaurant returns. They say residents gathered at the bar and grill every day, and the business drew visitors from across south-central Kansas and north-central Oklahoma. Jill Crumbliss, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Richard, says they are waiting to see how much their insurance will cover.============Grads of Dodge City Helicopter Program in DemandDODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Graduates of a Dodge City Community College program that trains helicopter pilots are finding they are in high demand. The community college operates outreach campuses in Salina, Arizona and Utah. Students take the academic part of the program in Dodge City and the flight training through Universal Helicopters, based in Arizona. Universal Helicopters hires all the graduates as part-time flight instructors while they complete their bachelor degrees at Kansas State University - Salina or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona. The Wichita Eagle reports about 120 students are enrolled in the program, including 12 in Dodge City. Between 150 and 160 students are expected to enroll in the spring semester. Program officials say the graduates are finding work with oil rigs, medical evacuation operations or other companies.============Wichita Man Sentenced to Life in Neighbor's DeathWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years continues to insist he is innocent. Thirty-four-year-old Victor Gonzalez was sentenced Thursday for the January 2012 stabbing death of Michael Salyer in Salyer's apartment. The Wichita Eagle reports that Gonzalez said he didn't want to appeal the sentence but insisted he was innocent. However, prosecutors said Gonzalez's DNA was found on Salyer's clothing. Gonzalez also was sentenced to serve a consecutive 2½-year prison term in an unrelated burglary case.============ VFW Picks Kansas City as Site of 2018 National ConventionKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold their 2018 national convention in Kansas City, choosing its home community over 11 other cities that were in the running. The Kansas City Star reports officials of the Convention and Visitors Association announced the booking Thursday. The gathering is expected to draw more than 10,000 people, with an estimated impact of $6.5 million for the local economy. The VFW has its national headquarters just a few blocks from the National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial. The 2018 convention will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the war's end, and officials of the museum and the VFW are working together on commemoration events.

Kansas Considers Moving Dates of Local ElectionsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee plans to review a proposal this week to change the dates of local elections so they occur on the same schedule as legislative and statewide contests. The bill on the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee's agenda Wednesday is a modified version of a proposal from the Kansas Republican Party. The GOP argues the bill would boost turnout. Kansas holds city and school board elections in the spring of odd-numbered years, and turnout is typically low. The bill would move the elections to even-numbered years, with primaries in August and general elections in November. GOP officials also pushed to make the elections partisan, but the committee rejected that idea. Many local officials oppose the change, arguing their races would get lost on a longer ballot.===============Kansas Lawmakers Reviewing School Funding DecisionTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are starting work on school funding issues after a state Supreme Court ruling, and Attorney General Derek Schmidt is telling them they have many options. Schmidt was briefing House Republicans on Monday. He said the high court left legislators with some discretion in addressing constitutional flaws in the state's school funding system. The court ruled Friday that the state must boost aid to poor school districts and gave legislators until July 1 to address the problems. It also ordered more lower-court hearings on whether the state is spending enough money overall. The state Department of Education said boosting aid to poor districts could cost $129 million a year. House Speaker Ray Merrick said the chamber's budget-writing Appropriations Committee will handle school funding legislation.===============Attorney Calls Kansas Death Penalty DiscriminatoryTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The attorney for a Kansas man convicted of killing two women and trying to kill a third says the case should be thrown out because the state's death penalty discriminates against blacks. John Val Wachtel is representing Phillip Cheatham Junior, who was convicted in 2005 of killing Annette Roberson and Gloria Jones and trying to kill Annetta Thomas in 2003. Last year the Kansas Supreme Court overturned his convictions and death sentence because he had received ineffective counsel during his first trial. He awaits a retrial on capital murder and attempted first-degree murder charges. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Wachtel argued Friday at a motions hearing that 37.5 percent of the men on Kansas' death row are black, while black men comprise only 5.5 percent of the state's population.===============Judge Sides with KS Doctor in Abortion CaseTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has overturned a Kansas board's revocation of a doctor's license over referrals of young patients for late-term abortions. Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis said the State Board of Healing Arts failed to show that mental health exams provided by Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus in 2003 were inadequate. In an order that was made public Monday, Theis ordered the board to reconsider its sanctions. The board revoked Neuhaus's license to provide charity care in 2012 over her exams of 11 patients, ages 10 to 18. Neuhaus provided second opinions that the late Dr. George Tiller needed under Kansas law to legally terminate the pregnancies. The board concluded Neuhaus failed to meet accepted standards of care because her records didn't document adequate exams.===============Police ID Man Found Dead Near Kansas RiverLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police in Lawrence have identified a man found dead near the Kansas River, but the cause and circumstances of the death are still unknown. A volunteer with a river cleanup crew found the body just before 9 am Saturday. Police issued a statement Monday identifying the man as 44-year-old Lawrence resident Troy A. Straub. A preliminary examination found no signs of foul play. A report from the coroner's office is pending. The body was discovered near an area where homeless camps have been found and unattended deaths have been reported several times since at least 2008. Police said Saturday they did not know if the man was between homes at the time of his death.===============Advocates Urge Oxygen Tests for Kansas NewbornsOLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas chapter of the American Heart Association says state health officials aren't acting quickly enough to require a screening test that could save newborn babies' lives. The screening, called a pulse oximetry test, measures a baby's oxygen level and can help identify congenital heart defects. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment started an improvement project last November in many mostly rural hospitals and birthing centers that don't routinely do the test. A health department official says all babies will be screened by the end of the year. But the heart association says the state should make the test mandatory immediately, the Kansas City Star reports. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added critical heart defects to its list of recommended routine screenings in 2011.=============== Topeka Family Finally Returns to U.S. From UkraineTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas couple and their four newly adopted children have made it home after a grueling trip to Ukraine, where civil unrest delayed their return for weeks. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Don and Lisa Jenkins arrived in Ukraine on February 2th and had hoped to finalize the adoptions of their four children by Valentine's Day. Those plans came to a halt when thousands of people took to the streets to protest the Viktor Yanukovich-led government. Much of the street fighting in Kiev happened just a mile from the apartment where the Jenkinses were staying. After the fighting died down, the family faced numerous delays in getting paperwork from the Ukrainian government. They left Kiev at 6:30 am Saturday and landed in Kansas City, Missouri around 9 pm that night.=============== Ford County Removes Its No-Weapons SignsDODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Ford County in southwest Kansas has removed its signage barring concealed weapons in government buildings. The Dodge City Globe reports a 2013 state law removes exemptions to government buildings and requires local governments to open their buildings for concealed weapons or secure their buildings against all weapons. Ford County Administrator Ed Elam says the cost to secure buildings with locking doors or staffed checkpoints with metal detectors would have ranged in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for just equipment. Ford County schools remain exempt from allowing legally carried weapons, but the library, City Hall and courts are not exempt. Ford County, like most local governments in Kansas, took a six-month extension to make a decision. The extension expired January 1.=============== Meteorologist: Myths No Protection from TornadoesLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Weather experts in Kansas say people should not trust in myths to keep them safe during severe weather. A legend about the so-called "Tonganoxie Split," for example, purports that hills near that area divert severe weather away from the Kansas City metropolitan area, Lawrence and Tonganoxie. But in fact, a tornado hit Tonganoxie in 2000, causing $2.1 million in damage to more than 200 homes and nine businesses. The Lawrence Journal-World reports other area weather myths officials say shouldn't be believed are that tornadoes can't jump Burnett's Mound, a high point in the southwest part of Topeka, and that tornadoes can't cross rivers or form at high altitudes. National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Barjenbruch warns against having a false sense of security based on myths, and says residents should always have safety plans.===============Police: Man Used 7-Year-Old Son in BurglarySALINA, Kan. (AP) — A central Kansas man is accused of enlisting an unusual accomplice in a home burglary: his 7-year-old son. KSAL-AM reports that the break-in happened Friday afternoon at a home in Salina. Police responding to a report of a burglary in progress arrested the 32-year-old father as he emerged from the house with an electronic cable in his hand and his son by his side. Investigators allege the father helped the little boy enter the home through a basement window so the child could unlock a door and let him in. The boy was released to his mother. Charges against the father were pending Monday.===============Kansas City Woman Charged in Wrong-Way DeathKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jackson County (Missouri) prosecutors charged a Kansas City woman with involuntary manslaughter after a fatal wrong-way accident on Interstate 70. Thirty-two-year-old Lanelle D. Griffin was also charged Monday with driving with a revoked license in the February crash that killed 35-year-old Karl Silvey. Police say Silvey was a passenger in Griffin's car when she drove west in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Kansas City and collided head-on with a semi-trailer truck. Court records indicate Griffin's blood contained high levels of cocaine and her blood-alcohol reading was .206 at the time of the crash. Griffin remained in jail Monday in lieu of a $100,000 bond. Online records do not indicate that she has a lawyer.===============Woman Shot to Death Outside Wichita Bikers' ClubWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Wichita say they're getting little help from witnesses to a fatal shooting outside an after-hours club over the weekend. KAKE-TV reports that police on Monday identified the victim as 23-year-old Kelsey Shaw. Investigators don't believe she was a target of the shooting just after 3 a.m. Sunday. Police said Shaw and two other people were in line outside the private club run by a biker group when a disturbance broke out nearby. Several shots were fired from the street toward the building, one of them hitting Shaw in the back of the head. Two people had been kicked out of the club earlier, but it's unclear if there's any connection to the shooting. Investigators are hoping to hear from anyone with information about the case.===============KU Students to Vote on Eliminating Athletics FeeLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas Student Senate will vote this week on whether to eliminate a fee students have paid to the athletics department for more than 30 years. Students pay $25 each in the fall and spring and $10 in the summer, with the revenue going to women's and non-revenue sports. The fee raised $1.1 million for Kansas Athletics Inc. last year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the fee began being charged in the late 1970s to help the university comply with a federal law requiring universities to support women's sports. An advisory board suggested in February that the fee be eliminated or reduced, citing the athletic department's increasing revenues and budget. The Student Senate will vote on Wednesday as part of its regular review of all student fees.===============Company Plans Gas Processing Plant in KSHAVEN, Kan. (AP) — A Texas company plans to build a new multimillion-dollar natural gas processing plant in south-central Kansas. Houston-based Next Generation Processing expects to start building the Tenawa Gas Processing plant near Haven this month. It is expected to employ 12 to 15 people. The Hutchinson News reports that the new plant uses a process that cools the natural gas flowing through an interstate pipeline and extracts the resulting liquids. Those liquids are processed into different components and sold to various industries. Company officials say the plant will process 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas a day. The plant's location near Haven is a junction of three different pipelines that bring gas from the Oklahoma Panhandle, northern Oklahoma and Texas.===============1-Year-Old Child Falls From Moving Car on HighwayLEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating how a 1-year-old child fell out of a moving car on a Missouri highway. The child suffered only minor injuries after falling out of the car Sunday night in Lee's Summit. A passing driver stopped immediately and helped the child until emergency crews arrived. Police say the driver told officers that the child fell out of a rear passenger door when the car turned onto an entrance ramp for U.S. 50 in the Kansas City suburb. Officers are trying to determine if the child was sitting in a child's car seat that was in the vehicle.=============== Few Kansas City School Families Seeking Transfers Due to Accreditation LossKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City school district officials say only 12 families have asked to transfer out of the district next year to nearby accredited districts. Officials with the district, and surrounding suburban districts, had raised concerns that a flood of students would seek to transfer out of Kansas City, which is one of three unaccredited districts in the state. In two unaccredited St. Louis-area districts, more than 2,000 students left. A state law requires unaccredited districts to pay tuition and transportation for students to transfer to a nearby accredited school. Several of the districts in suburban Kansas City had tried unsuccessfully to have the state courts declare the transfer law unconstitutional. The Kansas City Star reports that the 12 families seeking to transfer have a total of 23 students in the district.===============Woman Must Pay $25,000 Fine for Selling Fake GoodsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge spared a Wichita businesswoman from prison, but imposed a $25,000 fine for selling fake luxury goods. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Monday sentenced Glenda Sue Morgan to five years of probation and ordered her to make payments of not less than $500 a month toward the fine. She pleaded guilty in October on one count of trafficking in goods bearing counterfeit designer labels such as Prada and Chanel at her shop, called The Fabulous Store. Morgan tearfully apologized to the court before sentencing. The judge said he was deeply troubled by the fact Morgan apparently didn't learn from a prior encounter with law enforcement in which no criminal charges were filed. Investigators seized 400 replica items with a retail value of $14,000 from Morgan's shop.===============Kansas Family to Accept Honor for WWII HeroFORT SCOTT, Kan. (AP) — Nearly 70 years after Nebraska-born soldier Donald Schwab knocked out a German machine gun position on a French battlefield, his descendants are heading to the White House this month to accept the Medal of Honor on his behalf. The delegation representing the late Army lieutenant will include his son Terry Schwab, a physician in Fort Scott, Kansas, and Terry Schwab's daughter, Missouri Southern State University student Savannah Schwab. The Joplin Globe reports the March 18th visit will supplement a project Savannah Schwab already had begun for her government class at the Joplin school — a blog called "Letters to My Grandfather." She and her father remember Donald Schwab as a humble man who spoke little of his World War II experiences with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.===============KU Expects C Joel Embiid to Play in NCAA TournamentLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self says he expects center Joel Embiid to play in the NCAA tournament. Embiid is in Los Angeles to get a second opinion from a back specialist about his ailing lower back, a trip Self said was planned. Self says he hopes to know late Monday whether Embiid will play in this week's Big 12 Tournament. Embiid is averaging 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for 10th-ranked Kansas, which will open the tournament Thursday. ===============K-State Women's Hoops Coach Patterson FiredMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University has fired women's basketball coach Deb Patterson, athletic director John Currie said Sunday. The Wildcats' season ended with an 87-84 overtime loss to Kansas in the first round of the Big 12 tournament Friday. Kansas State was 11-19 this season, going 5-13 in the conference. Patterson was 350-226 in 18 seasons at the school. She helped guide the team to nine NCAA tournaments and Big 12 titles in 2004 and 2008. Associate head coach Kamie Ethridge will oversee the program until a new head coach is hired.===============Salina Facing Competition for Women's TournamentSALINA, Kan. (AP) — Lubbock, Texas, is challenging Salina for the right to host the national junior college women's basketball tournament, which has been held in the Kansas city for more than 15 years. The NJCAA Women's Basketball Championship is under a contract for two more years to hold its weeklong tournament in Salina. The event brings in about $600,000 to Salina. Dennis Lauver, president of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, says Salina will increase its financial package in order to counter competition from Lubbock. He declined to say what the financial offering will be. The Salina Journal reports the NJCAA is expected to make a decision sometime in April. This year's tournament runs from March 16 through 22 at the Salina Bicentennial Center.===============Iowa State's Melvin Ejim AP Big 12 Player of YearUNDATED (AP) — Iowa State senior forward Melvin Ejim is The Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year. The AP awards were announced Monday, when Ejim and Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins were unanimous picks on the All-Big 12 first team. Wiggins is the league's Freshman of the Year. Ejim was second in the Big 12 with both his 18.2 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. No other league player ranked in the top 10 in both of those categories. Ejim and Wiggins are joined on the first team by league scoring leader Juwan Staten from West Virginia, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart and Iowa State's DeAndre Kane, the Marshall transfer who was the unanimous choice as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Oklahoma's Lon Kruger was selected as the AP's Big 12 Coach of the Year.