WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the first U.S. senator to call for Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign May 6, released the following statement today in response to President Obama’s announcement that Secretary Shinseki is stepping down: “Leadership matters; Calling for Secretary Shinseki’s resignation did not come lightly to me, but accountability starts at the top and the step taken today is just the beginning,” Sen. Moran, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said. “We now need accountability and true reform within the VA all across the country. For this to occur, we need a fresh perspective and a leader who is willing to shake up the VA’s bureaucratic culture. I believe this individual should not come from within the current dysfunctional system that is failing our veterans. I hope the President is willing to give veterans an individual they can trust to take the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in a new direction, and give veterans hope that the VA can move beyond its failures and provide them with the care they earned and deserve. We should not rest until our veterans have a Department of Veterans Affairs worthy of their service and sacrifice.”

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago-area home where Ferris Bueller’s friend Cameron famously “killed” his father’s prized Ferrari finally has a new owner.

Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the modernist home in Highland Park sold Thursday for $1.06 million.

Craig Hogan is regional director at Coldwell Banker Previews. He wouldn’t say who bought the four-bedroom, steel-and-glass house built on the edge of a wooded ravine.

The house, built in 1953 by Mies van der Rohe-protege A. James Speyer, was first put on the market in 2009 listed at $2.3 million.

The sleek house was featured in John Hughes’ 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” as the home of Cameron Frye, played by Alan Ruck. After the Ferrari crashes through the glass into the ravine, Ferris tells Cameron: “You killed the car.”

Salina Post

BROOKVILLE — With the help of the Kansas Highway Patrol airplane, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate a Salina man stranded with a SUV stuck in a marshy field in far northwest Saline County Thursday afternoon.

Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said 59-year-old Robert Albers Jr. and 28-year-old Brent Martin had been driving around in the country late Wednesday night, when they got the SUV they were in stuck in a field, about 500 to 600 yards off of Eff Creek Road and Cloud Street intersection.

Martin decided to start walking and was picked up by his girlfriend in Brookville. Just after 1 p.m., he contacted the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, who began looking for Albers and the missing SUV.

After several patrol units had searched the area by ground, the Kansas Highway Patrol was contacted to conduct an air search, and within a few minutes after arriving in the area, Albers and the SUV were located.

Kochanowski said the two men could face trespassing charges.

Salina Mall

SALINA — The Central Mall in Salina announced Thursday that Ross Dress for Less will be a tenant at the mall.

Ross will sell apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashions from a 25,000-square-foot store located near J.C. Penney in 2015. Construction is set to begin in June.

“Ross Dress for Less will be a great asset to Central Mall and will complement our existing tenant mix. We will open over 30,000-square-feet of new stores by the end of 2015 and are excited to keep the momentum going,” stated Lisa McDowell, general manager for Central Mall.

JULIE PACE, Associated Press

PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has resigned amid widespread troubles in the VA health care system.

President Barack Obama says he accepted the resignation with “considerable regret.” He and Shinseki met in the Oval Office on Friday morning.

Shinseki had faced mounting calls to step down from lawmakers in both parties.

Shinseki’s resignation comes two days after a scathing internal report found broad and deep-seated problems in the sprawling health care system. The system provides care to about 6.5 million veterans annually.

Shinseki is a retired four-star Army general who has overseen the VA since the start of Obama’s presidency.

The Washington Post released a list Thursday of the fastest-growing cities in each state in America, and Manhattan took the top spot in Kansas.

According to census data, Manhattan has grown 7.4 percent from 2010 to 2013.

View the map and read the entire story HERE.

NORRIDGE, Ill. (AP) — Administrators at a suburban Chicago high school have had a change of heart after withholding diplomas from an entire class because some students defied instructions not to toss their caps in the air at graduation.

Ridgewood High School in Norridge initially posted a message on its website saying it would only release diplomas if representatives of the graduating class apologized in person at the next school board meeting. It referred to the cap-tossing at Tuesday’s ceremony as “disrespectful and insubordinate behavior.”

Some parents and students expressed disbelief.

By Thursday morning, officials had reversed course and replaced the announcement with one saying it had “re-thought” its policy and would be sending out diplomas immediately.

Ridgewood High School is known as the home of the Rebels.