LIBERAL — A teenage driver died in a an accident just before midnight in Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Ford F-350 driven by James A. Dills, 54, Alamogordo, N.M., was westbound on U.S. 54, approximately 4 miles east of the U.S. 83 junction.

The vehicle went left of center and struck a 2003 Nissan driven by Victoria Alina Verela,19, Kismet, head-on. The Nissan came to rest in the eastbound ditch.

Verela was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was transported to Brenneman Funeral Home in Liberal.

The KHP reported both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press

CAMDEN, Maine (AP) — A retired Kansas schoolteacher accused of pushing his wife off a cliff in Maine is going on trial on attempted murder charges.

Jury selection begins Monday in Rockland in the case of 71-year-old Charles Black, who now lives in Salt Lake City. He is also charged with two counts of elevated aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated assault.

Prosecutors say Charles Black tried to kill Lisa Black by hitting her on the head with a rock before pushing her off Maiden Cliff in Camden Hills State Park in April 2011. Law enforcement officials say there was a dispute over a $4 million inheritance from Lisa’s father.

Lisa Black survived after falling a short distance and sought help. Black is banned from staying in town during the trial. The Blacks are former Johnson County, Kansas, teachers.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One Kansas parent has reached a deal to avoid trial for stealing thousands of dollars from a Topeka elementary school’s parent-teacher organization, and her husband is working to land a similar agreement.

The Topeka Capital-Journal  reports Ben and Jamie Chestnut face a total of five felony charges accusing them of stealing $5,000 from the Avondale West Parent-Teacher Organization.

Jamie Chestnut has agreed to pay restitution and follow a number of other stipulations for two counts of forgery and one count of theft by deception.

Ben Chestnut, the group’s former treasurer, is seeking a similar agreement on charges of theft by deception and making false information.

The revelation in April 2013 that the money was missing from the PTO’s bank account nearly derailed year-end plans for a carnival.

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli says it is buying U.S. manufacturer Russell Stover Candies, Inc., for an undisclosed sum.

Lindt CEO Ernst Tanner said Monday that the purchase provides “a unique opportunity for us to expand our North American chocolate business.” The company says the deal will make it the No. 3 chocolate manufacturer in North America.

Russell Stover, which also owns the Whitman’s brand, is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and has four factories — in Kansas, Texas and Colorado.

It has about 2,700 employees and annual sales of around $500 million.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Site selection officials for the 2016 Republican National Convention were impressed with Kansas City’s ability to raise nearly $20 million in cash commitments, but documents show a lack of luxury suites at the Sprint Center for high-dollar donors played a big role in the decision to go elsewhere.

Kansas City pledged up to $7 million to add a dozen suites to the downtown venue and provide millions of dollars in other incentives, but Republicans chose Cleveland to host their convention.

The Kansas City Star examined more than 5,000 pages of convention-related documents providing details of the effort to bring the GOP convention to the city. Among its findings were that taxpayers put up more than $250,000 for the recruitment effort, while Kansas pledged $3.3 million toward the event.

WICHITA-  Law enforcement officials are investigating a deadly crash that occurred just before 6 a.m. on Sunday in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Ford Explorer driven by Dominic B. Stolfi,16, Benton, was westbound in the eastbound lanes of Kansas 254 two miles east of Bel Aire.

A 2007 Buick Lucerne driven by Lisa A. Hardy, 27, Potwin, was eastbound in the outside lane. The Buick went to the shoulder to avoid the Ford. The two vehicles collided on the shoulder.

Stolfi, Hardy and a passenger in the Buick Nancy R. Ross, 52, Potwin, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Sedgwick County Forensics Center.

The KHP reported Stolfi was not wearing a seat belt.

————

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three south-central Kansas residents are dead after a head-on collision involving a driver going the wrong way on a state highway near the Sedgwick County/Butler County line.

The Wichita Eagle  reports a green Ford was westbound in the eastbound lanes of K-254 when it struck a black Buick around 6 a.m. Sunday. Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman David Monckton says the driver of the Ford and two occupants in the Buick were killed in the collision.

Monckton says the three Butler County residents included two women and a man. He says emergency dispatchers received multiple reports of a vehicle driving the wrong way shortly before 6 a.m., and a few minutes later there was another call saying there had been a crash.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A national gun control group is trying to bolster its legal and public case against a Kansas law challenging federal firearms regulations by arguing that it revives an old, discredited states-rights doctrine.