TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach are heading to court again in their battle over Kobach’s attempts to enforce a proof-of-citizenship requirement for new voters.

The ACLU hoped a Shawnee County judge would use Friday’s hearing to review its request for a temporary injunction to keep Kobach from imposing a new policy for the state’s Aug. 5 primary elections.

Kobach has said that Kansas residents who register with a national form will be allowed to complete full ballots, but only their votes in congressional races will be counted.

The national registration form does not require voters to submit documentation of their U.S. citizenship. The state’s registration form does.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican primary fight for the U.S. House seat from south-central Kansas is heating up a notch with the filing of a citizen complaint to the Federal Election Commission.

The complaint alleges unlawful coordination between former congressman Todd Tiahrt’s campaign and a “super PAC” founded by a Wichita oilman who is supporting him. Tiahrt is challenging incumbent GOP congressman Mike Pompeo for the 4th Congressional District seat.

Tiahrt’s campaign manager on Thursday called the allegations “garbage” and a politically motivated attack.

The complaint was filed by bank executive Jane Deterding, a longtime Pompeo ally. She said Thursday she asked the Pompeo campaign for details needed to file the complaint.

Pompeo’s campaign says it’s glad the alleged coordination between Tiahrt and the PAC is coming to light.

 

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, the most Senior Marine in the Congress, today sent a letter to President Obama urging him to do everything in his power to facilitate the release of Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi who has been imprisoned in a Mexican jail since he mistakenly crossed the border into Mexico on March 31st. (For Audio Click Here)

“As a Marine, I took an oath to never leave a man behind, and I continue to honor that duty today,” Senator Roberts said. “Marine Sergeant Tahmooressi has been imprisoned for over one hundred days. Enough is enough. Sergeant Tahmooressi has served his nation honorably as a United States Marine, and it is time for his nation to honor his service. It’s time to bring him home.”

The following is the text of the letter, sent Thursday, July 10, 2014:

Dear Mr. President:

As the senior Marine in Congress, I write to you today regarding the unjust and erroneous incarceration of Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi in Mexico. Sergeant Tahmooressi must be returned home safely. I took an oath when I joined the Corps to never leave a man behind and I continue to honor that duty today.

As you know, Sergeant Tahmooressi was arrested when he mistakenly crossed the border into Mexico on March 31, 2014. Since that time, Sergeant Tahmooressi has been a model prisoner and has complied with Mexican authorities as he patiently awaited his first hearing before a Mexican court. Unfortunately, yesterday’s closed hearing failed to provide those of us with a deep interest in this case the opportunity to hear what Mexican authorities provided as evidence. I am dismayed that Judge Victor Octavio Luna Escobedo felt the evidence was enough to keep Sergeant Tahmooressi behind bars.

Today marks Sergeant Tahmooressi’s 102nd day in a jail. Enough is enough. Sergeant Tahmooressi has served his nation honorably as a United States Marine, and it is time for his nation to honor his service to us. As your administration stated in defense of the handling of Sergeant Bowe Berghdahl’s release, it is the military ethos to never leave a man behind. I urge you to do everything in your power to force Mexican authorities to discharge these minor, erroneous charges and return Sergeant Tahmooressi to the United States immediately.

While I very much appreciate the efforts of the United States Consulate in Tijuana, which has provided Sergeant Tahmooressi with legal counsel and assisted his family in gaining access to Andrew, clearly much more must be done. I remain confident of Sergeant Tahmooressi’s innocence.

Thank you for your attention to this vital matter. I look forward to your reply and more importantly, to your quick action on Sergeant Tahmooressi’s behalf.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former aide to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback who now serves on the Kansas Court of Appeals is among 14 applicants to fill a state Supreme Court vacancy.

Thursday was the application deadline. Judge Caleb Stegall and three other Court of Appeals members, including Chief Judge Thomas Malone, applied, along with seven lawyers and three district court judges.

Supreme Court Justice Nancy Moritz is stepping down July 28 for a seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The Supreme Court Nominating Commission will interview the applicants Aug. 4 and 5 and submit three finalists to Brownback.

Stegall was Brownback’s chief counsel before the governor named him to the Court of Appeals last year under a new method bypassing the commission but adding Kansas Senate confirmation.

By Phil Galewitz
Kaiser Health News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tired of waiting for states to reduce their backlogs of Medicaid applications, the Obama administration has given Kansas and five other states until Monday to submit plans to resolve issues that have prevented more than 1 million low-income or disabled people from getting health coverage.

The targeted states are Kansas, Alaska, California, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee.

“CMS is asking several state Medicaid agencies to provide updated mitigation plans to address gaps that exist in their eligibility and enrollment systems to ensure timely processing of applications and access to coverage for eligible people,” said Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He said the agency will monitor states’ progress in solving the problems getting people enrolled in the state-federal insurance program for the poor.

The agency sent letters June 27 requesting the plans, giving states 10 days to respond. It is unclear if any have submitted plans yet. The letters was first reported by InsideHealthPolicy, a trade publication.

Medicaid-CHIP enrollment in Kansas hit record highs earlier this year.

All of the states relied on the federal online insurance marketplace that was established under the Affordable Care Act — with the exception of California, which set up its own marketplace known as Covered California. California and Michigan have expanded Medicaid under the health law, but the other four states did not.

California had a backlog of 900,000 applications pending applications in May — about half of them received within the previous 45 days. Although officials have not provided details on their plans for reducing the backlog, the largest in the nation, they recently said it has dropped to 600,000 cases. States typically have up to 45 days to complete the Medicaid enrollment process.

“We continue to make progress and will work with our county partners and Covered California to process the remaining applications and quickly deliver health coverage to all who are eligible,” health department spokesman Norman Williams said in an email Wednesday.

Tennessee Medicaid spokeswoman Kelly Gunderson denied the state has a backlog of applications, saying, “There are numerous aspects of the letter with which we do not agree, and we are currently working on our response to CMS.”

About 6 million people have gained Medicaid coverage since September, mostly as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

A Kaiser Health News analysis of 15 large states in June found that more than 1.7 million more were still waiting for their applications to be processed—with some stuck in limbo for as long as eight months.

The reasons for the problems include technological glitches that prevented the federal insurance marketplace from transferring data on applicants to state Medicaid agencies. Also, many states were unable to handle an enrollment surge because of inadequate staffing, their own computer problems and other issues.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas environmental leader is calling Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan for a program to breed lesser prairie chickens in captivity “far-fetched.”

Audubon of Kansas executive director Ron Klataske said Thursday he doubts the federal government would approve the plan.

The breeding program would be aimed at increasing the population of lesser prairie chickens after their decline led the federal government in March to list the bird as a threatened species. The listing also affects Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Klataske said wildlife agencies abandoned such an approach decades ago because prairie chickens and other game birds bred in captivity don’t have the skills to survive in the wild.

Brownback announced Thursday that he’s directing the state’s agriculture and wildlife departments to develop a program.

 

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Police in northeast Kansas are seeking tips from the public about a shooting that left two people dead and a third wounded.

A man called Lenexa police shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday to say he’d been shot. Officers tracked his cellphone to a home where they found him on the front lawn and two people dead inside.

Police identified the two victims Thursday afternoon as adult males whose names will be released after their families are notified. The wounded man remained hospitalized.

Investigators said they have not determined the relationship among the three men or the circumstances of the shooting. They asked anyone with information to call the Lenexa Police Department.

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LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting that left two people dead and one injured in a Kansas City suburb.

The shooting at a home in Lenexa was reported about 10 p.m. Wednesday. Police say a man called to say he had been shot but he was not sure where he was.

KSHB-TV reports police were able to use GPS technology to track the man to the home. When they arrived, they found the man outside the home and the two bodies inside.

Police spokesman Dan Friesen says investigators have not determined the relationship of the people involved in the shooting, or the circumstances of the shooting. No other information was released early Thursday.