ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Some lenders are preparing to reissue credit or debit cards to customers to head off possible losses following the breach of customer data at Home Depot.

TOPEKA, 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 Dec. 19.

BRANDON BAILEY, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has stopped providing an update to its new iOS 8 mobile operating software, following complaints that the update interferes with users’ ability to make phone calls.

The iOS 8.0.1 update released Wednesday morning was intended to fix some earlier glitches in the new software for iPhones and iPads that Apple released last week.

But along with blocking calls, some users have also complained the update interferes with Apple’s Touch ID system, which lets people unlock their phones with their fingerprint. Click HERE for more.

Apple says it’s pulling back the update as it investigates the reports. The company says it plans to issue advice to users “as quickly as we can.”

Meantime, users are still able to the upgrade older phones to last week’s version of iOS 8.

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt in a news release today warned consumers that an online company selling machinery is fraudulent and attempting to trick consumers into wiring money overseas.

Superior Heavy Machinery, an online entity claiming a Minnesota address, purports to sell used heavy equipment by posting online ads through a well known trading website.  Consumers are then asked to wire money to a “parent company” in England before delivery of the equipment can be made.  Responding to a consumer complaint about this suspicious activity, the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division investigated and determined that Superior Heavy Machinery is a fictitious company.  Similar complaints from consumers in other states have resulted in the Better Business Bureau deeming this company fraudulent as well.

“This is another great reminder not to wire money overseas or to people you don‘t know,” Schmidt said.

To avoid falling victim to fraudulent online entities such as Superior Heavy Machinery, follow these tips:

• Watch out for requests to wire money overseas or domestically, or to place funds in escrow with a third-party company. Fraudulent online entities will commonly reference another company in an effort to appear more legitimate.  Research these companies – if you can’t find any information on them, it should be a red flag.
• Don’t fall for offers that sound too good to be true.  Ask the salesperson to send you written materials; take the time to do your research and don’t allow yourself to be pressured.
• Don’t let a fancy website sway you.  Be sure to verify that the company has a track record.  Be leery of companies that just “pop up” on the radar seemingly out of nowhere.

Consumers who believe they may have been the victim of a scam should contact the attorney general’s office by calling (800) 432-2310 or online at www.InYourCornerKansas.org.

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (AP) — A grand jury has decided against charging NASCAR star Tony Stewart in the August death of another driver at a sprint car race in upstate New York.

The decision was announced Wednesday, nearly seven weeks after Stewart’s car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt-track race on Aug. 9 in Canandaigua.

Ward had climbed from his car after it had spun while racing alongside Stewart. The 20-year-old walked down the track, waving his arms in an apparent attempt to confront the three-time NASCAR champion.

The front of Stewart’s car appeared to clear Ward, but Ward was struck by the right rear tire and hurtled through the air. He died of blunt force trauma. Stewart skipped three races following what he called a tragic accident.

DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

For weeks, amid the allegations involving several NFL players, domestic violence has been the focus of intense national attention. Does the turmoil reflect a worsening epidemic of domestic violence, or has the U.S. in fact made great strides to curtail it? The answer is complicated.

On one hand, domestic violence committed by intimate partners — current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends — has declined by more than 60 percent since the mid-1990s, according to Justice Department figures.

Yet that dramatic decrease has largely stalled, with the numbers stabilizing at a level that appalls people in the prevention field. The latest federal figures for “serious” intimate partner violence — sexual assault or aggravated physical assault — showed 360,820 such incidents in 2013, or roughly 1,000 per day.

Salina Post

SALINA — A 20-year-old Salina woman was arrested Tuesday on charges of domestic battery, domestic damage to property, violation of a no contact order, and animal cruelty.

Salina Police Capt. Mike Sweeney said Ashley Morris allegedly threw several things that damaged a TV — and also threw a kitten to the floor and against a wall — during an incident at an apartment at 10 p.m. Monday.

Morris also reportedly hit a 19-year-man with a cellphone.

The kitten was not injured. Damage was estimated at $830.

LIBERAL- One person was injured in an accident just before 5 a.m. on Wednesday in Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Kenworth semi driven by Bobby J. Graham, 50, Stratford, Texas, was westbound on U.S. 54 six miles east of Liberal.

The truck crossed the center line into the on coming lane of traffic and struck a 1999 Freightliner semi driven by James R. Eyster, Ball Ground, GA., down the driver’s side of the truck and trailer.

Both trucks came to rest in the south ditch.

A passenger in the sleeper compartment of the Freightliner Jeffrey D. Johnson, 34, Fairmount, GA., was transported to Southwest Medical Center.

Graham and Eyster were not injured. The KHP reported they were properly restrained at the time of the accident.