WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal appeals court in Washington has thrown out a ruling that called into question the subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford their premiums under the president’s health care law.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said Thursday that its full complement of judges will re-hear a challenge to Obama administration regulations that allow health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for consumers in all 50 states.
The announcement diminishes the prospect of Supreme Court review of the issue in the near term. The initial appeals court ruling in Washington came out the same day that a panel of appellate judges in Richmond, Virginia, sided with the administration on the same issue.
NEW YORK (AP) — The government says Google has agreed to pay full refunds totaling at least $19 million to consumers who were charged for purchases that children made via apps without parental consent from the Google Play app store.
The Federal Trade Commission says since 2011, consumers reported hundreds of dollars of unauthorized charges by children made within kids’ apps downloaded from the Google Play store. The charges range from 99 cents to $200.
The government says when Google first introduced in-app charges to the Google Play app store in 2011, children could buy virtual items just by clicking on popup boxes within an app while they used it. In mid- to late-2012, Google instituted a pop-up box that asked for a password before a payment could be made.
Fort Hays State University’s Department of Health and Human Performance is now offering a massage therapy program. The 500-hour certificate program is delivered in a hybrid format.
The academic classes will be offered online, and hands-on and the clinic classes will be held on campus. After two short semesters, the student will be eligible to practice the art of professional massage therapy and sit for a national exam. This program is delivered in a creative format to reach the traditional as well as the non-traditional student.
For fall 2014, FHSU will offer weekend hands-on workshops, available for those who would like to see if massage therapy is a career choice for them or for those who just want to learn a life skill to practice on family and friends.
In spring 2015, the full curriculum will be available for those who wish to pursue massage therapy as a career or for those who wish to add a certificate to an existing degree program. Skills learned will include basic and advanced techniques in hot stone, Chinese Cupping and therapeutic stretching.
For more information, contact Ceena Owens at (785) 639-7218 or [email protected].
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri spoke to Chad Taylor in recent days about abandoning his bid to unseat Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, according to Democratic officials.
The officials said Thursday that McCaskill spoke with the Kansas Democrat in an attempt to unify support behind Greg Orman’s candidacy and help the independent in his bid to knock out Roberts, who is seeking a fourth term. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they couldn’t publicly discuss the private maneuvering.
Taylor announced Wednesday he was exiting the race but offered no explanation.
Taylor is a northeast Kansas prosecutor who had been vying for support from some of the same moderate Republican and unaffiliated voters as Orman.
The Washington Post first reported McCaskill’s outreach.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 34-year-old man accused of killing three people and critically injuring two others in a quiet south Kansas City neighborhood appears in court to hear a judge read the dozen felony counts against him.
Brandon Howell stood before Associate Judge Mary Weir on Thursday wearing a blue jail outfit and handcuffed to another inmate as she read the three first-degree murder charges and several other counts related to the shootings.
Prosecutors say Howell used a shotgun to kill 88-year-old Alice Hurst, her son, 63-year-old Darrel Hurst, and 69-year-old Susan Choucroun shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday in a middle-class cul-de-sac occupied primarily by older residents.
Howell was captured later that night as he walked along Interstate 29 on the city’s north side after someone called police to report a suspicious person.
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KANSAS CITY Mo. (Ap) — A 34-year-old Hutchinson man is charged in Jackson County Missouri with three counts of
first degree murder in the shooting of three people on Tuesday.
Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the charges Wednesday against Brandon Howell. He also faces charges of first-degree assault, burglary, car theft and felon in possession of a firearm for critically injuring two others. Police also said Howell assaulted three people at a north-side motel.
Howell is being held in the Jackson County jail. Kansas court records show he was paroled in 2011 after a conviction for a home invasion in Johnson County, Kansas. Baker said 88-year-old Alice Hurst, 63-year-old son Darrel Hurst and 69-year-old Susan Choucroun were killed during an attempted car theft.
An SUV that went missing from the scene of the shootings was found near the motel.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors are taking another look at a woman’s claims she was raped at a University of Kansas residence hall last year.
District Attorney Charles Branson said Wednesday that he received new information last week about another encounter between the accuser and the same man. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Branson says he will consider that information and determine whether it would make a difference in a charging decision.
He declined to publicly discuss details of the alleged incident — and how those would affect the strengths and weaknesses of the case — because the alleged victim’s family asked him not to.
Branson’s comments came the same day the university’s Student Rights Committee passed a resolution condemning the school’s handling of student complaints of sexual assault.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas farmers are now cutting bountiful fields of corn thanks to timely rains that saved their fall crops.
The five round, steel grain bins at Randy Small’s farm in southeast Kansas are nearly full and the local grain elevator in nearby Neodesha already has about a half million bushels of corn dumped on the ground because it is running out of storage room. And corn harvest has barely begun in Kansas.
Small said Thursday he is probably going to have the best crop he has had in 10 years.
A government report released this week estimated 7 percent of the corn statewide had been cut as of the end of August, with most of the harvest activity in southeast Kansas.
Holly Dickman is Ellis County Horticulture Extension Agent.
FHSU University Relations
Drought makes keeping plants alive seem nearly hopeless, and Holly Dickman, K-State research and extension and Ellis County horticulture agent, has answers. She will share tips for watering during a drought in the Science Café discussion, “The Art of Watering,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at Gella’s Diner, 117 E. 11 Street, Hays.
The program is free and open to the public.
The Fort Hays State University Science and Mathematics Education Institute and the Kansas Citizens for Science sponsor the monthly Science Café.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Republican Party is questioning the legality of a Democratic nominee’s withdrawal from the race against three-term GOP U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts.
Democrat Chad Taylor sent a letter to the Kansas secretary of state Wednesday saying he was withdrawing. He issued a separate statement saying he had terminated his campaign, without an explanation.
State GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold issued a statement Thursday questioning whether Taylor complied with a state law allowing nominees to withdraw.
The law says candidates may withdraw if they declare they are incapable of fulfilling the duties of the office.
The secretary of state’s office still listed Taylor as a candidate on its website Thursday.
Roberts’ campaign called Taylor’s withdrawal a “corrupt bargain” between Democratic leaders and a viable independent candidate, Olathe businessman Greg Orman.
Authentic historical documents written by one of America’s greatest founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, will bring 300 Ellis County fifth-graders to Fort Hays State University on Monday, Sept. 15.
Sue Boldra
A charitable donation to FHSU from an alumnus, Dr. Cecil Currey — two handwritten letters from Benjamin Franklin and two original pages of the Pennsylvania Gazette — has been the center of an annual educational event for the past eight years. Each year, college students from the Department of Teacher Education organize activities related to the papers.
“The activities center around Ben Franklin, his inventions, his era and his contributions to the founding nation,” said Sue Boldra, instructor of teacher education. “One of the stations is a scavenger hunt through the original Ben Franklin papers and one station is conducted by the library staff.”
Fifth-graders will enjoy a snack at the “Tea Party,” set up and served by the local chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. McDonald’s of Hays, owners Rick and Gail Kuehl, will provide drinks.
The American Democracy Project, Forsyth Library and Boldra’s Social Studies Methods class, host Ben Franklin Papers each year.
Volunteers are needed from 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up by calling the American Democracy Project at (785) 628-5399 or by email at [email protected].
In a recent article by Aaron Goldfarb of Esquire, he tabbed Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Company as one of the 14 Weirdest Brewery Locations in America.
Goldfarb says “Like any good New Yorker, I like to battle hangovers with a hearty breakfast at my local greasy spoon. Unfortunately, if I want to add some hair of the dog to that lumberjack platter, my diner’s only imbibing option is some boxed wine bought during the Giuliani administration. But at Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co. in rural Hays, Kansas, German-style beers are served up alongside a massive menu of classical American diner food.
The article includes brew locations located in jailhouses, casinos, and even minor league ballparks. The full list can be found HERE.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal appeals court in Washington has thrown out a ruling that called into question the subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford their premiums under the president’s health care law.
