DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that automatic braking in Jeep Grand Cherokees can come on for no reason. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers about 20,000 of the SUVs from the 2014 model year.

The agency says it has nine complaints that the autonomous brakes suddenly reduced the Jeeps’ speed for no apparent reason. The Grand Cherokee and other vehicles have cruise control systems that use radar and cameras to detect objects and automatically brake to avoid a crash. The systems are among the first steps toward cars that drive themselves.

Many people who complained said the mysterious braking nearly caused other cars to hit them from behind. The agency will investigate how often the problem happens. The probe could lead to a recall.

WICHITA– A Sedgwick County inmate was found unresponsive in his cell at about 7:40 a.m. Monday.

Authorities reported in a media release that following immediate medical attention from on-site staff, the 55-year-old man was transported to a Wichita hospital.

After additional medical aid was administered, he was pronounced dead at around 9:40 a.m. The cause of death has not been determined.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Investigation Division were notified.

The inmate’s identity is being withheld pending notification of his family, however, officials say he was booked into the Sedgwick County Detention Facility on Dec. 8, 2014, on felony charges.

This is the third in-custody death in that detention facility this year.

The first was that of an elderly inmate who battled terminal illness for several weeks prior to his death on Jan. 21.

The second was that of a 25-year-old man who was being treated for a medical issue prior to his death on Feb. 22.

GARDEN CITY – Police in Garden City reported in a media release that just after 9 p.m. on Sunday Officers responded to the 2000 block of Cherokee Road for a reported drowning.

When Officers arrived on scene a three year-old girl was found unresponsive and not breathing. Family members on scene had begun CPR prior to Officers arrival.

Officers then continued lifesaving efforts. The victim was transported to St Catharine Hospital by Finney County EMS.

Lifesaving efforts were continued at the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The investigation revealed that several family members were attending a birthday party at the residence, the children who were swimming exited the pool and went into the residence when it was discovered that the victim was not in the residence. A search of the area began and the victim was found in the swimming pool unresponsive.

The children were being supervised by adults and were not left unattended. The ages of the children in the pool ranged from three to fourteen years of age.

This is an ongoing investigation; there were no signs of foul play.

GRANDVIEW PLAZA – Three people were hospitalized after an accident during a police chase on Interstate 70 just before 7a.m. on Monday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported officers attempted to stop a 2000 Audi passenger car driven by Arturo Molina, 20, Kansas City, for speeding.

The vehicle fled. After driving recklessly through traffic, the vehicle exited the Interstate at Grandview Plaza and came to a stop after striking the embankment.

Molina, and passengers Miguel Angel Macias, 22, and Christian A. Cruz, 21, both of Kansas City were transported to Geary County Hospital.

They were not wearing seat belts according to the KHP.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Reno County health officials are dealing with a whooping cough outbreak that includes 23 suspected cases of the illness.

The Hutchinson News reports health officials are asking sick people to stay home and for health providers to relay information on suspected cases of whooping cough, which is characterized by intense coughing, fever and runny nose.

The health department says the county reported 3 suspected cases in mid-May, 18 in early June and 23 as of Monday.

Ivonne Rivera-Newberry, the department’s assistant director of clinical services, says people may not be taking the illness as seriously as they should. Whooping cough can be especially difficult for infants, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems.

She says vaccination rates overall are down and may be playing into the recent outbreak.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former avionics technician has admitted to plotting a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport.

Terry L. Loewen pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, after striking a deal with prosecutors for a proposed 20-year sentence.

It is up to U.S. District Judge Monti Belot whether to accept the agreement. If the judge rejects it, Loewen would be allowed to withdraw it. Belot told Loewen he was “almost certain” to accept it. Sentencing is set for Aug. 31.

The 59-year-old Wichita man was arrested in 2013 after allegedly trying to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at what was then Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport.

Prosecutors say the plot was hatched during an undercover sting operation was aimed at inflicting “maximum carnage.”

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport is expected to return to court to change his plea.

Terry L. Loewen is scheduled for hearing Monday before U.S. District Judge Monti Belot in federal court in Wichita.

Loewen was arrested in December 2013 when the former avionics technician allegedly tried to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at what was then Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport.

He is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempting to use an explosive device to damage property and attempting to give material support to al-Qaida.

Prosecutors say in court filings the plot hatched during an undercover sting operation was aimed at inflicting “maximum carnage” that would have killed and injured hundreds of people.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 7-year-old girl found floating face down in Lake Shawnee has died.

WIBW reports that Shawnee County authorities confirmed Monday that Alonna Elane Lake, who was found in Lake Shawnee on Saturday evening, was pronounced dead at a hospital later Saturday night.

Shawnee County Park Police Chief Mike Cope says campers flagged down a park police officer Saturday evening and reported the child missing. The officer notified the Shawnee County Sheriff’s office and other emergency personnel for assistance.

The child was found a short time later face down in a lake embankment. Cope says onlookers performed CPR until emergency crews took over and brought the child to a hospital.

The Shawnee County Coroner is conducting an autopsy.

TOPEKA- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 7:30 a.m. on Monday in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Ford Fusion driven by Donna Rae Conley, 59, Hoyt, was southbound on U.S. 75 just north of Topeka.

The vehicle rear-ended a 2003 International trash truck driven by Edward J. Clemens, Jr., 57, Topeka, that entered U.S. 75 southbound from a private drive.

The Fusion also hit a guardrail west of U.S. 75.

Conley was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident according to the KHP. She was transported to Stormont Vail.
Clemens Jr. was not injured.