KANSAS CITY -A Federal Grand Jury has indicted A Kansas man who also has three cases pending in Reno County District Court.

Brandon Matthew Mounce, 38, Hutchinson, is charged with failing to register as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The crime is alleged to have occurred in March of 2015.

In District Court, Mounce is charged in one case with two counts of failing to register as a sex offender because of a conviction for sexual assault in Dallas in 2007.

He failed to register according to the state on Dec. 17 and Dec. 31, 2014.

The second case involves him failing to appear before District Judge Trish Rose. It charges him with aggravated failure to appear in case where he’s charged with attempted aggravated arson.

He also allegedly failed to appear in court on Jan. 13, 2015. The state then managed to get his bond forfeited and he failed to turn himself in.

In the attempted arson case, he’s alleged to have set a pair of jeans on fire at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center on July 7, 2014.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.

JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The final run for the current version of the SAT college entrance exam comes this weekend, when hundreds of thousands of students nationwide will sit, squirm or stress through the nearly four-hour reading, writing and math test.

A revamped version of the SAT debuts in March.

The College Board says the new SAT will focus more on what students are learning in the classroom and analysis by students. There also is no longer a penalty for guessing on the redesigned exam, and the essay will be optional.

The board says there’s no reason for students to be anxious about the new look of the SAT. But some college counselors and test preparation companies say some students are focusing on Saturday’s exam because it’s more familiar.

NEW YORK (AP) — Christmas ornaments sold on home shopping network QVC are being recalled after customers said they cut themselves on the aluminum ornaments and needed stitches.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the ornaments have decorative cutouts that have sharp metal edges. The CPSC said 140 customers cut their fingers on the ornaments. Four said they needed stitches.

The ornaments, called Cheryl’s Jingle Bell ornaments, were sold during QVC TV programs and on the company’s website between November and December. They cost $55 for a box of eight ornaments. The ornaments came in red, green, gold and silver colors and were sold with 64 cookies.

About 25,000 box sets were sold. Customers should stop using the ornaments and return them to QVC for a full refund, the CPSC said.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills hire Kathryn Smith, making her first full-time female assistant coach in NFL history.

She had been working as an administrative assistant with the assistant coaches for years, according to a media release from the Bills.

BREAKING: Kathryn Smith is the Bills new special teams quality control coach, the first full-time female NFL coach! pic.twitter.com/r2MkWX4pR3

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) January 21, 2016

 

Kathryn Smith’s official title with the @buffalobills will be Quality Control-Special Teams. — Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) January 21, 2016

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man has been charged in a woman’s death.

The Kansas City Star reports that the premeditated first-degree murder charge was filed Wednesday against 37-year-old Christopher Duane Wallace, of Overland Park. Bond is set at $1 million. Defense attorney Carl Cornwell didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

He is accused of killing 35-year-old Jennifer Lopez, whose body was found late Monday inside a Mission apartment. Court documents do not say how Lopez was killed.

Wallace was detained at the scene and later arrested in connection with the homicide.

Overland Park police described Wallace and Lopez as acquaintances.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Wednesday held a business meeting where bipartisan legislation to reauthorize child nutrition programs was favorably reported out of the Agriculture Committee.

The legislation, “Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016,” reforms and reauthorizes child nutrition programs in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

WATCH Senator Roberts Opening statement here

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas senators are considering a measure that would allow limited possession of marijuana.

The bill includes provisions that reduce penalties for first- and second-time offenders. It also allows some medical cannabis treatment for those suffering from seizures and encourages industrial hemp research. The House passed the bill last year.

In a Kansas Senate committee hearing Wednesday, parents of children with developmental disabilities discussed the advantages of using medical marijuana for seizures.

Scott Schulz, executive director of the Kansas Sentencing Commission, also supported reducing criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana. The bill would reduce the severity of a first-time offense, while a second conviction would be considered a misdemeanor instead of a low-level felony.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would lessen the state’s penalties for marijuana possession and allow the limited use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee was meeting Wednesday for the first of two days of hearings on the marijuana legislation. The panel was taking testimony from supporters first and hearing from opponents Thursday.

The House approved the bill last year.

The measure would decrease the maximum penalties for first-time, misdemeanor marijuana possession to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine from a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. A second possession conviction would no longer be a felony.

The bill also would allow cannabis to be used in treating seizures and set up a program to research industrial hemp production.