TOPEKA – Kansas consumers who purchased electronic books (e-books) are expected to receive approximately $3.8 million from a legal settlement from a price-fixing case against Apple, Inc. according to a media release from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Kansas is part of a group of 33 states to investigate and sue Apple for its participation in a conspiracy with publishers to artificially inflate e-book prices to the detriment of consumers. The states prevailed in federal district court in New York and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. When the U.S. Supreme Court in March declined to hear Apple’s further appeal, the current settlement became final.

In 2012 and 2013, Kansas and the other states reached settlements with five major e-book publishers – Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Simon & Schuster Inc., Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC, d/b/a Macmillan, and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Kansas consumers received approximately $1.4 million in March of 2014 as a result of those settlements. The settlement with Apple resolves the remaining price fixing claims brought against the group of companies by Schmidt and the other attorneys general.

“The distribution of these refunds brings to a close the long legal battle over e-book price fixing,” Schmidt said. “These competitors together conspired to push the price of e-books higher than the market rate. While each consumer may have seen only a small price increase, altogether these companies collected millions of dollars by artificially inflating the price.”

Distribution of the consumer payments should begin on June 21. The amount any individual consumer will receive depends on how many qualifying books the consumer bought. Customers who purchased e-books through Sony or Google will receive checks in the mail. Customers who purchased e-books through Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo will automatically receive credits in their accounts (unless they previously requested to receive checks). Customers receiving account credits should expect to receive an email between June 21 and June 24, indicating that the credits are available in their accounts. Because of the large number of consumers affected, it will take a few days to fully load account credits, and some consumers may not see credits in their accounts until June 24. Credits can be used to purchase anything sold by these retailers, not only e-books.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Several dozen central and western Kansas school superintendents say they have no intention of following the advice of U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp to disregard a recent transgender bathroom directive from President Barack Obama’s administration.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that it reached out to 129 school superintendents who were given the Republican congressman’s letter and received responses from 30 of them.  Read the letter here.

Huelskamp used the letter to encourage districts to “stand up to the Obama administration.” But none said they would directly disobey the directive that students should use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.

Many district leaders dismissed debates over transgender students as irrelevant to their rural districts. Others explained the policies and procedures they have established to ensure transgender students are treated fairly.

SALINE COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a teen on weapons charges.

Just after 6:30p.m. on Saturday, witnesses say they saw Zachary Degraw, 17, Salina, discharge a high-power handgun at near the intersection of 9th and Otto, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.

A short time later, police located Degraw in the area of Haskett and Cloud Streets and the officer recovered a high power semi automatic handgun.

During their investigation, police were able to determine Degraw was the suspect in an incident Thursday afternoon at the Central Mall.

A group of girls between the ages of 11 and 13, said Degraw was walking in front of them in the commons area of the mall. He stopped, turned around, and twice pulled up his shirt to display a handgun in his pants. He also threatened to shoot them.

Requested charges against Degraw include criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and multiple counts of aggravated assault, and criminal threats, according to police.

He is being held in the regional juvenile detention facility in Junction City. A relative of Degraw owns the gun, according to police.

CORRECTION: An earlier version incorrectly identified Collins as the rider who swerved.

A corrected version of the KHP report is below.