WICHITA – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating the death of approximately 30 Egrets from a residential area near Central and Interstate 235, according to a social media report from Wichita Police.

The birds are protected by federal law and it is illegal to injure or kill them. Individuals also cannot harass or move the Egrets once they have nested.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is assisting with the investigation.

Egrets had been known to roost in a residential area a little more than a mile north of where the deceased birds were found, sometimes irritating residents. But most of the trees they used to roost were bulldozed last year.

Police are expected to released additional details on Thursday.

HESSTON, Kansas (AP) — The man who killed three people before Hesston, Kansas, police fatally shot him in February is estimated to have had more than 135 times the standard dose of methamphetamine in his system.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Cedric L. Ford also had three times the legal limit of alcohol for driving in his system.

An autopsy shows Ford died from four gunshot wounds after the shooting spree that started along a highway and ended inside his workplace, Excel Industries.

Forensic expert Jonathan Lipman says methamphetamine tends to have a strong, psychotic impact on people who already suffer from mood disorders.

Ford had been served a protection order at work hours earlier. A woman he lived with said Ford grabbed her and put her in a chokehold earlier that month.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 4p.m. on Wednesday in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Olds passenger car driven by Jaycee L. Moran, was westbound on Interstate 470 at 21st Street in Topeka.

A semi driven by Nathaniel S. Barton III, 58, Wichita, made an unsafe lane change and sideswiped the Oldsmobile.

Moran was transported to Stormont Vail. Barton was not injured.

Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  Spirit AeroSystems announced Wednesday that the aviation company’s CEO is retiring next month.

Larry Lawson, president and CEO of Wichita-based Spirit, plans to retire July 31. Lawson has been with Spirit since 2013.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Tom Gentile, Spirit’s chief operating officer, will replace Lawson. Spirit said in a release that Gentile joined Spirit earlier this year after holding leadership positions at GE.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday showed Lawson will be retained as a consultant to the company for two years at an annual salary of $150,000 and will receive separation payments totaling $1.3 million and a cash award of $1.1 million for 2016.

Spirit employs about 14,800 people worldwide and in 2015 recorded $789 million in net income on revenue of $6.6 billion.

MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s obesity epidemic continues to grow, led by an alarming increase among women. For the first time, more than 4 in 10 U.S. women are obese, according to new government health statistics.

Obesity rates for men and women in the U.S. had been roughly the same for about a decade. But in recent years, women have surged ahead and now just over 40 percent of women are obese, compared to 35 percent of men.

The percentages were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in two articles published online Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Obesity is considered one of the nation’s leading public health problems because it can trigger diabetes and lead to heart disease and other serious health problems.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state official says the Kansas Legislature’s special session on education funding will cost at least $43,000 a day.

Legislative Administrative Services Director Thomas Day said Wednesday that lawmakers’ salaries and expense payments will be most of the cost. He said the Legislature would operate with a skeleton staff.

Gov. Sam Brownback called a special session that will begin June 23 to respond to a state Supreme Court order last month.

The court rejected changes in school finance laws made earlier this year. It warned that schools will not be able to open after June 30 unless legislators make the education funding system fairer to poor districts.

When lawmakers are in session, they receive $88.66 in salary and $140 for expenses each day, for a total of $228.66.

FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — A war of words is being waged at a Kansas military base after a highly decorated retired officer was disinvited from a prayer breakfast because of complaints about his outspoken Christian conservative views.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin was scheduled to speak Monday at Fort Riley as part of the 1st Infantry Division’s “Victory Week.”

Boykin spent 36 years in the Army and led the elite Delta Force in attempts to recover hostages in Iran, apprehend Manuel Noriega and track drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

But he also has drawn attention for claiming Islam doesn’t deserve First Amendment protection and that President Barack Obama subliminally supports al-Qaeda.

Boykin was disinvited from the breakfast after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation protested his appearance at the event.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a body found in a Kansas creek has been identified as that of an 11-year-old boy swept away by high waters late last month.

Crews had been searching since May 27 when Devon Cooley went missing after he fell into fast-moving water from heavy rains. Authorities said the boy and some friends had been trying to cross a stretch of Gypsum Creek in Wichita when he fell.

Wichita police Sgt. Nikki Woodrow said Wednesday that the coroner identified the body from dental records. Police said earlier that his body was found Saturday by a kayaker about a mile downstream from the general search area.

The family has said plans for a memorial service are pending.

Friends and family have established a gofundme memorial page for Devon.