KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perry Ellis had 20 points, Devonte Graham added 14 points and eight assists, and top-ranked Kansas held on through a shaky finish to beat No. 22 Baylor 70-66 in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday night.
Wayne Selden Jr. dunked his way to 11 points for the Jayhawks (29-4), who muddled through an ugly first half before eventually avenging their loss to the Bears (22-11) in last year’s semifinals.
Kansas will play sixth-ranked Oklahoma or No. 9 West Virginia for the title Saturday night.
Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino- photo Kansas City Police
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal authorities say they’ve found no indications that a rifle used in the shooting deaths of four Kansas men and one in Missouri was stolen.
Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino was captured just after midnight Wednesday a few miles from where authorities say he gunned down 49-year-old Randy Nordman at the man’s home in Montgomery County, Missouri.
Police say a rifle he had when he was captured was similar to one used to kill four men in Kansas City, Kansas, on Monday night.
John Ham, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says investigators don’t think the gun was stolen but are still trying to figure out who last legitimately purchased the weapon.
He says Serrano-Vitorino likely obtained the weapon in the Kansas City area, where he lived.
The TMP Lady Monarchs saw their 20 game win streak come to an end on Friday in the semifinals of the 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson. TMP trailed 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and 31-24 at halftime. Silver Lake pushed the lead to double figures by the end of the third quarter, 45-32. The Lady Monarchs struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, eventually falling 61-44.
Megan Koenigsman led the way for TMP with 17 points. TMP will play the Sterling loser in the third place game at noon on Saturday in Hutchinson. Sterling fell in their semifinal game 50-43 to Sabetha.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly three million boxes of frozen DiGiorno pizzas, Stouffer’s lasagnas and Lean Cuisine meals are being recalled after customers said they found pieces of glass in their food.
Nestle USA, the company behind the brands, said no injuries have been reported.
The food maker said the glass may have come from the spinach used in the recalled products. It said an investigation is ongoing.
The recall covers about 2.98 million individual boxes, including four varieties of DiGiorno pizzas, five types of Lean Cuisine meals, four Stouffer’s lasagnas and one Stouffer’s spinach souffle.
DiGiorno Thin & Crispy Spinach and Garlic Pizza
DiGiorno Rising Crust Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
DiGiorno pizzeria Thin Crust Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
DiGiorno pizzeria Tuscan-style Chicken Pizza
Lean Cuisine Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
Lean Cuisine Spinach Artichoke Ravioli
Lean Cuisine Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli
Lean Cuisine Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Panini
Lean Cuisine Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli
Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna (10 oz., 37 oz. and 96 oz. sizes)
In addition , pistachios sold under the brands of Wonderful, Paramount Farms and Trader Joe’s are being recalled nationwide because they may be contaminated with salmonella.
Health officials in nine states are investigating 11 cases of salmonella linked to pistachios from Wonderful Pistachios of Lost Hills, California. The nuts are sold nationwide and in Canada.
The recalled pistachios can be identified by a lot code number on the lower back or bottom panel of the package. A list of those numbers is available on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Wonderful Pistachios says on its website that it takes food safety seriously and is working with health officials to find the source of the problem.
The company asks people to return the nuts where they bought them for a refund.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A major U.S. bank has given a presentation to Kansas finance officials on securitizing the state’s future tobacco settlement money.
The presentation by Citigroup has raised concerns among child advocates who say selling the future settlement payments to raise cash for the budget deficit would hurt the state’s early childhood system.
A copy of the 26-page Citigroup presentation, provided to The Topeka Capital-Journal by Kansas Action for Children, said Citigroup, “pioneered the tobacco bond market” and shows which states have securitized.
Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley on Thursday said the meeting with Citigroup last October was attended by officials with the Kansas Development Finance Authority and Brownback’s budget director. She says there’s no deal or pending legislation to sell tobacco settlement money.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An investment banking company has briefed Kansas officials on its expertise in tobacco settlement payments as child advocates say the state is pursuing a future sale to help close the budget deficit.
The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal reports that Kansas Action for Children alleged during a Tuesday hearing that Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration was contemplating selling future tobacco settlement payments to generate more than $400 million in one-time cash.
Administration officials say there’s no deal but that discussions have taken place.
The nonprofit group provided a copy of the 26-page presentation Citigroup Inc. gave in October, highlighting the benefits of using the company to securitize. The document says that bond proceeds have been used for capital projects, endowments, pension funding and working capital.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A law enforcement officer shot and killed a man after he got out of a vehicle and raised a firearm along an interstate in Kansas.
Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet says officers received a report Friday afternoon of a man sitting in a pickup with a gun sticking out the window.
Herzet told The Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/1U7m3Cm ) the weapon appeared to be a rifle with a scope. He says officers blocked traffic along U.S. 54 near Rosalia and used a public address system to communicate with the man from a distance.
Herzet says the man got out of the vehicle and raised the weapon, which is when an officer shot and killed him.
Herzet wouldn’t provide the man’s name or age but said he had lived in the county previously.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A school funding bill in the Kansas Senate would reduce funding for most of the state’s school districts, while a bill introduced in the Kansas House would increase funding for a majority of districts.
A bill introduced by Sen. Ty Masterson, the Senate’s budget chairman, would shift money already allocated for K-12 districts to poorer districts. The Legislative Research Department says it would cause a funding decline for 189 school districts, with increases for 37 districts.
Meanwhile, a bill introduced in the House Friday by Rep. Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican, would give districts $39 million more in funding for the next school year. The Wichita Eagle reports that would increase funding for 162 districts and reduce funding for 79 districts. Another 45 districts would have flat funding.
SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect allegedly involved in a violent attack in a Salina home on Thursday.
Clinton Cheney, 31, Lincoln, is alleged to have threatened a woman with a knife and strangled her almost to the point of unconsciousness, according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
Cheney also reportedly refused to allow the woman, who is in 30s, to leave the home.
Cheney is an acquaintance of the woman.
Cheney left the home and the woman called police.
He was arrested in Lincoln County Thursday evening and was booked into jail on requested charges of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, domestic battery, aggravated kidnapping, and criminal threat.
FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Garden City are investigating an injury accident involving children.
Just after 6 p.m. on Thursday, Officers of the Garden City Police Department were dispatched to 4101 E Hwy 50 reference a child being struck by a car as it backed out of a driveway, according to a media release.
When Officers arrived on scene they located a 3-year-old child with injuries to his head.
Finney County EMS responded and transported the child to St Catherine Hospital where he was treated and released.
The investigation revealed the victim was one of several children playing in the street at the time of the accident.
No charges are expected to filed, according to police captain Randy Ralston.
PITTSBURG, Kan. – Winona State outscored Fort Hays State 18-2 over the final 8:08 of the fourth quarter as they rally from a 13-point second half deficit for a 60-55 win in the opening round of the NCAA II Central Regional at John Lance Arena. The 16th-ranked Tigers (25-6), who led 41-27 at halftime, hit only 5-of-33 in the second half and were 1-for-20 from beyond the arc after halftime.
Taylor Chandler and Jill Faxon led the Tigers with 11 points each. Faxon added a career-high 15 rebounds in the losing effort. Junior guard Tara Roelofs led No. 7 Winona State with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting including 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
FHSU Postgame Press Conference
Game Highlights
Winona State (30-3) raced out to an early nine-point first quarter lead, but the Tigers answered with a 31-9 run to go up 13. The Warriors scored 11 straight to pull within two late in the third quarter, but a 9-0 run by the Tigers pushed the lead to 11 with 8:08 to play.
The Tigers would not score again until a Jill Faxon layup with 0:13 to play, ending a 7:55 scoring drought in which WSU scored 17 unanswered.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have begun to announce their wave of free-agent signings, starting with veteran linebacker Tamba Hali and defensive tackle Jaye Howard.
Hali agreed to a three-year deal to remain with Kansas City on Tuesday, while Howard reached a two-year deal to stay with the Chiefs on Wednesday. Both were valuable pieces to a defense that last season led the Chiefs to their first playoff victory in more than two decades.
Kansas City also agreed to a three-year deal with veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson, a five-year contract with former Browns offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz and contracts with backup linebackers Frank Zombo and Jonathan Massaquoi during the first day of free agency.
Those contracts are expected to be announced once they are signed.
TOPEKA – Legislators and proponents of a bill that seeks to create language assessments for children who are deaf or hard of hearing expressed outrage Tuesday that the students are routinely neglected in language education.
Senate Bill 444 would establish an annual language assessment, which would be administered by the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
However, lawmakers Tuesday focused their attentions on data from the Kansas State Department of Education which, though limited, show that deaf students graduating from high school can read and understand language at a third-grade level, on average.
“If we’ve had data proving there was this major of a problem, I’m very concerned as to why we’ve waited this long to act,” Sen. Dennis Pyle, R- Hiawatha, said at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Education.
Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, agreed with Pyle and heavily criticized members of the Kansas State Board of Education and the Special Education Advisory Council for not acknowledging the problem sooner.
Ken Willard of the Kansas State Board of Education told lawmakers board members also are outraged. He said the board wasn’t aware of the problem until this bill was created.
“In the 14 years I’ve been here, this issue has never been brought to the attention of the board,” Willard said.
Supporters of the bill urged legislators to bridge the gap between age and literacy levels in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
“Children with language delays have issues for the rest of their lives,” said Ann Cooper, president of the Kansas Association of the Deaf. “We need a system that tracks data and gives statistics on this problem.”
Scott Plumber, father of three deaf children and a deaf man himself, testified that he sees language deprivation problems occurring in students at his children’s schools.
“Language deprivation is a major problem,” Plumber said. “We need state assessments and monitoring to make sure children’s needs are being met.”
All proponents on the bill agreed that the language assessment would finally give the state the accurate numbers it needs to track the problem of illiteracy among deaf and hard of hearing children.
“It’s time for change in the lives of our deaf children,” said Sandra Kelly, executive director at the Deaf Cultural Center. “This language assessment is a game changer for education.”
