NEW YORK (AP) — Hyatt says it found malicious software in about 250 of its hotels that may have taken customers’ credit- and debit-card numbers and other information.
It’s the first time the hotel operator listed the hotels affected since it first announced it found malware at its hotels in December.
A Hyatt spokeswoman says the hotel chain does not know at this time how many customers were affected.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. says the malware was present between July and December at payment-processing systems at its restaurants, spas, front desks and other areas.
The malware was found at many of its brands, including the Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Andaz. About 100 of the hotels affected were in the U.S., the rest were abroad in cities including London, Paris and Shanghai.
Fort Hays State University will host an interdisciplinary workshop titled “Educational Approaches to the Holocaust” from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in the Stouffer Lounge of FHSU’s Memorial Union.
The workshop, facilitated by the Kansas Center for Innovative Education, is partially funded by grant money from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. The grant was written by Dr. Paul Nienkamp, assistant professor of history at FHSU.
About 55 middle and secondary teachers and teaching candidates are registered to attend. The workshop will bring in participants from the counties of Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Kearny, Lane, Norton, Pratt, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Seward and Wabaunsee. Several members of the Eisenhower Foundation and Library are also expected.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has announced he will visit Oakley and Grainfield as part of his Kansas Listening Tour on Monday, Jan. 18.
Area residents are encouraged to attend and share feedback with Sen. Moran on the critical issues facing Kansas and the nation. The issues Sen. Moran focuses on and the work he does in Washington, D.C., are significantly based on the conversations he has with Kansans during these town hall meetings.
Moran will be in Oakley from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Logan County Courthouse, 710 W. 2nd Street, in the basement meeting room. The senator will then travel to Gove County for another town hall meeting. It will be held from 9 until 10 a.m. in the Grainfield American Legion, 235 Main Street.
Questions about the events may be directed to Katie Niederee at [email protected].
Mary Alice Unrein, owner of proposed Blue Sky Acres Addition
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Going against the recommendations of both the Hays Area Planning Commission and city staff, Hays city commissioners Thursday night voted four to one to rezone the proposed Blue Sky Acres Addition two miles south of Hays on Highway 183 from Agricultural to Residential Suburban.
The area falls within the three-mile-zone outside the city limits perimeter, which is under the jurisdiction of the city.
Hays Public Works Director Greg Sund quoted to commissioners language from the 2012 Hays Comprehensive Plan, and concluded the rezoning request is not allowed. “It states this land should generally be preserved for agriculture and the extension of urban services in the foreseeable future is unlikely,” Sund said. “The Comprehensive Plan also states new development should generally be contiguous to existing development…it mentions three growth zones. It does not mention anything south of the city primarily because the existence of university (state) property to the south and west of Hays,” he added.
“I would be against this rezoning if it was right outside the city limits or the north or east edges where Hays is growing,” said Commissioner Lance Jones, “but the way it is out there, I don’t think it will ever affect the city’s growth.”
“The Comprehensive Plan needs to be a flexible document,” Jones added.
(Click to enlarge)
Landowner Mary Alice Unrein told the commission she has met all the requirements presented to her from various state agencies, Ellis County Public Works and Rural Fire, and Midwest Energy, all of which she previously presented to the Planning Commission. “Water is available,” she said. “There are private wells out there, and three irrigation wells which are not being used currently.” Unrein also owns the 80 acres south of the planned development and said she “could get water from there if I need to.”
Planning Commission member Matthew Wheeler explained why he voted against Unrein’s request.
Planning Commission member Matthew Wheeler voted against Unrein’s rezoning request.
“I’m very much in favor of letting people develop their property the way they see fit, but this particular development does not fit into our zoning or our comprehensive plan,” Wheeler said. “If we would say ‘Yes’ to this then the Planning Commission and the city commission would have very little standing to say ‘No’ to anybody on any future proposed development because this one is so far outside of what our zoning regulations and Comprehensive Plan call for.”
Mayor Eber Phelps cast the lone vote against the rezoning request.
“We had a number of sets of eyes looking at this–two times by the Planning Commission. I believe they and city staff followed the letter of the law and all the criteria set forth in our comprehensive land use plan. The three-mile-zone was put in place for a purpose.”
All the commissioners agreed city staff and Planning Commission members were legally correct in their decisions against the rezoning request.
The VonFeldt Addition east of the proposed Blue Sky Acres Addition has seven residential lots which were platted in 1977. (Click to enlarge)
“I went to the Ellis County commission meeting last week in an unofficial capacity,” Commissioner Henry Schwaller reported. “The county commissioners would like to see the development go forward to the point where they could have the opportunity to consider the development. Both they and the department heads do not believe this development would be a harm to the county. They believe it would be very helpful and they see it as a way to boost revenue.”
Schwaller, who made the motion to approve the rezoning, said it had been a “very difficult decision” for him. He then pointed out the 2012 Comprehensive Plan has “not yet been codified into our zoning regulations.”
“We’re still in the process of rewriting and debating and passing a new set of zoning regulations that matches the Comprehensive Plan….until then, there is no outright ban of this in our zoning regulations,” Schwaller said.
HUTCHINSON – A Kansas man with an extensive criminal history is back in jail after his arrest Wednesday for being in possession of drugs, a rifle and brass knuckles.
Richard Lorenzon Warren, 40, Hutchinson, was spotted by a Reno County Sheriff deputy at a local convenience store and knew there was a warrant for his arrest.
When the deputy made contact, he noticed a rifle between the passenger seat and the console of Warren’s truck.
The deputy ordered Warren to shut off the truck he was driving.
Warren allegedly continued reaching into his pocket, was eventually removed from the truck and placed in handcuffs.
When deputies searched his pocket, they found the brass knuckles and a small bag of methamphetamine.
Deputies also allegedly found two syringes in the center console of the truck.
The rifle was a loaded Ruger 10-22.
In court, Warren tried to tell Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen that it wasn’t his rifle but the report from the deputy indicated otherwise.
Warren has two warrants, one in Reno County, but also indicated to the judge that he has an outstanding warrant in Sedgwick County.
Warren is being held on a $54,000 bond and will be back in court next week.
He also faces a probation violation hearing for a possession of methamphetamine case from August of 2013.
Warren has prior felony convictions for unlawful manufacturing, possession of drugs, theft by deception and aggravated battery.
Arctic air will briefly invade SW Kansas for about one day this weekend, with the coldest temperatures expected on Sunday. All locations are expected to remain well below freezing all day Sunday.
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon.
Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. East northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
SaturdayPartly sunny, with a high near 38. East northeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.
Saturday NightIncreasing clouds, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as -2. Blustery, with a south southwest wind 5 to 10 mph
becoming north northeast 15 to 20 mph after midnight.
SundayScattered flurries between 8am and 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 20. Blustery, with a north northeast wind 17 to 22 mph
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz firmly asserted their standing atop the GOP race in Thursday night’s debate, overshadowing a crowded field of rivals still grappling for a way to overtake the fiery front-runners.
The debate underscored that the competition between Trump and Cruz will be rough-and-tumble in the days leading up to the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. The candidates tangled over Cruz’s eligibility to serve as commander in chief and the real estate mogul’s “New York values,” with Trump besting his rival with an emotional recounting of his hometown’s response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Trump also renewed his suggestion that Cruz may not be eligible to serve as commander in chief because he was born in Canada to an American mother.
LINDSBORG -For most the thought of running a mile is daunting and setting a record even more challenging. Bethany College Track Coach Aaron Yoder decided to take those challenges and make them just a little bit harder by doing both, only backwards, according to a media release from the College.
Yoder was recently notified by Guinness World Book of Records that he is the official title holder for the Fastest Run Backwards, One Mile. His record time, 5 minutes 54.25 seconds, was achieved on November 23, 2015 in Lindsborg. The run was recorded by photographer Jim Turner of Lindsborg and posted on YouTube.
“Jim was truly the mastermind behind this endeavor,” Yoder said. “He did all the legwork with the technology and administration of the evidence.”
Yoder isn’t sure if his new record, the first of its kind in the Guinness World Book, will make backwards running the new fitness craze. He will just be happy if it gets more people up moving and being fit.
“That’s always my goal,” he said. “To inspire people to get fit. If trying to break my record will help, that would be great.”
Yoder began running backwards as a kid, he said. “It was a way for me to get a better workout at home on the treadmill we had. Then I started running backwards and my mom would ride along with me outside on her bike.”
While submitting the necessary documentation for the Guinness World Record Book, Yoder discovered there is a community of backward runners and a world championship that he plans to compete in this summer in Essen, Germany. He hopes maybe someday it could even become an Olympic event.
“You never know,” he said. “Ultimate Frisbee is a recognized Olympic sport.”
Yoder’s record setting run can be seen on YouTube and his officially listing in the Guinness World Book of Records can be found here.
The Kansas Board of Healing Arts will take no action against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri after looking into whether it engaged in the illegal sale of fetal tissue.
In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Planned Parenthood President and CEO Laura McQuade said the board had sent a letter to Planned Parenthood and its attorney on Jan. 7 stating “no further action will be taken at this time.”
“We absolutely feel vindicated by this,” McQuade said, adding that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had also conducted two separate inspections and also found no wrongdoing.
McQuade said that because the Board of Healing Arts comes under the jurisdiction of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, “he was well aware that we were cleared of any inappropriate activity long before the State of the State address” on Tuesday night.
In his address, Brownback said he had ordered state health officials to eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. The organization has vowed to challenge that move in court.
“No longer will we send the money of hard-working Kansans to fund an industry that disrespects life and violates the moral conscience of our people,” Brownback said in a statement.
McQuade accused Brownback of making “knowingly false statements about Planned Parenthood and its practices” in the speech and was “basing future policy decisions on what he knows to be knowingly false information.”
She said that part of the reason Planned Parenthood was disclosing the Board of Healing Arts letter was “to make it clear this is not a fight over an opinion, this is a fact, and you can’t make false allegations without there being repercussions.”
Asked if that meant Planned Parenthood was contemplating taking legal action, McQuade said, “I’d like to explore all of our options for this organization.”
A spokeswoman for Brownback, Eileen Hawley, said in a statement that the administration will review the findings of the Board of Healing Arts. She said the administration will continue to fight for “the most vulnerable among us.”
Brownback had called for the Board of Healing Arts investigation after highly edited videos surfaced last year purporting to show Planned Parenthood clinics had illegally trafficked in fetal parts.
On Thursday, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and seven of its California affiliates sued the Center for Medical Progress, the anti-abortion group that made the secretly taped videos. The suit seeks damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, as well as for wire and mail fraud, invasion of privacy and other counts.
The videos, which were released about six months ago, prompted an outcry and led several states as well as Congress to launch investigations of Planned Parenthood and calls to defund it. So far, no investigation has found any wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood.
Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for abortions. Planned Parenthood says that abortions make up no more than 3 percent of its services. The rest are for contraception, tests and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings and other women’s health services.
Last month a federal judge in Kansas City ruled that Missouri health officials probably violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause when they threatened to revoke the abortion license of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, Missouri. U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey found that officials had acceded to political pressure in treating Planned Parenthood differently than similar institutions.
Dan Margolies, editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State shot 61-percent in the first half and hit seven 3-pointers in building a 16-point halftime lead then hold on in the second half for an 84-74 win over Northeastern State Thursday at Gross Coliseum. The RiverHawks (4-10, 3-7 MIAA) scored the first eight points of the second half but the Tigers (12-4, 6-4 MIAA) answered with seven straight to push the lead back to double-figures where it would remain the rest of the game.
Mark Johnson Postgame Interview
Craig Nicholson Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
Rob Davis led the Tigers with 24 points, Craig Nicholson added 15 and Dom Samac 13 along with 13 rebounds. Nicholson also dished out five assists and is now second in career assists with 561, passing Mark Wilson. He moves into ninth in career scoring with 1,255 points, passing Fred Campbell.
The Tigers shoot 53-percent for the night including 10-of-20 from beyond the arc and hit 18-of-21 free throws. They outrebounded the RiverHawks by 17 but turned the ball over 2o times.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is defending his support for using a new school funding formula to encourage local districts to enact merit pay systems for teachers.
The Republican governor responded to comments Thursday from Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka.
Hensley is a teacher and said he opposes merit pay because merit pay systems are marked by favoritism. He also said legislators should focus on issues that unite educators when they draft a new law for distributing more than $4 billion in aid to the state’s 286 school districts.
Brownback said Hensley is dismissing merit pay too quickly. He said lawmakers should hold hearings on merit pay systems and learn where they’ve worked.
Lawmakers aren’t sure how far they’ll get this year in drafting a new school funding law.
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State tied a season-high with 11 three-pointers as they win their fifth straight 68-47 over Northeastern State Thursday night at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers (15-1, 9-1 MIAA) hit five from long range in the first quarter and had eight by halftime.
Tony Hobson Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
The Tigers scored 25 points off 18 offensive rebounds and added 19 points off 19 RiverHawk turnovers.
Jill Faxon knocked down three 3-pointers and led the Tigers with 17 points. Paige Lunsford hit two from long range and scored 14 along with 13 rebounds. Chelsea Mason added four 3-pointers and scored 12.
Northeastern State (5-11, 2-8 MIAA) was led by Kate Bellamy who scored 12. The RiverHawks have now lost five straight to the Tigers and five straight overall.
SALINE COUNTY -Three suspects were in custody and a search underway for a fourth after a short high speed chase just outside of Salina Thursday evening.
The chase, which began just after 8 p.m., began in the area of Water Well Road and Ohio Street.
The suspect vehicle led officers east on Water Well. Three passengers jumped out of the vehicle near Holmes Road.
They were captured moments later.
The driver continued eastbound and eventually jumped from the vehicle near Simpson Road and fled on foot.
As of 8:45 p.m., the search for the driver continued.
K-9 officers with the Kansas Highway Patrol were assisting the Saline County Sheriff’s Office in the search.
Check Hays Post for additional details as they become available.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hyatt says it found malicious software in about 250 of its hotels that may have taken customers’ credit- and debit-card numbers and other information.
