Game Wardens with the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism are mourning the death of a special K-9.  On their social media page, wardens reported that K-9 died Tuesday just 14 months following her retirement.

According to the wardens, “Meg is credited with making a multitude of poaching cases, apprehension of many fugitives, and providing critical evidence recovery in murder investigations.

She has also been credited for saving lives including a three-year-old girl in Jackson County in 2016 who went missing from her home during an extremely hot day.

Meg was a true public servant, and a Kansas Game Warden to the end. We will miss you girl, rest easy.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Roundup weed killer was a substantial factor in a California man’s cancer, a jury determined Tuesday in the first phase of a trial that attorneys said could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits.

The unanimous verdict by the six-person jury in federal court in San Francisco came in a lawsuit filed against Roundup’s manufacturer, agribusiness giant Monsanto. Edwin Hardeman, 70, was the second plaintiff to go to trial out of thousands around the country who claim the weed killer causes cancer.

Monsanto says studies have established that Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, is safe.

A San Francisco jury in August awarded another man $289 million after determining Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A judge later slashed the award to $78 million, and Monsanto has appealed.

Hardeman’s trial is before a different judge and may be more significant. U.S. Judge Vince Chhabria is overseeing hundreds of Roundup lawsuits and has deemed Hardeman’s case and two others “bellwether trials.”

The outcome of such cases can help attorneys decide whether to keep fighting similar lawsuits or settle them. Legal experts said a jury verdict in favor of Hardeman and the other test plaintiffs would give their attorneys a strong bargaining position in any settlement talks for the remaining cases before Chhabria.

The judge had split Hardeman’s trial into two phases. Hardeman’s attorneys first had to convince jurors that using Roundup was a significant factor in his cancer before they could make arguments for damages.

The trial will now proceed to the second phase to determine whether the company is liable and if so, for how much.

Hardeman declined to comment outside court.

“This has been a long time coming for Mr. Hardeman,” said one of his attorneys, Jennifer Moore. “He’s very pleased he had his day in court, and we’re looking forward to phase two.”

Many government regulators have rejected a link between cancer and glyphosate. Monsanto has vehemently denied such a connection, saying hundreds of studies have established that the chemical is safe.

Bayer, which acquired Monsanto last year, said in a statement after the verdict that it continues to “believe firmly that the science confirms glyphosate-based herbicides do not cause cancer.”

“We are confident the evidence in phase two will show that Monsanto’s conduct has been appropriate and the company should not be liable for Mr. Hardeman’s cancer,” it said.

Monsanto developed glyphosate in the 1970s, and the weed killer is now sold in more than 160 countries and widely used in the U.S.

The herbicide came under increasing scrutiny after the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified it as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015.

Lawsuits against Monsanto followed. The company has attacked the international research agency’s opinion as an outlier.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says glyphosate is safe for people when used in accordance with label directions.

Hardeman started using Roundup products to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his Sonoma County property in the 1980s and continued using them through 2012, according to his attorneys. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly withdrawing a nominee for the Kansas Court of Appeals over political posts on his Twitter feed.

A pro-life group influential in Kansas politics has called on a trial-court judge to step down after political posts on his Twitter feed sunk his nomination for the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Kansans for Life said Tuesday that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s decision to withdraw her nomination of Judge Jeffry Jack for the state’s second-highest court is a good first step.

But Executive Director Mary Kay Culp said the group believes Jack also should resign from his current position of Labette County district judge.

Jack’s Twitter page included posts from 2017 criticizing President Donald Trump and expressing support for gun control and abortion rights. Some used vulgar language.

Jack asked to have his name withdrawn Monday night after Republicans predicted he would not be confirmed by the GOP-controlled state Senate.

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A Kansas judge whose Twitter feed sunk his nomination to the state’s second-highest court says he was expressing personal opinions that do not influence his work on the bench.

In a statement Tuesday, Judge Jeffry Jack also criticized Senate President Susan Wagle for opposing his confirmation to the Kansas Court of Appeals before he had a hearing.

His Twitter page showed hundreds of tweets and retweets from 2017 that criticized President Donald Trump and expressed support for gun control and abortion rights. Some included vulgar language.

Kelly withdrew Jack’s nomination Tuesday.

Jack said his tweets were “anti-violence, anti-discrimination and anti-hypocrisy.” He said he assumed he was expressing personal opinions to a small group of followers and did not understand that his tweets were accessible to the public.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years for killing the father of her child whose body was found inside a burning house near Lawrence.

39-year-old Tria Evans appeared in court Tuesday for sentencing six weeks after a jury deliberated 1½ hours. She was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson and aggravated burglary in the November 2017 killing of 34-year-old Joel Wales.

Evans and Wales had a child together and a history of domestic disputes.

Judge Kay Huff says “it doesn’t get much more premeditated than this case.”

Wales was shot six times while house-sitting at his mother’s home just south of Lawrence. Gasoline was was poured over his body and lit on fire.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump administration will expedite presidential disaster declarations for Nebraska and Iowa.

Americans like Brad Brown & his airboat co-pilot Jake Rohr are the heart of the heartland. Brad & Jake have been helping victims of the flooding & delivering much needed supplies. Grateful for their service & ALL the volunteers & emergency personnel helping Nebraskans in need! pic.twitter.com/l2PxhwX6a4

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) March 20, 2019

Pence was in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday to tour areas ravaged by the flood that has killed at least three people and forced hundreds of Midwesterners from their homes.

Pence says he spoke to the governors of both states shortly after landing in Omaha to assure them federal aid will soon be on the way.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds were among a group of Republican leaders accompanying Pence during a brief tour of damaged areas. Others included U.S. Sens. Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, and Joni Ernst, of Iowa, as well as Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

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4:50 p.m.

A small Missouri town is under a mandatory evacuation order as the Missouri River threatens it.

The Holt County Sheriff’s Department says the evacuation was ordered Tuesday in Craig, a town of about 250 residents 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Kansas City, Missouri.

The sheriff’s office says anyone choosing to stay must go to City Hall to provide their name and address in case they need to be rescued.

Snowmelt and heavy rain have sent the Missouri River pouring over and through levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Craig residents join thousands of others who have been displaced by the flooding.

TOPEKA, KAN. –A former president of a credit union in Topeka pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of embezzlement, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Connie Marie Kent, 52, Topeka, pleaded guilty to one count of theft from a credit union. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred while she was an officer and employee of 1st Kansas Credit Union, formerly the Post Office Credit Union. Membership in the credit union is limited to government employees.

Kent agreed to a restitution amount of approximately $39,895.

Sentencing is set for June 25. She faces a penalty of up to 30 years and a fine up to $1 million.