TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has overwhelmingly rejected a nominee for the state’s second-highest court whose political tweets offended lawmakers.

The vote Tuesday was 38-0 against confirming Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack’s nomination to the Court of Appeals.

Democrat Laura Kelly became the first Kansas governor to have an appeals court nominee rejected. Yet the Republican-controlled Senate’s vote also allowed Kelly to name a second nominee.

Kelly herself had urged senators to reject Jack after trying to withdraw his nomination in March. The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that a 2013 law didn’t allow her to withdraw Jack’s nomination. That forced Tuesday’s vote to keep Jack off the appeals court.

“A president who is objectively ignorant, lazy and cowardly,” read one tweet.

Jack’s nomination was doomed by tweets in 2017 that included vulgar language and criticism of President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

By DAN MARGOLIES
Kansas News Service

Missouri and Kansas have joined 41 other states and Puerto Rico in a lawsuit accusing generic drug makers of conspiring to manipulate and drive up prices for more than 100 generic drugs.

The 510-page lawsuit, filed in federal court in Connecticut, names 20 drug companies and 15 executives as defendants, alleging they participated in a conspiracy led by generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals USA.

“We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion dollar fraud on the American people,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. “We have emails, text messages, telephone records, and former company insiders that we believe will prove a multi-year conspiracy to fix prices and divide market share for huge numbers of generic drugs.”

Tong, who is taking the lead in the case, announced the lawsuit Sunday night on “60 Minutes,” which aired a story about the case.

The lawsuit expands on an earlier case brought by Connecticut and 19 other states in December 2016. That lawsuit, which is pending, has since been joined by more than two dozen other states.

In a statement Monday, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt called the alleged conspiracy “one of the most damaging and far-reaching price fixing schemes in modern history, with certain companies inflating prices by nearly 1,000%.”

“Millions and millions of Americans rely on generic prescription drugs every day to treat diabetes, infections, depression, cancer, HIV, and more,” Schmitt said. “This price fixing scheme by Teva Pharmaceuticals and other industry giants demonstrates a level of corporate greed the state of Missouri and the country rarely sees. By joining this lawsuit we’re sending a clear message to pharmaceutical companies: if you harm any of the 6 million people that call Missouri home, we will pursue action and hold you accountable for your actions.”

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, which is based in Pennsylvania and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, denied wrongdoing in a statement .

“The allegations “are just that – allegations,” the company said.

“Teva continues to review the issue internally and has not engaged in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability. Teva delivers high-quality medicines to patients around the world, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations in doing so. We will continue to vigorously defend the company.”

Teva subsidiaries operate out of two locations in Overland Park, Kansas, where until recently they employed about 350 people. The city and state granted Teva more than $53 million in tax abatements in 2013 to erect a $46 million, five-story headquarters building at College Boulevard and Nall Avenue, where it employed back office workers in its branded drug business. A smaller facility is located a few blocks away on 107th Street.

In December 2017, Teva announced plans to slash its global workforce by 25%. The local workforce has since been reduced, although it’s not clear by how much. A spokeswoman for Teva did not immediately respond to a query about how many people it now employs in the area.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Connecticut alleges that Teva significantly raised prices on more than 100 generic drugs beginning in July 2013 and colluded with competing companies to carve up markets and raise prices on at least 86 of those drugs.

The suit claims that the defendants coordinated their moves in person or by cell phone at golf outings, cocktail parties, industry dinners and other social occasions.

Besides Teva, the companies named in the suit are:

• Actavis Holdco US, Inc.
• Actavis Pharma Inc.
• Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• Apotex Corp.
• Aurobindo Pharma U.S.A. Inc.
• Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc.
• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc.
• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA
• Greenstone LLC
• Lannett  Company Inc.
• Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc.
• Pfizer Inc.
• Sandoz Inc.
• Taro Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
• Upsher-Smith Laboratories LLC
• Wockhardt USA LLC
• Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas man accused in the death of 2-year-old boy entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder on Monday, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

Lucas Diel, 26, Wichita, and co-defendant Elizabeth Woolheater were charged with murder in the death of Anthony Bunn. In May of 2018, police responded to a residence in the 800 block of north Woodrow in Wichita where the boy was found, not breathing.

The boy was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and died two days later.

A preliminary investigation revealed the child had sustained substantial face and head injuries.

The plea agreement contemplates that based on Mr. Diel’s criminal history, he will face a sentence of 584 months in prison.  Sentencing is set June, 25.

Woolheater, is scheduled for a motions hearing on May 20.

NEW YORK — Tim Conway, the impish second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, starred aboard “McHale’s Navy” and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for “Spongebob Squarepants,” has died. He was 85.

Conway died Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles care facility after a long illness, according to Howard Bragman, who heads LaBrea Media. Conway’s wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side.
A native of Ohio, Conway credited his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path to laughs, with his deadpan expression and innocent, simple-minded demeanor.

“I think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and a little bit of the South, too,” he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. “For some reason, we’re just more laid-back, more understanding. … And Midwesterners have a kinder sense of humor.”

Those qualities probably contributed to his wide popularity on “The Carol Burnett Show,” which he joined in 1975 after years as a frequent guest. The show aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and had a short summer stint on ABC in 1979.

“We really didn’t attack people or politics or religion or whatever. We just made fun of, basically, ourselves,” he said.

The show operated with just five writers, one producer, one director and without network interference. The ensemble cast surrounding the redheaded star included Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner.

“I don’t think the network would allow a show like ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ now because we had such freedom,” Conway said in his interview with the State Journal.

While America was laughing at Conway, so were his co-stars: Burnett and Harvey Korman were often caught by the camera trying not to crack up during his performances.

The short, nondescript Conway and the tall, imposing Korman were a physical mismatch made in comedy heaven. They toured the country for years with a sketch show called “Together Again,” which drew on characters from Burnett’s show.

Besides the four Emmys he won with Burnett (three as a performer, one as a writer), he won Emmys for guest appearances in 1996 for “Coach” and in 2008 for “30 Rock.”

Conway also had a modest but steady movie career, appearing in such films as “The Apple Dumpling Gang” (1975), “The Shaggy D.A.” (1976), “Cannonball Run II” (1984), “Dear God” (1996) and “Air Bud 2” (1998).
“The Apple Dumpling Gang” and “Cannonball Run II” allowed him to work with his comedic hero, Don Knotts, who died in 2006.

“If there’s any reason at all I’m in the business, I think it’s Don,” Conway once said. “He’s an icon in this business. He’s an icon that’s never going to be duplicated.”

He also found success in the 1980s in a series of comedy videos based on an oddly short character named Dorf. (Carefully costumed, Conway performed the bits on his knees.) Among them were “Dorf on Golf” and “Dorf Goes Fishing.”

More recently Conway voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for the hugely popular children’s series “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

He was born Thomas Conway in 1933 in the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby. He attended Bowling Green State University and served in the U.S. Army. He got his career start on local TV in Cleveland in the 1950s, where his duties included comedy spots on a late-night movie show.

He was spotted by Rose Marie of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” who got him an audition for “The Steve Allen Show.” He became a regular on the show in the early 1960s. It was Allen who had advised him to change his name from Tom to Tim to avoid being confused with a British actor.

Following the Allen show, Conway gained attention as the incompetent Ensign Charles Parker on the Ernest Borgnine sitcom “McHale’s Navy” from 1962-66. That led to series of his own, including “Rango” and “The Tim Conway Show,” but they were short-lived.

“McHale’s Navy” fans loved watching Ensign Parker infuriate the ever-flammable Captain Binghamton (played by Joe Flynn), but it was Conway’s work on Burnett’s show that would bring him lasting fame.

Conway and his wife, Mary Anne Dalton, married in 1961 and had six children. The marriage ended in divorce. He later married Charlene Fusco.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide and have two suspects in custody.

Just before 3:30p.m. Monday, sheriff’s deputies responded to report of an auto theft in progress at Englewood and MacArthur involving a stolen trailer and vehicle, according to Wichita Police Lt. Jeff Gilmore.

The investigation led authorities to a residence in the 1300 Block of South Greenwood where officers located a stolen truck and a pull-behind RV in the driveway of the home. Suspects later identified as 25-year-old Royce Thomas and 24-year-old Mikayla Spencer both of Wichita were inside the truck and arrested without incident, according to Gilmore.

While investigating the stolen vehicles, officers located 50-year-old William Callison inside the RV with multiple stab wounds. Callison who had been reported missing over the weekend was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Gilmore.

Police booked Thomas on requested charges of first-degree murder and possession of stolen property and Spencer on requested charges of first-degree murder, possession of stolen property and outstanding warrants, according to Gilmore.