TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House Majority Leader Jene Vickrey has confirmed that he’s interested in becoming the chamber’s next speaker.

But the Louisburg Republican told reporters Wednesday that he’s concentrating first on helping fellow GOP lawmakers get re-elected.

The House’s top job will be open because Speaker Ray Merrick is not seeking re-election this year. Merrick is a Stilwell Republican who has been speaker for four years.

Vickrey has served in the House since 1993. He won his seat in 1992 by defeating the last Democratic speaker, Marvin Barkis of Louisburg.

Vickrey has no opponent in the Aug. 2 Republican primary but faces Democrat Christy Levings of Osawatomie in the November election.

With Republicans likely to retain their House majority, GOP members and members-elect will designate the new speaker in December.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a residential burglary and searching for a suspect.

Carlos Daniel Castruita, 17, Garden City, is wanted for his involvement in a residential burglary on July 17, according to a media release.

He is wanted for aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and theft of a firearm.

Castruita is 5’ 3” tall, approximately 120 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and has a tattoo on his right forearm with Japanese writing and tattoos on his fingers.

He is possibly armed and should be considered dangerous, according to police.

If located contact the Garden City Police Department, 620-276-1300. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 620-275-7807, or text GCTIP and your tip information to 847411 (tip411).

HUTCHINSON— A Kansas man charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy was in court Wednesday where he was read new charges against him.

Richard Dean McHenry, 55, now faces four more counts of aggravated failure to register as a sex offender.

The state alleges that he failed to register Snapchat, Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo online accounts in a period from September of 2014 through April of this year.

Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen set a hearing in this case for the same date of his sodomy case, which is scheduled as part of a waiver-status docket on Aug. 24.

McHenry has a prior conviction for aggravated criminal sodomy for a case from 2000 out of Jefferson County and is required to register as a sex offender, but that also includes all online accounts and cell phones with access to the internet.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shooting of an officer from Kansas City, Kansas:

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave says he’s not sure how much the state could raise by selling the assets of the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

Soave said Wednesday the Department of Commerce needs to examine the authority’s investment portfolio more thoroughly to assess how much a sale of the assets can bring.

Measures approved by lawmakers this year anticipate the state raising $38 million to help public schools and keep the budget balanced.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and top legislators took a key step toward the sale Wednesday by approving the authority’s merger with the Department of Commerce. Soave said the assets could be sold by the end of the year.

The state created the authority in 2004 to nurture emerging bioscience companies, but Republicans have expressed disappointment with results.

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge in Denver is considering whether the U.S. government should require people to pick a gender to get a passport.

The issue emerged through a lawsuit filed by a Colorado resident who was denied a passport for refusing to check “male” or “female” on the application. A judge is set to hear arguments Wednesday.

Lambda Legal sued last year on behalf of Dana Zzyym of Fort Collins, who was born with ambiguous sex characteristics. The lawsuit claims that requiring people to check a box marked either “M'” or “F” is discriminatory and asks people like Zzyym to lie.

Countries including Australia, New Zealand and Nepal allow people to have their gender marked as “X” or “other” on passports.

SALINE COUNTY – Five Kansas teens were injured in an accident just before 8a.m. on Tuesday in Saline County were driving a stolen pickup.

The pickup owner, William Vanriper, reported the truck stolen early Tuesday morning from the 700 block of West Elm in Salina, according to police.

A 13-year-old girl has been referred to Juvenile Court for the theft of the pickup.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 GMC Sierra driven by Ryan Andrew Keyser, 14, Salina, was westbound on Magnolia Road just east of Kipp Road.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It began to spin and then rolled.

Keyser and passenger Sadie Vanriper, 13; Daniel Leondo, 13; Jacob Blair, 13; and Carlos Rodriguez, 16, all of Salina were transported to Salina Regional Medical Center.

The KHP report did not indicate if they were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man has admitted in federal court that he played a role in robbing a Kansas bank before leading police on a high speed chase with a co-defendant’s toddler in the getaway car.

Thirty-nine-year-old Gary Jordan of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty Wednesday to bank robbery and gun charges.

A co-defendant, 18-year-old Jacob L. Smith of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty last week to bank robbery and weapons felonies.

Authorities say Jordan and Smith were armed when they held up the Stilwell bank in March, then fled into Missouri with law enforcers in pursuit. Smith was accused of firing shots during the chase and Jordan of trying to carjack another vehicle after the wreck.

The toddler belonging to another co-defendant now awaiting trial wasn’t hurt.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shooting of an officer from Kansas City, Kansas

The top Republican in the Kansas Senate says President Barack Obama has “stoked the flames of anger and hostility” toward law enforcement officers.

Senate President Susan Wagle, of Wichita, made her comments as Kansas officials expressed sadness over the shooting death of a Kansas City, Kansas, police captain.

Wagle cited Obama’s public comments about shootings by police in Minnesota and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which were followed by deadly attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

Wagle said the Democratic president has painted law enforcement officers as “people of bias.”

She also said officers and their communities need to build stronger relationships so that people being protected by the police trust them.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback told a meeting of top lawmakers Wednesday that the Kansas, shooting was “a terrible tragedy.”

RENO COUNTY – A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just before 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Reno County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Truck driven by Dakota A. Beckham, 18, Hutchinson, was traveling on Kansas 61 one mile northeast of Turon.

The truck ran off the road to the right. The driver overcorrected and lost control of the truck.

The truck came back on the highway, crossed the centerline, ran off the road to the left, entered a farm field overturned and the driver was ejected.

Beckham was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

MANHATTAN – Authorities are investigating a construction accident at Kansas State University.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 20, first responders and members of the K-State Environmental Health and Safety team were called to the Seaton Hall construction site on the Manhattan campus for a workplace accident, according to a media release.

A worker was injured after a fall at the construction site.

He was taken to Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan.

Name of the injured work and his condition have not been released.

FINNEY COUNTY- The attempted 2^nd-degree Murder suspect Abdulkhadir Ali-Mohamed, 26, Garden City, was located and arrested without incident at the Sunflower Inn, 1311 East Fulton in Garden City on Wednesday, according to a report from police.

They say a social media tip helped them learn of Ali-Mohamed’s possible location.

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FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating an attempted murder and searching for a suspect.

Just before 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Abdulkhadir Ali-Mohamed, 26, Garden City, was involved in a fight using a deadly weapon on another man at a residence in the 600 Block of Labrador, according to a media release.

The suspect used a sharp object to cut the victim several times and fled on foot prior to arrival by police.

The victim Osman Osman, 47, suffered significant injuries to his head and neck. He was transported to a local hospital.

Police are looking for Ali-Mohamed. He is wanted for attempted 2nd-degree murder and is considered armed and dangerous.

The suspect is possibly attempting to travel to Dodge City. If located contact the Garden City Police Department, 620-276-1300. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 620-275-7807, or text GCTIP and your tip information to 847411 (tip411).

CLEVELAND (AP) A Trump Organization staff writer says she made a “mistake” in including passages from a Michelle Obama speech in Melania Trump’s convention speech.

Meredith McIver says she offered her resignation, but Donald Trump rejected it.

McIver explained her role in the Trump plagiarism controversy in a statement issued Wednesday.

McIver says Mrs. Trump read passages of Mrs. Obama’s 2008 convention speech during the writing the process. She says her notes from that conversation made it into the final version.

She says she feels terrible for the “chaos” she caused.

The Trump campaign has said denied accusations of plagiarism, saying the similarities were coincidence.