TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have passed a bill creating new penalties for young people who transmit or possess nude images of children.

The votes Friday were 119-0 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate. Current law makes first-time sexual exploitation of a child under 18 a felony. The bill addresses a gray zone in the law in which adolescents are either tried as adults or receive no punishment.

WICHITA – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a bank robbery.

Just before 3 p.m., on Friday, the Intrust Bank located inside the Dillons Store, 9550 E. Harry, was robbed, according to a report from police.

The suspect is described as a white male, 5’09” tall, fair complexion with numerous facial freckles.

He was wearing jeans, tan jacket and a green “bucket” hat.

Anyone with information about this person is asked to call the FBI, WPD Robbery Section at 268-4518 or Crimestoppers

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The commanding general of Fort Leavenworth in Kansas has been picked to lead the U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii.

The Army installation announced Friday that Lt. Gen. Robert B. Brown relinquished command Thursday after receiving Senate confirmation for a four-star promotion. As the commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, he will lead about 80,000 soldiers in an area stretching from the northwest coast of Alaska to Japan.

Brown had served as the commander of Fort Leavenworth and a training facility called the Combined Arms Center since February 2014.

He has been involved in developing a program to train people who assist sexual assault victims. Fort Leavenworth said in a news release that Brown also has

overseen an effort to offer soldiers college credit and certification for their Army service.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first commercial test for Zika virus has been granted emergency use in the U.S. and could be available by next week.

The Food and Drug Administration gave the authorization Thursday to test developer Quest Diagnostics, which said it could be available to doctors early next week. The company said the test results will initially be processed at a laboratory in California, with the potential of expanding to several dozen other locations. Previously Zika tests were only available through a handful of government-designated laboratories.

Zika has become epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean since last fall. The virus, mainly spread through mosquito bites, causes mild illness or no symptoms in most people. But it can cause a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads

FORD COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 2 p.m. on Friday in Ford County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Toyota Camry driven by Daniel J. Arkell-Roca, 41, Dodge City, was eastbound on U.S. 50 eight miles west of Dodge City.

An unidentified westbound cattle truck veered into the Toyota’s lane.

The Toyota left the roadway, enter the south ditch, went down the embankment and over the edge of a concrete culvert.

Arkell-Roca was transported to Western Plains Medical Center.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -Kansas Department for Children and Families officials say it will begin texting parents who owe child support in an effort increase collections.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the department started a pilot project with 100,000 Kansas residents to see if texting helps remind parents to pay child support. The department will also try using texts to remind people about court dates and other appointments.

A news release about the program says that texts will be sent to remind non-custodial parents who haven’t paid child support in the last 45 days.

Department spokeswoman Theresa Freed says the programs costs the state less than $5,000, which comes from postal mail savings.

Freed says that of the pilot proves to increase collections until June 30, the department will implement across the state.

HUTCHINSON — The State’s high court has ruled that the writings of a Hutchinson teen accused of first degree murder in the death of his mother and sister can go before doctors that will determine if he is competent to stand trial.

Sam Vonachen faces two counts of first degree murder for setting fire to the family home in September of 2013.

The state argued a motion for forcing the defendant to hand over writings or a journal that the defendant has been doing since his arrest.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Steve Maxwell argued that this was not for the state or their case, but rather for the doctors doing a mental evaluation to see if the defendant is competent to stand trial.

The defense called them privileged and asked that the state’s request be denied.

On the suggestion of the state, Judge Trish Rose told the defense to provide the writings to her first and then she’ll rule whether they can be released to the doctors.
When she sided with the state the defense filed an appeal in the case, which was denied.

CHEYENNE, Kan. (AP) — An event at a wildlife refuge in Cheyenne will allow visitors to see and learn about thousands of shorebirds that have migrated to the rural Kansas area this spring.

The Hutchinson News reports that the Great Migration Rally will be held this weekend at Cheyenne Bottoms, which usually sees a plethora of shorebirds from late April though early May.

But Pam Martin, a Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism educator at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, says this year is different as more than 150,000 shorebirds found refuge at Cheyenne Bottoms last week.

The Nature Conservancy says Cheyenne Bottoms is a rest stop for nearly half of all American shorebirds during the migration season. Shorebirds also travel to nearby Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

By JIM MCLEAN

The chairman of the House health committee is working to resurrect a bill that would prohibit minors from using commercial tanning beds. Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, is one of six legislators — three each from the House and Senate — on a conference committee charged with negotiating final versions of 17 health-related bills before the Legislature adjourns. Different versions of some bills in the committee have passed both the House and Senate. Others have cleared one chamber but not the other.

The tanning-ban bill passed the House in March, but the Senate never took it up.

Hawkins wants the Senate to vote on the bill in exchange for the House agreeing to consider two measures that are priorities for the Senate. One would tighten eligibility requirements for state welfare programs. The other would allow the companies that manage KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to initiate a “step therapy” program to control prescription drug costs.

The tanning bill would prohibit anyone under 18 from using ultraviolet tanning beds. It is a top priority for the American Cancer Society.

“We are very hopeful that lawmakers will prioritize cancer prevention in the remaining days of the session,” said Hillary Gee, a lobbyist for the society’s Cancer Action Network.

It also is a priority for the University of Kansas Cancer Center, which is seeking National Cancer Institute designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In a letter distributed to members of the Senate, Dr. Roy Jensen, director of the center, said passage of the tanning-ban bill could enhance the center’s NCI application, which will be submitted in September.

“This bill represents a key component of our drive towards demonstrating a robust cancer control and prevention program at the KU Cancer Center,” Jensen wrote.

The tanning industry maintains that advocates for tighter regulation are overstating the health risks of tanning bed use.

But Jensen and other doctors who testified for the Kansas bill said research shows that people who use tanning beds before age 35 dramatically increase their chances of developing melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer. A December 2012 study published in the British Medical Journal put the increased risk at 59 percent.

Jensen’s testimony in February at a House health committee hearing and the personal stories of two Kansas melanoma survivors helped convince members to recommend the bill to the full House, which passed it 77-44 on March 10.

In an interview Thursday, Hawkins said getting the tanning-ban bill through the Senate and to Gov. Sam Brownback is a priority for the House members on the conference committee.

He said if the Senate conferees aren’t willing to support it, House negotiators may withdraw their support for the step therapy and welfare eligibility bills. “The bill needs to move forward,” he said. However, it remains to be seen how hard Hawkins will push given that he also is a co-sponsor of the bill that would tighten welfare eligibility.

The federal Food and Drug Administration also is considering new restrictions on indoor tanning, including a ban like the one proposed in the Kansas bill. The public comment period closed in March but the regulations haven’t been finalized.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of his estranged wife.

The Wichita Eagle reports that 29-year-old Pierre Ross Washington was sentenced Thursday for first-degree felony murder. Police say Diana Washington was 26 when she was killed in October at a Wichita park.

Prosecutors say Washington had told one of her relatives beforehand that he was thinking about killing her and her new boyfriend.

Police officers who responded to Washington’s 911 call found his wife’s body in a van parked about two miles from the park. Washington admitted shooting her when he talked to the emergency dispatcher.

Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon says Washington must serve 25 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature. (all times local):

12:05 p.m.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s spokeswoman says reversing an income tax break for business owners would not help Kansas maintain a pro-growth environment.

Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley also said Friday that the proposal being considered by legislators could make the state’s tax climate unstable.

The proposal emerged from negotiations between three senators and three House members on tax issues. The House planned to consider it later Friday.

The measure would end a personal income tax exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners enacted in 2012. Brownback championed the exemption.

Legislators must eliminate projected shortfalls in the state’s current and next budgets totaling more than $290 million. The tax proposal would close only part of the gap, but it would help keep the budget balanced in the future.

___

11:45 a.m.

A proposal that would reverse an income tax break for Kansas business owners has emerged from negotiations among legislators.

Three senators and three House negotiators agreed Friday on a proposal to end a personal income tax exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners enacted in 2012. The measure is designed to help balance the state budget.

Legislative leaders appointed the negotiators to resolve differences between the House and Senate over a broad range of tax issues.

The House would vote first on the new tax plan.

Legislators must eliminate projected shortfalls in the state’s current and next budgets totaling more than $290 million. The tax proposal would close only part of the gap, but it would help keep the budget balanced in the future.

___

10:05 a.m.

The Kansas House Taxation Committee’s chairman says he expects to bring a proposal to repeal an income tax break for business owners into negotiations with senators over tax issues.

Republican Rep. Marvin Kleeb of Overland Park said House and Senate negotiators will be meeting later Friday to discuss tax issues.

The targeted policy was a key part of massive personal income tax cuts enacted in 2012 and 2013 at GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s urging in an effort to stimulate the economy. It exempted more than 330,000 farmers and business owners from personal income taxes.

Even some Republicans are pushing to reverse the tax break to help balance the state’s budget through June 2017. Lawmakers must close shortfalls totaling more than $290 million in the state’s current and next budgets.

OSAGE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10 p.m. on Thursday in Osage County.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority reported a 2002 Ford Econoline Van driven by John Cooney, 53, Saint Marys, was traveling on Interstate 135 just north of Melvern.

The driver lost control of the van.

It left the road and overturned. Cooney was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the van, according to the KTA.

Cooney was transported to a local hospital where he died.

TOPEKA–A coalition of grocery stores and convenience marts has floated a new proposal for expanding liquor sales in Kansas saying it would generate a near-instant $41 million cash infusion toward the state’s budget deficit.

In a media release Friday from Uncork Kansas, proponents for adult beverage sales in grocery and convenience stores indicated their willingness to pay the state as much as $200,000 per store license for the opportunity to sell beer, wine, and spirits in grocery stores. For the state’s smallest grocery stores, the license buy-in would only be $10,000 per store, according to the release.

“We’re pleased to offer a revenue opportunity to the state’s leaders that could generate $40 million dollars without inflicting a tax increase on Kansans or a cut in services and programs,” said Jessica Lucas, spokesperson for Uncork Kansas.

“Economic growth happens through free enterprise. Our customers are ready for this change and we’re pleased to bring this free market solution to the Governor and legislature knowing it will infuse the Kansas budget with much needed cash.”

Officials say under the Uncork Kansas free market budget bailout, a one-time licensing fee per store would be paid by grocery stores to the State of Kansas for the opportunity to sell beer, wine, and spirits. An additional $6.5 million would be generated annually through the annual licensing fee.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.