TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says Kansas is withdrawing from the federal government’s refugee resettlement program because of safety concerns.

Brownback announced Tuesday that he notified President Barack Obama’s administration of his decision.

Brownback’s move means Kansas will reject federal funds to provide cash and health care coverage to any refugees who resettle in Kansas. The federal aid amounts to between $1.6 million and $1.8 million annually.

But Executive Director Micah Kubic of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas says the move is largely symbolic because federal officials probably will find another group to run the program in Kansas. He said the state also can’t prevent refugees from coming.

Brownback said Tuesday that federal officials haven’t given him adequate assurances that refugees are being screened thoroughly enough to protect communities.

ROSE HILL, Kan. (AP) — A federal safety agency has cited the employer of a southeast Kansas man killed in a workplace accident with multiple violations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is seeking $59,000 in fines from Viking Blast & Wash Systems. The industrial cleaning equipment manufacturer is located in Rose Hill. The company didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

OSHA said in a news release that safety guards may have prevented a metal bar from striking and killing a lathe operator in January. Rose Hill police previously identified the man as 24-year-old Robert Haigler of Udall.

OSHA regional director Judy Freeman says the man’s life “might have been saved if the lathe had been equipped with required safety mechanisms.”

TOKYO (AP) — Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the Japanese automaker that acknowledged last week that it had intentionally lied about its models’ mileage, said an internal investigation found such tampering dated back to 1991.

President Tetsuro Aikawa told reporters Tuesday the probe was still ongoing, suggesting that more irregularities might be found.

He said so much was unknown that it’s uncertain what action the company will take. He said he didn’t know why employees resorted to such tactics to make mileage look better.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors had repeatedly promised to come clean after a massive scandal 15 years ago involving a systematic cover-up of auto defects.

The inaccurate mileage tests involved 157,000 of its eK wagon and eK Space light passenger cars, and 468,000 Dayz and Dayz Roox vehicles produced for Nissan Motor Co.

SALINA -A suspect is Tuesday morning’s shooting death in Salina is in custody, according to police.

After a brief pursuit, officers were able to take the man into custody on a railroad track just off of North 7th Street, just south of Lincoln.

The suspects name has not been released.

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SALINA -Law enforcement authorities are searching for a suspect in an early Tuesday morning shooting in Salina.

The shooter is described as a black male, who was last seen wearing a red and black hoodie, and dark pants. He was armed with a .22 caliber gun. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Police say a man died in the shooting in the 200 block of E. Pacific at the Starlite Motel at around 6 a.m.

First responders found the man in the north lot of the motel.

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SALINA – Law enforcement in Salina are investigating a shooting near the 200 Block of East Pacific Avenue. There is  a report of one person dead.

Police have not released any details.

 

 

 

Shortly after 6am, Salina Police Department on scene of shooting with one dead.

— Trooper Riedel (@KHPTraining) April 26, 2016

  Check Hays Post for more information as details become available.

MCPHERSON – Law enforcement authorities in McPherson County are investigating a residential burglary.

Last week, two men entered a residence without permission a few times in the 900 Block of Plum Avenue and stole numerous antiques, “china” glassware, a grandfather clock, and other valuables from the residence, according to a report from McPherson County Crime Stoppers.

Authorities need assistance identifying the two individuals seen from the security camera.

Anyone with information on these crimes is encouraged to contact McPherson County Crime Stoppers at 620-241-1122.or contact the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office.

HUTCHINSON – A Kansas man arrested early Saturday after he allegedly caused damage at the Wendy’s Restaurant, 700 North Main in Hutchinson, made a first court appearance on Monday.

Employees at the fast-food restaurant allege that Javier E. Garcia, 20, Hutchinson, damaged the back door, a glass window and forced entry into the business while holding a tire iron.

He was upset with one of the employees of the restaurant who may have been involved with his girlfriend, according to statements made in court.

When police arrived, they found an employee holding Garcia down on the floor.

Garcia was arrested for aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, criminal restraint, felony criminal damage and criminal trespass.

He’s being held on a $31,500 bond and in court asked for a bond reduction admitting that what he did was wrong.

He even apologized to the employees of Wendy’s.

Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen also noted that he was apparently driving a high rate of speed in a separate incident, so she denied the request.
He is due be back in court next week.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say the body of a man in his 30s was found in the Arkansas River in Wichita.

Sgt. Joe Kennedy with the Wichita Police Department says police were called to the scene after 3 p.m. Monday, when a person walking along the bike path near the river noticed the body.

The man has not been identified and the cause of death has not been determined.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — One of three federal agents injured during a fiery weekend shootout at a Kansas motel is still hospitalized, and authorities are trying to identify the body found inside the suspect’s charred motel room.

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton in Kansas City, Missouri, says the agent was in good condition Monday afternoon at an unspecified hospital. Two deputy federal marshals were treated at a hospital and release after Saturday night’s confrontation in Topeka.

The FBI says fugitive task force members trying to arrest robbery suspect Orlando J. Collins at the motel came under fire. A blaze then erupted in the room where authorities later found a body.

Patton says a local fire marshal and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating what caused the fire.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government report shows the Kansas winter wheat crop is maturing at a faster rate than usual.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 23 percent of the state’s wheat crop was already headed. That is ahead of the 15 percent that would be average for this time of year.

It also rates wheat condition as 2 percent very poor, 9 percent poor and 36 percent fair. About 48 percent is rated as good and 5 percent as excellent.

The agency also reported corn planting in the state is now at 43 percent, ahead of the 27 percent which would be average at this point in the season.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union contends voting rolls in Kansas are in “chaos” now because of the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements.

It said in a recent court filing that an affidavit from the state elections director shows about two-thirds of new voter registration applications submitted during a three-week period in February have been put on hold because they did not provide proof of citizenship.

Kansas’ dual registration system is under multiple legal challenges in an election year, a time when registrations surge. Rulings are expected at any time in lawsuits unfolding in Kansas and in Washington, D.C.

The state’s primary is in August

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A fleet of two dozen expensive cars and motorcycles seized from a Kansas City-area accountant who defrauded more than $4 million from clients is heading for the auction block.

The U.S. Marshals Service says the 25 machines up for bidding at noon Thursday include Thomas Hauk’s former Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Ford GT, Mosler MT900S and McLaren 12C.  See all the vehicles here.

A dozen Ducati motorcycles also will be sold during the auction at KCI Auto Auction in Kansas City, Missouri. That’s where potential buyers can preview the items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday. See

Hauk, of Overland Park, Kansas, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty last December to federal fraud charges linked to his on-the-job theft at a financial services company.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas professor has used 3-D printers to design an engine for a Topeka museum’s replica of a World War I fighter plane.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Huw Thomas, an associate professor of industrial design at the university, took on the project after the Topeka Combat Air Museum acquired an 80 percent replica of a De Havilland 2 World War I fighter plane about a year ago.

Three 3-D printers made dozens of parts with the same material as Lego bricks. Thomas used a substance similar to super glue to attach the pieces together.

The 3-D replica rotary engine was placed onto the back of the aircraft Wednesday. It weighed a few pounds and was about 3 feet across and 14 inches wide.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 34-year-old man has been convicted in the death of a Lawrence man who was found bleeding outside a fast-food restaurant.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Joshaua Back was found guilty Friday of intentional second-degree murder in the May 2015 killing of Tracy Dean Lautenschlager. The jury also found Back guilty of felony theft.

Authorities say Back stabbed Lautenschlager in the neck outside a Lawrence home. Lautenschlager was found bleeding in a McDonald’s parking lot. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Back fled in a truck that he told authorities he planned to steal as collateral for a drug debt. He was arrested two days later in Leavenworth County. The defense said the killing was an act of self-defense.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 2.