TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has received an award from a national anti-abortion group as a court in his state blocked enforcement of the law that prompted the honor.

Brownback’s office confirmed that he was in Washington on Friday to receive the award from the New York-based National Pro-Life Religious Council.

The council honored the Republican governor over the state’s enactment last year of the nation’s first ban on a common second-trimester procedure that critics call “dismemberment abortion.”

But the Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday blocked enforcement of the law. It split 7-7, allowing a trial-court judge’s ruling against the law to stand.

By MARY K. PYLE

Kansas State University’s Office of International Programs, with cooperation from Career and Employment Services and the College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension, announces the hiring of Becky Carnes as the new campus representative for the Peace Corps.

“I am excited and looking forward to connecting with professors, campus groups, community organizations or individuals who would like more education, information and opportunities on Peace Corps service,” Carnes said. “This is a unique partnership with Career and Employment Services, the College of Agriculture and the Office of International Programs to have three campus organizations collaborate in hosting and presenting the Peace Corps office on a university campus.”

After potential students or others who are interested in applying to the Peace Corps are identified, Carnes will answer their questions and assist them with the application process.

Carnes served the Peace Corps as an HIV/AIDS volunteer in Botswana, Africa, from 2013 to 2015. She assisted the Ministry of Health in developing a Monitoring and Evaluation strategy to respond to the growing crisis with evidence-based programming. Carnes worked in grant writing, IT training for health care professionals and youth development to address gender-based violence — the leading driver of HIV in Botswana.

Grant Chapman, assistant provost for International Administration in the Office of International Programs, along with Steven Graham, a former Peace Corps volunteer and assistant to the dean of agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension, and Kerri Day Keller, director, Career and Employment Services, were successful in responding to a request for quote announcement last winter to fund a part-time campus Peace Corps representative.

Keller indicated that over the three years that the university previously had a campus recruiter, 2005-2008, there were 21 new K-State graduates who joined the Peace Corps.

“As many countries in the world face the effects of population growth and climate change on their agriculture and environment, Peace Corps is called upon to provide volunteers to address those challenges,” Graham said. “People with this special knowledge are fairly hard to find. That is why Peace Corps wanted a representative at the nation’s first land-grant university.”

As the preeminent international service organization of the U.S., the Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Peace Corps volunteers work at the grassroots level toward sustainable change that lives on long after their service — at the same time becoming global citizens and serving their country. When they return home, volunteers bring their knowledge and experiences — and a global outlook — that enriches the lives of those around them.

Carnes grew up in Manhattan, and has Bachelor of Arts degrees in African studies and anthropology from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in sociology from K-State.

Carnes can be contacted at [email protected]; 785-532-7068, office phone; or 785-226-5149, cellphone. Her office is in 103-A Waters Hall.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate’s top leader says one of its committees is likely to reconsider a dress code for women imposed by its chairman.

Senate President Susan Wagle said the Ethics and Elections Committee will probably discuss the issue when it meets again next week. The Wichita Republican serves on the panel but wasn’t present when Chairman and St. John Republican Mitch Holmes outlined rules for the panel.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Holmes’ rules included a dress code prohibiting women testifying on bills from wearing low-cut necklines and miniskirts. The rules have no dress code for men.

A bipartisan group of women senators is criticizing the dress code.

Wagle plans to let the committee handle objections to the dress code, saying the legislative process eventually moves toward a consensus.

RENO COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating another phone scam.

The Reno County Sheriff’s office reported a citizen said someone had called them and stated “Cops and Kids” asked for a donation, according to a statement via social media.

The caller told them they did not have to give any information over the phone but could tape a check or cash to their front door and someone would be by to pick it up.

The Sheriff’s Department reminded a little common sense would usually prevent you from being a victim.

No legitimate organization will ask you to tape money to your front door for a donation.

KANSAS CITY -. – A Kansas City, Kan., man pleaded guilty in federal court this week to conveying false information as part of a bomb hoax at Kansas City International Airport in August 2014, according toTammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

David James Cain, 35, of Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to one count of conveying false information.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2014, Cain parked the truck he was driving in front of Terminal B at Kansas City International Airport. The truck remained parked along the curb in front of the terminal for approximately one hour. A KCI traffic control officer had the truck ticketed, and announcements were made over the loud speaker inside the terminal that the owner of truck needed to report or the truck would be towed.

After approximately one hour, Cain approached the Southwest Airlines ticket counter and told a ticket agent that there was a bomb in the truck. Cain repeated that there was a bomb in the truck, and then twice told the ticket agent’s supervisor the same thing. The customer service supervisor contacted law enforcement. The KCPD Bomb Squad and an FBI bomb technician searched the truck, and no bomb or explosive material was located.

As a result of Cain’s false statements, KCI evacuated and closed Terminal B for approximately two hours. Shutting down the terminal caused significant flight delays throughout the rest of the day.

If the terms of today’s plea agreement are accepted by the court at the sentencing hearing, Cain will be sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Casey. It was investigated by the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one person died and about a dozen others were sickened from a listeria outbreak linked to packaged salads made at a Dole processing facility.

The salads were made in Springfield, Ohio, the CDC said. Those infected were spread in six states: Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The CDC said the packaged salads made by Dole are the likely source of the outbreak. The salads are sold under several brands, including Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice. The manufacturing code on the package starts with the letter “A.” The CDC says customers should not eat those bags.

Dole stopped all production at the Ohio facility on Thursday, the CDC said.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced legislation (S. 2452) this week to limit the president’s ability to transfer funds to Iran. S. 2452 directs the U.S. government to put justice for American victims of Iranian terrorism ahead of compensation for the Iranian regime.

“The United States should not be funding governments that openly violate human rights, proudly disregard U.N. Security Council resolutions, and call for the destruction of America and its allies,” Sen. Moran said. “This bill directs the U.S. government to put justice for American victims of Iranian terrorism ahead of compensation for the Iranian regime. Rather than incentivize state-sponsored kidnapping, the administration should remind the government of Iran that terror and hostage taking is not a for-profit enterprise.”

The bill prohibits the transfer of funds for the payment by the United States of amounts awarded by the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal to Iran or nationals of Iran until Iran has paid certain compensatory damages awarded to United States persons by United States courts.

Click here to read the full text of this legislation.

SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect for allegedly threatening a woman with a knife.

Police say Douglas Burdine, 26, Salina, went to a home of a woman he knew on Thursday afternoon and held a knife to her throat.

Burdine then allegedly pushed the woman into the house. She cried for help and left through a back door of the residence.

A neighbor heard her scream and called police.

Burdine was arrested and faces charges of battery, criminal restraint and aggravated assault.

He has previous convictions in Pawnee County for Domestic Battery, Criminal Threat and for writing worthless checks, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The highest court in Kansas has struck down a Wichita voter-approved ordinance that reduces penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

The Kansas Supreme Court issued its ruling Friday. The case has been closely watched by activists in other Kansas communities who are considering similar voter-led initiatives if state lawmakers continue to block reform of marijuana laws.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt argued the ordinance conflicts with state law.

Wichita voters approved the ordinance in April, with 54 percent in favor.

The city council says it put the measure on the ballot because 3,000 people signed a petition for it.

The Supreme Court had earlier put the measure on hold while considering its legality.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The highest court in Kansas is expected to rule whether a Wichita ordinance that reduces the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana is legal.

The Kansas Supreme Court is slated to issue its decision Friday on the measure in the state’s largest city. The issue has been closely watched by activists in other Kansas communities who are considering similar voter-led initiatives. The Kansas Legislature has repeatedly rejected efforts to liberalize marijuana laws.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking the court to strike down the ordinance, saying it conflicts with state law.

Wichita voters approved the ordinance in April, with 54 percent in favor of the measure.

The Supreme Court had earlier put the measure on hold while it considered its legality.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The latest on the Kansas Court of Appeals decision on whether to allow the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester
abortion method (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

A national abortion-rights group says the Kansas Court of Appeals has issued a groundbreaking ruling in blocking enforcement of a ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure.

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights noted that the Friday decision was the first time an appellate court in the conservative state said the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights independently of the U.S. Constitution.

The decision was 7-7, allowing a trial-court judge’s injunction against the 2015 law to stand.

Other abortion rights advocates also hailed the decision. Julie Burkhart, founder of the group Trust Women and the South Wind Women’s Center, says she’s elated.

Burkhart says “women deserve the right to access necessary reproductive health care without undue governmental interference.”

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11:15 a.m.

An anti-abortion leader and a top Kansas legislator are dismayed by a Kansas Court of Appeals ruling that blocks enforcement of the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure.

David Gittrich of Kansans for Life said his group will work to oust Kansas Court of Appeals judges in elections later this year. Gittrich says the judges aren’t accountable to voters, but “they will be accountable to God.”

Kansas Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce says he can’t imagine a scenario where the framers of the Kansas Constitution meant to legalize abortion.

Appeals court judges split 7-7 in a ruling Friday over whether the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights independently of the U.S. Constitution. The split means a lower court judge’s injunction blocking the law remains in effect.

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10 a.m.

The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision that the state’s constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion independent of the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution.

The court made the statement Friday in a 7-7 ruling that maintains a temporary hold on the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method.

Tie votes from the appeals court uphold the lower-court ruling being appealed. That means seven judges agreed with a lower court judge, who ruled that the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights has general statements about personal liberties that create independent protections for abortion rights.

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9:40 a.m.

The Kansas Court of Appeals has refused to allow the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method to take effect.

The court released the ruling Friday, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

A lower court put the law on hold last year. The state’s second-highest court upheld that decision Friday, though an appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court is expected.

The case comes in a lawsuit filed by two abortion providers who say the 2015 law unconstitutionally burdens women seeking abortions.

The law prohibits doctors from using forceps or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. The Center for Reproductive Rights says the procedure is the safest and most common second-trimester abortion method in the U.S.

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1 a.m.

The Kansas Court of Appeals is deciding whether to allow the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method.

The court is expected to release its decision Friday, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

The lawsuit was filed by two abortion providers who said the 2015 law unconstitutionally burdens women seeking to end their pregnancies. A lower court has temporarily put the law on hold.

At issue is whether the Kansas Constitution’s broad language about individual liberty protects abortion rights.

The law prohibits doctors from using forceps or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. The Center for Reproductive Rights says the procedure is the safest and most common in the U.S. in the second trimester.

BY MEGAN HART

A proposed bill would cross-check Kansans receiving cash assistance, food stamps or subsidized child care with a list of lottery winners who received more than $10,000, Republican lawmakers said Thursday.

Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a Republican from Shawnee who spoke at a Statehouse news conference about the bill, said she wasn’t aware of any cases in Kansas where a lottery winner continued to collect assistance, but similar incidents in other states generated widespread anger.

“This is very important to protect the taxpayers,” she said.

The bill, which has yet to be introduced in the Legislature, also would require state agencies to verify the identities of any adults in a household that receives one or more of those three forms of assistance, said Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Republican from Wichita.

It also would require people who receive cash assistance or subsidized child care to participate with fraud investigations and monitor “excessive” lost benefit cards, which could be a sign the recipient is giving the cards to someone else, he said.

Hawkins said the bill also contains “cleanup” language related to work requirements and lifetime cash assistance limits in the Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) Act, which the Legislature approved last year.

He said he couldn’t specify the language at the moment. The act limited cash assistance to 36 months, down from 48 months, and required food stamp recipients to work at least 20 hours per week or participate in job training.

It also prohibited cash recipients from using their benefit cards at movie theaters, swimming pools, jewelry stores and tattoo parlors, among other places.

Republican lawmakers pointed to the HOPE Act as a success, saying the number of non-disabled adults receiving some form of assistance had fallen by 70 percent, and that adults receiving food stamps who didn’t have a disability were three times more likely to be working than before. As of October, 459 Kansans receiving cash assistance had reported they were newly employed, with average wages of $9.67 per hour and an average of 30.5 hours of work per week.

If a person worked 52 weeks per year at those averages, it would mean an annual income of $15,336, which would be above the federal poverty line for a single person but below the line for a family of two.

Rep. Willie Dove, a Republican from Bonner Springs, said he had used welfare while living in New Jersey. Helping people to develop work skills would be the “most compassionate” way to assist them, he said.

“The future is dark when you’re given everything on a platter with no responsibility,” Dove said.

Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a disabled Wichita woman is asking for help after thieves stole the woman’s wheelchair ramp from her front porch.

Stephanie Rozendal discovered the $600 ramp missing when she woke up Thursday morning. Her family believes someone took the ramp, which was made of aluminum, to sell for scrap.

KAKE-TV reports Rozendal had three strokes that made it difficult for her to use her right leg and to speak.

Her goddaughter, Stephanie Rozendal, says the theft was reported to police but the ramp hasn’t been located.

She says Tedrow can’t afford another ramp and feels like she’s lost her freedom.

HUTCHINSON — A Kansas woman was arrested on warrants, but also new charges after a Hutchinson Police Officer stopped her just after 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The officer spotted Jessica Cox, 33, Hutchinson, and knew she was wanted on several warrants.

During the arrest, officers discovered she had a leather jacket that contained items consistent with drug use.

She was carrying bags of methamphetamine and some prescription drugs. Offices also found a black scale and a container with a liquid she apparently used for tests to see if she’s under the influence, according to police.

She faces charges including possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute and possession of the prescription drugs.

Total bond in the case against Cox is set at $24,000. She is expected back in court next week once the state files formal charges.

Cox has been on community corrections for convictions for two counts of theft and two counts of introducing contraband into a correctional facility. She has been listed as an absconder from corrections since Dec. 16, that according to the Kansas Department of Corrections website.