FINNEY COUNTY- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 5:30a.m. on Monday in Finney County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Ford Focus driven by Graciela H. Huerta, 63, Garden City, was westbound on U.S. 50 near Chmelka Road.

The vehicle struck a 1999 Honda Accord driven by Jamal H. Mahamed, 24, Garden City, which was braking for on coming traffic ahead.

As a result of the collision, a 2000 Honda Civic driven by Javier Guillen-Arellano, 38, Garden City struck the Ford.

Huerta was transported to St. Catherine Hospital.

Mahamed and Guillen-Arellano were not injured.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

PARIS (AP) — The U.N. climate conference began Monday in Paris.

President Barack Obama is calling the Paris climate talks an “act of defiance” by the world community following the Islamic State-linked attacks two weeks ago.

Obama says world leaders gathered near Paris for global climate talks have come to the French capital to show resolve. He’s saluting Parisians for insisting the conference go on despite the attacks.

Obama says it proves that nothing will deter the world from building a future for its children. He says there’s no greater rejection to those who want to tear down the world than to mount best efforts to save it.

Obama was also painting a dire picture of the future without aggressive action to curb carbon emissions. He was describing submerged countries, abandoned cities and fields that won’t grow. He was also drawing a link to the refugee crisis and saying climate effects will lead desperate peoples to seek sanctuaries outside their home nations.

HUTCHINSON – Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating a case of alleged criminal threat.

Derrick Bruton, 37, was arrested in the 300 block of East 1st Street in Hutchinson just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning after he allegedly made criminal threats against three people.

Bruton faces potential charges of three counts of criminal threat and criminal possession of a firearm.

The threat was allegedly made at a residence in the 500 block of East B Street.

Bruton was also advised of criminal trespass at that residence.

He is on community corrections for possession of drugs and DUI.

He has two prior convictions for DUI and illegal transportation of liquor.

Bond in the case is set at $6,000 and he should make a first appearance in court on Monday.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Newly-released data reports growing numbers in sexually transmitted diseases in Kansas.

State data shows that syphilis rates have more than doubled statewide over the past four years.

Watch & RT this video about the rise of #syphilis in the U.S., especially among #men: https://t.co/cNhPyiN44R. pic.twitter.com/mrP2Hkh9za

— CDC STD (@CDCSTD) November 30, 2015

The Wichita Eagle reports  that 145 syphilis cases were reports in Kansas in 2014, compared to 58 cases that were reported in 2011.

In Kansas, men were three times more likely to have syphilis than women. The disease was most common among 20- to 29-year-olds. African-Americans were more likely to have syphilis than other groups.

Not-yet-finalized Sedgwick County data shows that local HIV cases are also growing. The number of cases is on track to surpass the county’s previous record-high.

The weekend winter storm coated trees and power lines in ice and thousands across the state were still without power on Monday morning.

Yvonne Etzel of Westar Energy said that it could be Tuesday before the electric service is fully restored in the Junction City – Manhattan areas.

“As our crews get into all the different neighborhoods and start making repairs we’ll be able to get more accurate estimated restoration times and customers can find those on the Westar outage map on the website.”

Etzel said 13 crews have been called in to assist in the Junction City – Manhattan area. Seven crews were called in to help in Abilene and Hutchinson, and five in Emporia.

“It’s just such a big mess, that until we get in there, and get our crews in there and figure out where we can restore the most customers the fastest….that’s what we’re dealing with.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An attorney representing a Kansas sperm donor who is being pushed by the state to pay child support says his client’s legal battle is similar to the fight for same-sex couples to marry.

Charles Baylor represents William Marotta, who has been resisting state efforts to declare him the legal parent of a 5-year-old girl conceived with sperm he sold to a same-sex couple.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Baylor argued in a court filing earlier this month that the state shouldn’t discriminate against the lesbian couple by forcing the child to have a male parent.

A Shawnee County district court judge said in June that Marotta and the couple failed to include a physician during the artificial insemination process and thus isn’t entitled to protections given to other sperm donors.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Negative publicity and low pay has Kansas law enforcement agencies struggling to recruit new officers at a time when agencies have hundreds of openings but not enough qualified applicants to fill them.

With law enforcement feeling the heat of public scrutiny, some recruiters say young people are opting for better-paying careers that don’t have so much negative baggage attached.

The Wichita Eagle reports the Kansas Highway Patrol has more than 100 open positions but there are just 19 cadets in the patrol’s academy class now underway in Salina.

Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred says college has gotten so expensive that graduates have to find jobs that will allow them to pay off that debt.

Officials say starting pay for law enforcement positions in the Wichita area is around $20,000.

JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the University of Missouri, officials were slow to handle racial incidents and that contributed to protests, a student hunger strike, a threatened boycott by football players and the resignations of two administrators.

But at the University of Oklahoma, the fallout from a racist chant caught on video was kept to a minimum. The school president acted quickly to expel the students.

Experts say quick action can help defuse campus tension.

Benjamin Reese — president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education — says administrators shouldn’t wait for students to demand a meeting. They can invite students to meet, and join protests if they agree with the issue.

Reese says administrators should know what they’re going to do before something happens and be willing to speak immediately.

HUTCHINSON- Officials in Reno County are investigating the cause of a fire that injured one person on Saturday.

Fire crews responded to the blaze at a home in the 500 block of East C Street just after 2 p.m., according to a media release from Hutchinson Fire Department.

Initial reports had advised of an occupant inside the home. First arriving units made entry into a second story window with a ground ladder to rescue that individual.

The occupant was removed out of the window and released to Reno County EMS for treatment and was sent to Wichita for further treatment.

Fire crews remained on scene for several hours conducting the investigation and overhaul procedures.

Fire damage is estimated at $25,000 and remains under investigation.

No names have been released.

RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — You know that auto insurance commercial, the one with the talkative gecko promising you can save 15 percent if you switch insurers?

It turns out something like that is happening with the Obama administration’s health care overhaul.

A study out  finds that this year’s most popular health law plans are raising premiums an average of 15 percent in 2016. You’ll have to switch if you don’t want to pay more.

The study from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation looked at a type of coverage called the “lowest cost silver plan.”

A hypothetical 40-year-old faced an average premium of $264 for the lowest cost silver plan in 2015. If that consumer stays in the same plan for 2016, the premium would be $304, or 15 percent more.

MIAMI COUNTY- One person died and eleven people, all from Missouri, were injured in an accident just before 4p.m. on Saturday in Miami County Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Ford Van driven by Bradley Cox, 47, Independence, MO., was southbound on U.S. 69 at 383rd Road.

The driver lost control of the vehicle when the right rear tire blew.

The van traveled across the lane into the median and rolled multiple times.

Cox was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

A Beth Cox, 41, and three children under the age of 5 were transported to Children’s Mercy.

Four children ranging in age from 11-months to 15-years and three additional adults were transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

KDWPT

PRATT– Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, the opening day of the firearm deer season, is a big day for many Kansas deer hunters. But it’s also important for another reason. This year’s season marks the 50th anniversary of modern deer hunting in Kansas. And to borrow a slogan from a 1960s commercial, “We’ve come a long way, baby.”

The 2015 firearm deer season is Dec. 2-13, and all hunters with 2015 permits may hunt with any legal equipment, as specified on their permit. Anyone hunting deer during the 12-day season must wear hunter orange – an orange hat and a vest that has 100 square inches of orange visible from the front and 100 square inches of orange visible from the back. All deer hunters must have a deer permit and all nonresidents and residents age 16-74 must also have a hunting license, unless exempt.

Compared to other Midwest states, Kansas’ deer hunting tradition is relatively young. The first regulated season was in 1965, when limited firearm and archery seasons were opened. Just 50 years before that, deer may have been completely extirpated from the state, as a result of unregulated market and subsistence hunting. That first modern firearm season was five days long, Dec. 11-15, and just 3,975 firearm permits were issued. Hunters took 1,153 deer that first year for a 29 percent success rate. Compare that to 2014 when 123,000 hunters killed 93,939 deer (many hunters filled antlerless-only permits in addition to their either sex permit). We have come a long way, and anyone interested in the history of deer and deer hunting in Kansas should check out the November/December 2015 issue of Kansas Wildlife & Parks magazine. The entire issue is devoted to this species and the Kansas deer hunting tradition. Individual copies can be purchased for $2.75 by calling (620) 672-5911.

If you don’t already have your permit, many are available over the counter and online. Hunters with a lifetime hunting license can purchase statewide Any-season, Either-sex Whitetail permits through the end of December. A hunter may purchase only one permit that allows the harvest of an antlered deer, but once that is purchased, up to five additional Whitetail Antlerless-only permits, which are valid in units specified on the permit (no antlerless permits are valid in Unit 18), can be purchased. Nonresident hunters must apply for a limited number of Whitetail Either-Sex permits in April.

Hunters can ensure that the 50th anniversary of deer hunting in Kansas is safe and enjoyable by following common sense safety rules: be sure of your target and what lies behind it; always point your muzzle in a safe direction; transport your firearm unloaded and cased; hunt ethically and observe principles of fair chase; get landowner permission before hunting any private land, whether it’s posted or not; and be sure to validate and attach the carcass tag before moving a deer from the site of the kill. Let’s hope the next 50 years are as remarkable as the last 50.

ANDOVER, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say wintery weather has killed four more people on Kansas roads.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton blamed icy roads for a double fatality crash around 3 p.m. Friday about 10 miles southeast of Newton.

Two others died a couple hours later when a truck jackknifed on an icy stretch of Interstate 35 near Andover, went through a median barrier and struck a sport utility vehicle. The crash killed the SUV’s driver, 65-year-old Shirley Ann Starr, of Kansas City, Missouri, and a truck passenger, 60-year-old Arlene Dale Harrison, of Winnipeg, in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

The Kansas Highway Patrol also blamed icy roads for two deadly crashes Thursday. Much of Kansas was hit with snow and freezing rain that began Thursday and continued to roll across the state Friday.