The killer of Kansas City, Kansas, police Capt. Robert David Melton was sentenced Friday to life in prison.
Jamaal Lewis -photo Wyandotte CountyCaptain Melton- photo KCK police
Jamaal R. Lewis, 22, had previously pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, and charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an unoccupied dwelling.
Wyandotte County District Judge Wesley Griffin handed down the maximum sentences on the lesser charges, 13 months and nine months respectively, and ordered them to run consecutively after the life sentence.
Lewis will be eligible for parole after 25 years.
Melton, 46, was responding to a drive-by shooting on July 19, 2016, when he saw Lewis and pulled up in front of him in his unmarked patrol car. Lewis pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots into the car, killing Melton.
Lewis had been charged with capital murder as well as first-degree felony murder. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, which did not require prosecutors’ assent.
That upset members of Melton’s family, according to The Kansas City Star. They have filed a complaint against Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter at @DanMargolies.
MANHATTAN — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a hit and run accident and asking the public for help with information.
Just after 5p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department responded to a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident near the intersection of Hunting and Denison. according to a media release.
The pedestrian was seriously injured and the vehicle involved left the scene.
The vehicle is described as a small white 4-door car.
We need anyone with information to contact the Riley County Police Department at (785) 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers at (785) 539-7777. Using the Crime Stoppers service allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.
NEW YORK — After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.
The E. coli outbreak announced just before Thanksgiving follows one in the spring that sickened more than 200 people and killed five, and another last year that sickened 25 and killed one. No deaths have been reported in the latest outbreak, but the dozens of illnesses highlight the challenge of eliminating risk for vegetables grown in open fields and eaten raw, the role of nearby cattle operations that produce huge volumes of manure and the delay of stricter federal food safety regulations.
A contested aspect of the regulation, for example, would require testing irrigation water for E. coli. The Food and Drug Administration put the measure on hold when the produce industry said such tests wouldn’t necessarily help prevent outbreaks. Additional regulations on sanitation for workers and equipment — other potential sources of contamination — only recently started being implemented.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he thinks the combination of rules, once fully in place, will make vegetables safer to eat.
“I don’t think any one element of this is going to be the magic bullet,” Gottlieb said.
Health officials say improved detection may make outbreaks seem more frequent. Still, that is intensifying pressure on growers and regulators to prevent, catch and contain contamination.
PREVENTION
It’s not yet known how romaine got contaminated in the latest outbreak.
The spring outbreak was traced to romaine from Yuma, Arizona. Irrigation water tainted with manure was identified as a likely culprit, and investigators noted the presence of a large animal feeding operation nearby.
Subsequently, growers in Arizona and California adjusted an industry agreement to expand buffer zones between vegetable fields and livestock. The industry says the change was in place for lettuce now being grown in Yuma, which hasn’t been implicated in the latest outbreak. But Trevor Suslow of the Produce Marketing Association said there isn’t consensus about the exact distances that might effectively prevent contamination.
He noted specific buffer zones aren’t required by the new federal rules on produce safety.
“They look to the industry to determine what is the appropriate distance,” Suslow said.
Growers in Yuma also started treating irrigation water that would touch plant leaves with chlorine to kill potential contaminants, Suslow said. But he said such treatment raises concerns about soil and human health.
Meanwhile, the proximity of produce fields to cattle operations is likely to continue posing a problem. Travis Forgues of the milk producer Organic Valley noted consolidation in the dairy industry is leading to bigger livestock operations that produce massive volumes of manure.
TESTING
Already, the industry agreement in Arizona and California requires leafy green growers to test water for generic E. coli.
But James Rogers, director of food safety research at Consumer Reports, said it’s important to make water testing a federal requirement. Since romaine is often chopped up and bagged, a single contaminated batch from one farm that skips testing could make a lot of people sick, he said.
Teressa Lopez of the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement also said federal regulation can ensure greater compliance, even though the industry agreement has stricter measures.
Despite industry measures implemented after a spinach outbreak more than a decade ago, health officials note d this month there have been 28 E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens since 2009.
The produce industry says the failure to prevent the Yuma outbreak could also reflect the limitations of testing water for generic E. coli.
Elizabeth Binh, a food science expert at Cornell University, said the tests look for the amount of fecal matter in water. The problem is, “some feces has pathogens in it, some feces doesn’t,” said Binh, who is part of a federal program helping farmers comply with the new produce regulations.
Testing for specific E. coli strains that are harmful is more difficult, and doesn’t rule out the possibility of other harmful bacteria, Binh said.
CONTAINING
Whole-genome sequencing is making it easier to detect outbreaks, which is pressuring the produce industry.
The FDA warned against all romaine last week because it said it was able to identify it as a likely source early enough. The agency narrowed its warning to romaine from California’s Central Coast after the produce industry agreed to label romaine with harvest dates and regions, so people know what’s OK to eat.
The labeling is voluntary, and the industry said it will evaluate whether to extend it to other leafy greens. Gottlieb said improving traceability would allow targeted health alerts that don’t hurt the entire industry. The FDA recently hired a former Walmart executive who used blockchain technology to improve traceability in the retailer’s supply chain.
Stephen Basore, director of food safety at a Florida romaine grower, said he expects more regulations and self-imposed industry guidelines.
“Anytime there is an issue, the immediate response is saying our protocols aren’t enough,” he said.
___ AP reporter Josh Replogle contributed from Florida.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have a suspect in custody. Just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to 703 State Street in Salina in reference a call of shots fired, according to a media release.
Thille -photo Saline Co.
Upon entering the residence, officers found 30-year-old Justin Willingham of Salina had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police located two persons of interest Valerie Ann Vogel and Mika Lee Thille, 25, Downs, for questioning. Thille has been booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges of Murder in 1st degree; In the commission of felony, Murder in the 2nd degree; Intentional, Aggravated robbery and Agg Burglary; Dwelling for felony, theft, sex, according to the Saline County jail booking report.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have located two suspects.
Just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to 703 State Street in Salina in reference a call of shots fired, according to a media release.
Upon entering the residence, officers found that a 30-year-old white male had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Salina Police Department Facebook page, police located suspect Valerie Ann Vogel at 2:05 p.m. and Mika Lee Thille at 2:45 p.m.
Police have not released the victim’s name.
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SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and asking the public for help to locate two suspects.
Just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to 703 State Street in Salina in reference a call of shots fired, according to a media release.
Upon entering the residence, officers found that a 30-year-old white male had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a media release, Salina Police have identified 26-year-old Mika Lee Thille and 25-year-old Valerie Ann Vogel as persons of interest.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police. This is the first homicide of 2018.
5-foot-9, 160-pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Vogel is identified as a 5-foot-6-inch, 138-pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
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SALINE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting.
Police on the scene early Friday in Salina
Just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to 703 State Street in Salina in reference a call of shots fired, according to a media release.
Upon entering the residence, officers found that a 30-year-old white male had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives interviewed witnesses who were inside the residence at the time of the shooting. No suspects are in custody at this time and the investigation is ongoing. The police department is in the process of notifying the next-of-kin, so the victim’s name has not yet been released.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police. This is the first homicide of 2018.
HOUSTON—Former President George H.W. Bush died Friday at the age of 94.
Kansas political leaders and others around the world are praising the nation’s 41st President.
Rest In Peace, President George H.W. Bush. @GeorgeHWBush was a WWII hero who dedicated his life to public service. Franki and I are praying for the entire Bush family during this difficult time.
President Bush was a family man whose legacy of faith and service will live on. Robba and I offer our sincerest condolences to the Bush family and we pray that President Bush has been reunited with Barbara, his wife of 71 years, in Heaven.
I am saddened to hear tonight of the passing of @GeorgeHWBush, whom I served under as a White House fellow. His hard work over decades of public service truly made our country & our world a better place. My prayers are with the Bush family during their time of grieving. #ksleg
I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of our nations finest patriots. His steadfast leadership and life-long devotion to our country has made a lasting impact on our nation. My thoughts and prayers are with the Bush's
Family spokesman Jim McGrath says Bush died shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush.
The nation’s 41st president served from 1989 to 1993, and eight years later watched his son George W. became the 43rd president.
The elder Bush saw his popularity swell with the United States’ success in the Gulf War in 1991, only to watch it evaporate in a brief but deep recession. The Republican was defeated in his bid for a second term by Democrat Bill Clinton.
Bush had also been a World War II hero, Texas congressman, CIA director and Ronald Reagan’s vice president.
Only one other U.S. president, John Adams, had a son who also became president.
4:48 a.m.
Gulf Arab nations allied with the U.S. have offered their condolences over the death of President George H.W. Bush.
Bush’s death at the age of 94 takes on greater importance in the region over his actions in the 1991 Gulf War that saw Iraq expelled from Kuwait.
Leaders in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday offered condolences to both President Donald Trump and former President George W. Bush for the elder Bush’s death.
Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also is the UAE’s prime minister and vice president, tweeted that Emiratis remember Bush as “a firm ally and friend.”
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said similarly offered condolences.
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4:18 a.m.
Germany’s foreign minister is remembering former U.S. President George H.W. Bush as one of the architects of his country’s reunification in 1990.
Heiko Maas said in a statement Saturday that “we are mourning a great statesman and a friend of Germany.”
Bush was president when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and supported German reunification less than a year later. Maas said that “he courageously seized the opportunity to end the Cold War.”
He added that “he is also an architect of German unity. He supported it from the beginning without reservations. We will never forget that.”
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4:13 a.m.
British leaders past and present are paying tribute to U.S. President George H.W. Bush as a committed public servant who helped the United States stand tall on the world stage.
Prime Minister Theresa May says Bush was “a great statesman and a true friend of our country” whose “ethos of public service was the guiding thread of his life and an example to us all.”
May said in a statement that “in navigating a peaceful end to the Cold War he made the world a safer place for generations to come.”
John Major, whose 1990-1997 term as British prime minister overlapped with Bush’s presidency, said the late president “saw America’s obligation to the world and honored it.”
Major told the BBC that “I feel privileged to have worked with him, and even more privileged that he became a lifelong friend. He was, quite simply, one of the most deep-down decent people I have ever known.”
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3:56 a.m.
The Dalai Lama, has offered condolences after the death former President George H.W. Bush.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said: “He was in fact the first American President that I was privileged to meet. I recall being deeply touched by your father’s concern for the Tibetan people and the situation in Tibet. It is truly admirable to have lived over 94 years. While nothing can replace the loss of a father, we can rejoice in the fact that his was a meaningful life, dedicated to public service. I commend your parents for encouraging their children, including you my dear friend, to devote yourselves to the service of others.”
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3:49 a.m.
Former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed his “deep condolences” to the family of former U.S President George H.W. Bush and all Americans following his death.
Gorbachev worked closely with Bush to bring an end to the Cold War in the late 1980s and 1990s, and lauded the former president for his abilities as a politician and his personal character.
“It was a time of great change,” he told the Interfax news agency, “demanding great responsibility from everyone. The result was the end of the Cold War and nuclear arms race.”
Gorbachev said that he and his wife, Raisa, “deeply appreciated the attention, kindness and simplicity typical of George and Barbara Bush, as well as the rest of their large, friendly family.”
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3:18 a.m.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has expressed her country’s condolences following the death of former President George H.W. Bush.
Ardern acknowledge in a statement early Saturday “the contribution President Bush made to international affairs over decades of service to the United States of America.”
She said Bush’s “statesmanship played a key role in helping to end the Cold War, which bought democracy to millions of people in Europe and diminished the threat of nuclear war. George H.W. Bush was a strong supporter of the international rules-based system, the rule of law and democratic values.”
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2:07 a.m.
Iran has noted the death of President George H.W. Bush. A scrolling news bar on state television described Bush as being “like other U.S. presidents who wished to see the collapse of the Islamic Republic.”
State television on Saturday morning announced Bush’s death, citing international reports.
Iran remained suspicious of Bush despite his pledge of “good will begets good will.” Iran leaned on Lebanon’s Shiite militants to help win the release American hostages like Terry Anderson of The Associated Press, but relations went no further.
One of Bush’s last acts as president was pardoning former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and others for their role in the Iran-Contra scandal, an offshoot of those hostage crises.
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1:43 a.m.
The small, oil-rich nation of Kuwait is offering its condolences for the late President George H.W. Bush, who led the 1991 Gulf War that freed it from Iraq.
The state-run KUNA news agency flashed news of Bush’s death Saturday morning at the age of 94.
Kuwait’s ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, offered his condolences to Bush’s son, the former President George W. Bush. Sheikh Sabah also offered condolences to current President Donald Trump.
KUNA said Sheikh Sabah noted Bush’s efforts to “create a new international order based on justice and equality among nations.”
Sheikh Sabah also said Bush never “forgot the Kuwaiti people and will remain in their memory.”
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1:05 a.m.
Former President Bill Clinton is remembering George H.W. Bush for his “great long life of service, love and friendship.”
In a statement issued early Saturday, Clinton said he would be “forever grateful” for the friendship he formed with the man he turned out of the White House after one term.
Clinton, who defeated Bush in the 1992 presidential election, says he was always struck by Bush’s “innate and genuine decency” and by his devotion to his wife Barbara and his family.
Clinton says Bush’s extensive record of public service was rare, with his years in the military, in Congress, the United Nations, China, the CIA and as vice president and president.
Clinton adds that Bush never stopped serving even after leaving office, working on tsunami relief in Asia and within the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina.
The two former presidents worked together on those relief efforts.
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12:51 p.m.
Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser during George H.W. Bush’s presidency, said “The world has lost a great leader” and “this country has lost one of its best.”
Scowcroft said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” at losing a man a man he called “one of my dearest friends.”
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12:34 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state joins the nation in mourning “the passing of one of our greatest Presidents.”
In a brief statement, the Republican said “George H.W. Bush was an American hero and icon. He was a friend to all he met. He embodied class and dignity.” Abbott added that “Texans are genuinely honored that he called the Lone Star State home and we collectively grieve this monumental loss.”
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12:23 p.m.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are mourning the passing of former President George H.W. Bush.
In a statement, the Trumps praise Bush for his “sound judgment, common sense and unflappable leadership.”
The Trumps say that Bush “inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service.”
They also praise the former president for guiding the nation and the world to a “peaceful and victorious conclusion of the Cold War.”
The Trumps add that Bush remained humble despite his accomplishments, “following the quiet call to service that gave him a clear sense of direction.”
The statement was issued while the Trumps are in Buenos Aires, Argentine for the Group of 20 summit.
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12:10 a.m.
James A. Baker III, former President George H.W. Bush’s secretary of state and longtime confidant, said his friend’s legacy “will be forever etched in the history of America and the world.” He noted Bush’s “lifelong record of selfless patriotic service to our nation,” from being the youngest U.S. Navy aviator in World War II to serving as a Texas congressman, United Nations ambassador, the first U.S. ambassador to China, CIA director, vice president and president.
In a statement, Baker said that in each position, Bush “led with strength, integrity, compassion and humility — characteristics that define a truly great man and effective leader.” Baker added that, “with a singularly unique consistency, he always demonstrated these traits, whether on the global stage or interacting with people in his everyday life. His passion was a deep love of family and our country.”
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11:50 a.m.
Praise is coming in for former President George H.W. Bush from another former president.
The office of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama said Bush’s life was “a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling. And he did tremendous good along the journey.”
The Obamas credited him with “expanding America’s promise to new immigrants and people with disabilities. Reducing the scourge of nuclear weapons and building a broad international coalition to expel a dictator from Kuwait. And when democratic revolutions bloomed across Eastern Europe, it was his steady, diplomatic hand that made possible an achievement once thought anything but – ending the Cold War without firing a shot.”
They said: “It’s a legacy of service that may never be matched, even though he’d want all of us to try.”
NEW YORK — Have you heard the one about the girl who didn’t care about Christmas but found herself in a small town for the holidays surrounded by decorations, cookies and carolers, and found a new boyfriend and her Christmas spirit by Dec. 25? Hallmark Channel has, and they’re airing 22 original movies this year built around plots similar to that. The premise may vary, but the themes are the same and Hallmark is very OK with that.
“Yes, you can pretty much guarantee that when you meet our two leads in the first 10 minutes of a Hallmark movie, it’s guaranteed that they will end up together,” said Michelle Vicary, the executive vice president of programming and network publicity for Crown Media and Family Networks.
While regular network primetime programming tends to take a hiatus during the holiday season, it’s Hallmark Channel’s time to shine. Their holiday movies are so popular, they begin airing Christmas movies on Oct. 26 and wrap up on Jan. 1.
“When viewers kept telling us by virtue of the ratings that they wanted more (Christmas), it was a natural to extend the time that we were programming for them,” said Vicary.
Hallmark sells shirts that say, “All I want to do is drink hot cocoa and watch Hallmark Channel.” This year there’s also an app called Countdown to Christmas to keep track of the programming on Hallmark Channel and its sister channel, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries (which offers more spiritual fare.) There’s an option to set alerts on your phone and add the movie start times to your calendar. On launch day, it had 140,000 downloads.
This year, Hallmark Channel has films starring LeAnn Rimes, Kellie Pickler and Patti LaBelle, but the network also features recurring actresses, dubbed the “Christmas queens” internally by Hallmark, who front a new movie a season on the network: Candace Cameron Bure, Lacey Chabert, Danica McKellar and Lori Loughlin.
Bure reigns supreme. “For the last three years, she has had the No. 1 Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel with very, very stiff competition from Chabert and Loughlin,” said Vicary.
Bure said the reaction to her Hallmark Christmas movies encourages her to keep making them but also find interesting ways to tell stories that fit the formula.
“It’s a big deal to decide which movie to do,” she said. “The competitive side of me says, ‘Hey, I want to keep topping those charts and helping the company improve and helping my numbers,'” she said.
This year’s film, “A Shoe Addict’s Christmas,” is based on novel by best-selling author Beth Harbison.
Loughlin, who developed her own film for Hallmark this year, admits to also trying to push the envelope a little bit.
“They definitely have a formula and you do have to follow it. If you don’t, they reign you back in. As actors we want a little bit of drama so you try to put some highs and lows in there, but you can’t argue with (Hallmark). Their format is 100 percent working.”
The biggest motivation for returning to Hallmark year after year is the fans, said Bure. She recalled a letter from an older man whose wife had passed away after more than 50 years of marriage. She loved Christmas and would decorate for the season early, and particularly loved Bure’s Christmas movies. He forced himself to not only keep up his wife’s tradition of decorating but also sat down to watch Bure’s movie that year because it’s what they would have done as a couple, and it made him feel closer to her.
“It’s more than ratings. It’s more than a cheesy holiday spirit. There’s a deep meaning behind (these movies) for some people I love all of them, and that’s why I keep doing them.”
Chabert, who is also known for roles in “Party of Five” and “Mean Girls,” says she considers it “an honor” to keep making Christmas movies for Hallmark.
“I’ve been in this business a long time but the fans of Hallmark are some of the most devoted and some of the most kind,” she said.
She also says the movies speak to important themes: “Disconnecting from the world, spending time with family, and just being in touch with what’s most important and I think that’s always a good reminder.”
McKellar agrees: “I really believe these movies encourage connection,” she said, joking that she can’t count the number of times she’s said “family traditions” in her films, adding that’s the point. “It’s not about ratings. It’s about sticking to a set of values that the brand holds dear.”
She’s especially excited about her offering this year, “Christmas at Grand Valley,” because it reunites her with her former “The Wonder Years” co-star, Dan Lauria, who plays her dad in the movie.
“There’s certain talent that our audience really connects with around the holidays,” said Meghan Hooper, a senior vice president at Lifetime. “We like bringing back some of the same performers like Tatyana Ali that they grew up with ‘Fresh Prince,’ they now see her on our air year after year. It’s leaning into that comfort and nostalgia.”
Hart’s “A Very Nutty Christmas” debuts on Lifetime Nov. 30. “I don’t want to make Christmas movies just my thing,” said Hart. “But it’s the only place where TV movies still thrive,” she said.
“Just having something to watch that’s uplifting and light and romantic,” she added, “I think it’s something really missing in theaters and mainstream television these days.”
Netflix has also followed suit with its own original holiday movies. Last year it offered “A Christmas Prince” starring Rose McIver and this year there’s a sequel, “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.” They’ve also added new movies starring Kurt Russell, Kat Graham and Vanessa Hudgens.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are discussing raising the state’s gas tax and implementing new fees as a way to help fund future highway improvements.
Transportation Task Force discussing on Thursday how to consistently fund T-works completion and concurrently start addressing new needs. Funding calculator being used to run scenarios-photo courtesy KDOT
A state task force finalized recommendations Thursday for a long-term transportation plan as Kansas prepares to transition out T-WORKS, the 10-year, $8 billion transportation program that began in 2010. The recommendations call for transportation funding through sales taxes, a fee on electric vehicles and raising the gas tax.
State lawmakers and the Kansas Department of Transportation will consider the recommendations as they develop a new transportation program in the coming year.
The recommendations didn’t specify how much the gas tax should be increased. But Democratic Sen. Tom Hawk has voiced support for raising the gas tax by 5 cents, which could produce about $90 million a year.
CLARK COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 7:30p.m. Friday in Clark County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Peterbilt semi driven by Michael J. Burton, 52, Osceola, NE., was northbound on U.S.183 two miles south of the U.S. 160 Junction.
The semi traveled left of center into the ditch. The driver lost control and rolled landing onto the passenger side.
Burton was transported to the hospital in Dodge City where he died. The KHP did not have details on his seat belt usage.
HOUSTON (AP) — George H.W. Bush, a patrician New Englander whose presidency soared with the coalition victory over Iraq in Kuwait, but then plummeted in the throes of a weak economy that led voters to turn him out of office after a single term, has died. He was 94.
George H. W. Bush -photo Bush Presidential Library and Museum
The World War II hero, who also presided during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the final months of the Cold War, died late Friday night at his Houston home, said family spokesman Jim McGrath. His wife of more than 70 years, Barbara Bush, died in April 2018.
The son of a senator and father of a president, Bush was the man with the golden resume who rose through the political ranks: from congressman to U.N. ambassador, Republican Party chairman to envoy to China, CIA director to two-term vice president under the hugely popular Ronald Reagan. The 1991 Gulf War stoked his popularity. But Bush would acknowledge that he had trouble articulating “the vision thing,” and he was haunted by his decision to break a stern, solemn vow he made to voters: “Read my lips. No new taxes.”
He lost his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton in a campaign in which businessman H. Ross Perot took almost 19 percent of the vote as an independent candidate. Still, he lived to see his son, George W., twice elected to the presidency — only the second father-and-son chief executives, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
The 43rd president issued a statement Friday following his father’s death, saying the elder Bush “was a man of the highest character.”
“The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad,” the statement read.
After his 1992 defeat, George H.W. Bush complained that media-created “myths” gave voters a mistaken impression that he did not identify with the lives of ordinary Americans. He decided he lost because he “just wasn’t a good enough communicator.”
Once out of office, Bush was content to remain on the sidelines, except for an occasional speech or paid appearance and visits abroad. He backed Clinton on the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had its genesis during his own presidency. He visited the Middle East, where he was revered for his defense of Kuwait. And he returned to China, where he was welcomed as “an old friend” from his days as the U.S. ambassador there.
He later teamed with Clinton to raise tens of millions of dollars for victims of a 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina, which swamped New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005. During their wide-ranging travels, the political odd couple grew close.
“Who would have thought that I would be working with Bill Clinton, of all people?” Bush quipped in October 2005.
In his post-presidency, Bush’s popularity rebounded with the growth of his reputation as a fundamentally decent and well-meaning leader who, although he was not a stirring orator or a dreamy visionary, was a steadfast humanitarian. Elected officials and celebrities of both parties publicly expressed their fondness.
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Bush quickly began building an international military coalition that included other Arab states. After liberating Kuwait, he rejected suggestions that the U.S. carry the offensive to Baghdad, choosing to end the hostilities a mere 100 hours after the start of the ground war.
“That wasn’t our objective,” he told The Associated Press in 2011 from his office just a few blocks from his Houston home. “The good thing about it is there was so much less loss of human life than had been predicted and indeed than we might have feared.”
But the decisive military defeat did not lead to the regime’s downfall, as many in the administration had hoped.
“I miscalculated,” acknowledged Bush. His legacy was dogged for years by doubts about the decision not to remove Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi leader was eventually ousted in 2003, in the war led by Bush’s son that was followed by a long, bloody insurgency.
George H.W. Bush entered the White House in 1989 with a reputation as a man of indecision and indeterminate views. One newsmagazine suggested he was a “wimp.”
But his work-hard, play-hard approach to the presidency won broad public approval. He held more news conferences in most months than Reagan did in most years.
The Iraq crisis of 1990-91 brought out all the skills Bush had honed in a quarter-century of politics and public service.
After winning United Nations support and a green light from a reluctant Congress, Bush unleashed a punishing air war against Iraq and a five-day ground juggernaut that sent Iraqi forces reeling in disarray back to Baghdad. He basked in the biggest outpouring of patriotism and pride in America’s military since World War II, and his approval ratings soared to nearly 90 percent.
The other battles he fought as president, including a war on drugs and a crusade to make American children the best educated in the world, were not so decisively won.
He rode into office pledging to make the United States a “kinder, gentler” nation and calling on Americans to volunteer their time for good causes — an effort he said would create “a thousand points of light.”
It was Bush’s violation of a different pledge, the no-new-taxes promise, that helped sink his bid for a second term. He abandoned the idea in his second year, cutting a deficit-reduction deal that angered many congressional Republicans and contributed to GOP losses in the 1990 midterm elections.
An avid outdoorsman who took Theodore Roosevelt as a model, Bush sought to safeguard the environment and signed the first improvements to the Clean Air Act in more than a decade. It was activism with a Republican cast, allowing polluters to buy others’ clean-air credits and giving industry flexibility on how to meet tougher goals on smog.
He also signed the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act to ban workplace discrimination against people with disabilities and require improved access to public places and transportation.
Bush failed to rein in the deficit, which had tripled to $3 trillion under Reagan and galloped ahead by as much as $300 billion a year under Bush, who put his finger on it in his inauguration speech: “We have more will than wallet.”
Seven years of economic growth ended in mid-1990, just as the Gulf crisis began to unfold. Bush insisted the recession would be “short and shallow,” and lawmakers did not even try to pass a jobs bill or other relief measures.
Bush’s true interests lay elsewhere, outside the realm of nettlesome domestic politics. “I love coping with the problems in foreign affairs,” he told a child who asked what he liked best about being president.
He operated at times like a one-man State Department, on the phone at dawn with his peers — Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, Francois Mitterrand of France, Germany’s Helmut Kohl.
Communism began to crumble on his watch, with the Berlin Wall coming down, the Warsaw Pact disintegrating and the Soviet satellites falling out of orbit.
He seized leadership of the NATO alliance with a bold and ultimately successful proposal for deep troop and tank cuts in Europe. Huge crowds cheered him on a triumphal tour through Poland and Hungary.
Bush’s invasion of Panama in December 1989 was a military precursor of the Gulf War: a quick operation with a resoundingly superior American force. But in Panama, the troops seized dictator Manuel Noriega and brought him back to the United States in chains to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges.
Months after the Gulf War, Washington became engrossed in a different sort of confrontation over one of Bush’s nominees to the Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas, a little-known federal appeals court judge, was accused of sexual harassment by a former colleague named Anita Hill. His confirmation hearings exploded into a national spectacle, sparking an intense debate over race, gender and the modern workplace. Thomas was eventually confirmed.
In the closing days of the 1992 campaign, Bush fought the impression that he was distant and disconnected, and he seemed to struggle against the younger, more empathetic Clinton.
During a campaign visit to a grocers’ convention, Bush reportedly expressed amazement when shown an electronic checkout scanner. Critics seized on the moment, saying it indicated that the president had become disconnected from voters.
Later at a town-hall style debate, he paused to look at his wristwatch — a seemingly innocent glance that became freighted with deeper meaning because it seemed to reinforce the idea of a bored, impatient incumbent.
In the same debate, Bush became confused by a woman’s question about whether the deficit had affected him personally. Clinton, with apparent ease, left his seat, walked to the edge of the stage to address the woman and offered a sympathetic answer.
Bush said the pain of losing in 1992 was eased by the warm reception he received after leaving office.
“I lost in ’92 because people still thought the economy was in the tank, that I was out of touch and I didn’t understand that,” he said in an AP interview shortly before the dedication of his presidential library in 1997. “The economy wasn’t in the tank, and I wasn’t out of touch, but I lost. I couldn’t get through this hue and cry for ‘change, change, change’ and ‘The economy is horrible, still in recession.’
George Herbert Walker Bush was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, into the New England elite, a world of prep schools, mansions and servants seemingly untouched by the Great Depression.
His father, Prescott Bush, the son of an Ohio steel magnate, made his fortune as an investment banker and later served 10 years as a senator from Connecticut.
George H.W. Bush enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday in 1942, right out of prep school. He returned home to marry his 19-year-old sweetheart, Barbara Pierce, daughter of the publisher of McCall’s magazine, in January 1945. They were the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. She died on April 17, 2018.
Lean and athletic at 6-foot-2, Bush became a war hero while still a teenager. One of the youngest pilots in the Navy, he flew 58 missions off the carrier USS San Jacinto.
He had to ditch one plane in the Pacific and was shot down on Sept. 2, 1944, while completing a bombing run against a Japanese radio tower. An American submarine rescued Bush. His two crewmates perished. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery.
After the war, Bush took just 2½ years to graduate from Yale, then headed west in 1948 to the oil fields of West Texas. Bush and partners helped found Zapata Petroleum Corp. in 1953. Six years later, he moved to Houston and became active in the Republican Party.
In politics, he showed the same commitment he displayed in business, advancing his career through loyalty and subservience.
He was first elected to Congress in 1966 and served two terms. President Richard Nixon appointed him ambassador to the United Nations, and after the 1972 election, named him chairman of the Republican National Committee. Bush struggled to hold the party together as Watergate destroyed the Nixon presidency, then became ambassador to China and CIA chief in the Ford administration.
Bush made his first bid for president in 1980 and won the Iowa caucuses, but Reagan went on to win the nomination.
In the 1988 presidential race, Bush trailed the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, by as many as 17 points that summer. He did little to help himself by picking Dan Quayle, a lightly regarded junior senator from Indiana, as a running mate.
But Bush soon became an aggressor, stressing patriotic themes and flailing Dukakis as an out-of-touch liberal. He carried 40 states, becoming the first sitting vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836.
He took office with the humility that was his hallmark.
“Some see leadership as high drama, and the sound of trumpets calling, and sometimes it is that,” he said at his inauguration. “But I see history as a book with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story unfolds.”
Bush approached old age with gusto, celebrating his 75th and 80th birthdays by skydiving over College Station, Texas, the home of his presidential library. He did it again on his 85th birthday in 2009, parachuting near his oceanfront home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He used his presidential library at Texas A&M University as a base for keeping active in civic life.
He became the patriarch of one of the nation’s most prominent political families. In addition to George W. becoming president, another son, Jeb, was elected Florida governor in 1998 and made an unsuccessful run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
The other Bush children are sons Neil and Marvin and daughter Dorothy Bush LeBlond. Another daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953, a few weeks before her fourth birthday.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 45-year-old man who was allegedly racing with another driver before a traffic crash that killed two people is facing murder charges.
Fatal crash scene-photo courtesy KCTVWoodworth -photo Johnson Co.
Bradley Woodworth, of Olathe, was charged Friday with two counts of reckless second-degree murder. Woodworth was previously charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
The Oct. 6 crash in Overland Park killed 18-year-old Matthew Bloskey, of Overland Park, and 20-year-old Samuel Siebuhr, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Woodworth is accused of driving a minivan that was jockeying for position with Siebuhr’s car before the two vehicles made contact. Siebuhr’s car spun out of control and eventually hit the vehicle driven by Bloskey.
The charges filed Friday allege that Woodworth recklessly caused the deaths by showing “extreme indifference” to human life.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs released running back Kareem Hunt on Friday night after video surfaced that showed the NFL’s reigning rushing champion knocking over and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel hallway in February.
The team issued a statement shortly after the NFL had placed Hunt on its Commissioner Exemption List that said the running back lied when asked about the incident by team officials. The team said “the video today confirms that fact. We are releasing Kareem immediately.”
Hunt was at the Chiefs’ facility earlier Friday in preparation for Sunday’s trip to Oakland, but he was excused and sent home shortly after TMZ posted the video online. It shows Hunt being restrained several times by friends before pushing a woman to the ground, where he proceeds to kick her.
Police were called to the scene during the Feb. 10 incident, no charges were filed. The police did not respond to requests for comment Friday night.
“Earlier this year, we were made aware of an incident involving running back Kareem Hunt. At that time, the National Football League and law enforcement initiated investigations into the issue,” the Chiefs said. “As part of our internal discussions with Kareem, several members of our management team spoke directly to him. Kareem was not truthful in those discussions.”
The Chiefs and the NFL have been aware of Hunt’s incident since it occurred, but much like the case involving former Ravens running back Ray Rice, the shocking video brought a new dimension to the case. It showed Hunt lunging toward a woman and several others in the hotel hallway, and the second-year pro being restrained several times before knocking two people down.
While no charges were filed from the altercation, two police reports were created. Hunt is listed as the suspect in one of them and a woman, Abigail Ottinger, is the suspect in the other one.
Hunt also was involved in a June incident, according to TMZ, in which he allegedly punched a man at an Ohio resort. The man Hunt struck declined to press charges.
When asked about the incidents in training camp, Hunt said “I’ve learned from it.” When asked to elaborate on what he learned, he replied: “Just be in the right place at the right time.”
Hunt led the NFL in rushing as a rookie with 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns in helping Kansas City make the playoffs. He had run for 824 yards this season, with seven touchdowns passing and seven more receiving, in helping the Chiefs to a 9-2 start and a stranglehold on the AFC West.
Spencer Ware is expected to take over as the lead running back.
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt was asked several times about Hunt’s incidents in the offseason, and he acknowledged that “young men are not always going to make the best decisions.”
“We have a strong support system, both with the coaching staff and also our player development that works with young guys and talks to them about the situations that they want to be in,” Clark Hunt said during training camp. “Obviously he had a very big year on the field last year. I’m sure he learned some lessons this offseason and hopefully won’t be in those kind of situations in the future.”
He won’t be as a member of the Chiefs.
Domestic violence has been a major issue in the NFL in recent years, one that struck home in Kansas City in 2012 when Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend before killing himself at the team’s practice facility. Belcher was later found to have suffered from CTE.
The most memorable incident came in 2014, when a video showed Rice knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator in an Atlantic City hotel. Rice was originally suspended two games by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who later was heavily criticized for such a light penalty after the video was released.
Rice soon after was suspended indefinitely by the league. He won an appeal but was released by the Ravens, and the three-time Pro Bowl running back never returned to the NFL.
Last year, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for six games by Goodell after the league concluded following a yearlong investigation that he had several physical confrontations in the summer of 2016 with his girlfriend at the time.
The league has implemented a stronger domestic violence policy, but incidents have continued to make news. Just last weekend, the 49ers cut linebacker Reuben Foster when he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence — he has since signed with Washington but remains on the NFL’s exempt list.
Hunt had exhibited a pattern of questionable behavior dating to his college days at Toledo, where he shattered school records but also was suspended his junior season for violating team rules.
The Chiefs chose him in the third round of last year’s NFL draft, and he was poised to spend the season as the backup before Ware went down with a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. Hunt was thrust into the starting role and fumbled on his very first carry in a game in New England, but bounced back to have one of the best seasons in franchise history.
He had six games of at least 100 yards rushing and helped Kansas City win consecutive division titles for the first time, a season that ultimately landed Hunt in the Pro Bowl.
Hunt was off to another good start this season, his rushing yardage putting him fourth in the NFL and his touchdown total trailing only the Rams’ Todd Gurley II and the Saints’ Alvin Kamara.
He was also well-liked in the locker room, despite the off-the-field distractions from this past offseason. Hunt had joined quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and several other Chiefs players in attending Sporting Kansas City’s playoff game on Thursday night.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he has talked to President Donald Trump by phone since losing the governor’s race but is declining to provide further details.
Kobach told reporters Friday that he’s not “out looking for random federal jobs” but said if Trump offered him a position, “That’s a different matter.”
Fellow Republicans in Kansas have speculated since the election that Kobach could receive a high-profile job in Trump’s administration. Kobach lost the governor’s race to Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly.
Kobach built a national profile as an advocate of tough immigration and voter identification policies before informally advising Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and afterward. Kobach also served as vice chairman of a short-lived presidential commission on voter fraud.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Attorney General has asked a judge to dismiss two criminal charges against a former employee at a Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy died.
Miles-photo Wyandotte Co.
A motion filed Thursday asks a Wyandotte County judge to dismiss charges against Tyler Miles. He was director of operations at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, when Caleb Schwab was decapitated on a water slide in August 2016.
The charges accused Miles of lying to authorities and concealing evidence from investigators. Miles is still charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated battery.
The motion doesn’t give a reason why the Attorney General decided to drop the charges. A spokeswoman for the office didn’t return a message seeking comment.
Miles was among five employees indicted after the boy’s death.
