By SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Thirty-three priests or religious brothers in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, have been “credibly accused” and/or removed from the ministry over sexual abuse of minors, the bishop of the central Missouri diocese said Thursday.

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight released a complete list of the names that followed an internal investigation begun in February. The list includes 25 priests from the diocese, three priests from other areas who previously served in the Jefferson City diocese, and five members of a religious order.

Fourteen of the 33 men named are dead. Many of them are elderly. The diocese said the most recent case of physical sexual abuse found in the investigation occurred in 1997.

“Although the incidents are in the past, the pain caused is still a present reality for the survivors of abuse and their loved ones,” McKnight said in a statement. He apologized for the actions of the priests and brothers, “and the incomplete transparency we have lived under by not making all their names public.”
McKnight also encouraged any additional victims to come forward.

David Clohessy, St. Louis director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called the list “irresponsibly and painfully short on details.”

McKnight “should reveal where each of these men worked, when they were accused, when those allegations were deemed credible, why the years of secrecy, and where the men are now,” Clohessy said in a statement.

The internal investigation is unrelated to an investigation announced in August by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, in which the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, the Diocese of Jefferson City, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Archdiocese of St. Louis all agreed to open their records.

Hawley’s announcement came amid renewed concern about sexual abuse by priests that followed the release of a scathing report in Pennsylvania citing abuse of more than 1,000 children by hundreds of priests since the 1940s, along with cover-up by church leaders.

Mary Compton, a spokeswoman for Hawley, said that investigation is “active and ongoing,” but offered no timetable for when it will be complete.

“We are working as quickly as possible to carefully and thoroughly review all evidence obtained by our office,” Compton said in a statement. “The Pennsylvania Grand Jury completed its work in two years. Our Office believes Missourians deserve answers as soon as feasible.”

Hawley on Tuesday defeated incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in the race for U.S. Senate. Gov. Mike Parson will name a replacement.

Jack Smith, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said the diocese also plans to release a list of names but will wait until the Attorney General’s investigation is complete.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a rural Sedgwick County creek.

Just before 4:30p.m. Tuesday, sheriff deputies were notified about a body floating in a lake in the 6300 block of South Broadway, according to Lt. Tim Myers.

Arriving units located an adult white male identified as 50-year-old Fabian Ray Ludlow.  He was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Authorities have not determined the cause of death.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances around the death and if anyone has information that might assist in the investigation please contact Sheriff’s Investigations at 316-660-5300, or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death and asking the public for help.

Just before 4:30p.m., sheriff deputies were notified about a body floating in a lake in the 6300 block of South Broadway, according to Lt. Tim Myers.

Arriving units located an adult white male that was pronounced deceased at the scene.  The man had not been identified Wednesday morning.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances around the death and if anyone has information that might assist in the investigation please contact Sheriff’s Investigations at 316-660-5300, or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Charges have been filed against the captain of a tourist boat that sank in a southwest Missouri lake in July and killed 17 people, including nine members of an Indiana family, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

A federal indictment shows 51-year-old Kenneth Scott McKee is facing 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty by a ship’s officer resulting in death. The accident occurred when an amphibious vessel known as a duck boat sank when a sudden and severe storm rolled into the area.

McKee is accused of not properly assessing the weather before or after the boat went into Table Rock Lake near the tourist town of Branson, U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison said during a news conference in Springfield. McKee also allegedly failed to tell passengers to put on their flotation devices or prepare them to abandon ship as waves crashed into the boat, which was originally designed for military use in World War II but had been refurbished as a tourist attraction.

Ripley Entertainment, the company that operated the boats and suspended the operation following the accident, didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the indictment.

The U.S. Coast Guard had found probable cause that the accident resulted from McKee’s “misconduct, negligence, or inattention to the duties,” according to an August court filing. The U.S. attorney’s office added that the captain of a second duck boat that safely made it to shore during the storm acted in a “grossly negligent manner,” though the court filing didn’t elaborate on those findings.

The sinking killed nine members of Tia Coleman’s family, including her three young children and husband, who were vacationing from Indiana. The other people killed included two couples from Missouri, an Illinois woman who died while saving her granddaughter’s life, an Arkansas father and son, and a retired pastor who was the boat’s operator on land. Several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of victims and their survivors.

A spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment has repeatedly declined to comment on the investigation but has said the company has cooperated with authorities.

Garrison said McKee violated conditions specified in the boat’s certificate of inspection by failing to tell passengers to put on personal floatation devices and not immediately increasing speed and driving to the nearest shore, according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges McKee allowed the boat’s plastic side curtains to be lowered, which blocked the exits, and didn’t instruct passengers to put on flotation devices or prepare them to abandon ship even after the bilge alarm sounded twice.

The vessels first take tourists on a trip through Branson, a Midwestern destination for country music shows and entertainment venues about 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. The amphibious vehicles then travel to Table Rock Lake for a short excursion on water.

Weather was calm when the vessel known as a Stretch Duck 7 began its trip on July 19, but investigators have contended that operators had ample warning that a strong storm was approaching.

The vessel’s certificate of inspection issued by the Coast Guard in 2017 established rules and limitations on when it could be on the water. It states the boat “shall not be operated waterborne” when winds exceed 35 mph and/or wave heights exceed 2 feet.

Video and audio from the boat, recovered by divers, showed that the lake was calm when the boat entered the water. But the weather suddenly turned violent and, within minutes, the boat sank.

The wind speed at the time of the accident was more than 70 mph, just short of hurricane force, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Weather forecasts had warned of an impending storm with winds possibly exceeding 60 mph.

The wave height wasn’t known, but cellphone video shot by passengers on a nearby excursion boat showed waves that appeared to be far greater than 2 feet (0.61 meters) high.

In addition to the weather, the Coast Guard has said it was looking into regulatory compliance of the boat and crew member duties and qualifications.

Branson is among several places around the country where the amphibious vehicles offer excursions. Since 1999, 42 deaths have been associated with duck boat accidents .

On May 1, 1999, 13 people died when the Miss Majestic duck boat sank on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 2015, five college students died and more than 70 people were hurt when a duck boat veered into a charter bus on a bridge in Seattle. Two Hungarian tourists died in 2010 when a stalled duck boat was struck by a tugboat-guided barge on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating alleged child abuse and the death of a 3-year-old girl.

On Sunday, officers responded to Southwest Medical Center in Liberal after reported child abuse, according to Liberal Police Captain Robert Rogers.

A three-year-old child identified as Maria M. Cheley-Hernandez had been brought to the emergency room by family members. Her condition deteriorated while at the hospital and life saving measures were conducted.

She was later air lifted to a Wichita hospital and died on Wednesday evening, according to Rogers.

The girl’s injuries appeared to be of an intentional nature, according to Rogers.  Other possible signs of abuse were also discovered.

As a result of the investigation on Sunday, police arrested the child’s 20-year-old mother Soila Cheney-Hernandez, according to Rogers.

An amended affidavit has been forwarded to the Seward County Attorney’s Office seeking charges of First Degree Murder and Child Abuse.   Cheley-Hernandez is  still in custody, according to Rogers.

Police released no additional details on the cause of death.

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SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating alleged child abuse and made an arrest.

On Sunday, officers responded to Southwest Medical Center after reported child abuse, according to Liberal Police Captain Robert Rogers.  A three-year-old child had been brought to the emergency room by family members. Her condition deteriorated while at the hospital and life saving measures were conducted.

She was later air lifted to a Wichita hospital where she continues to be treated.

The injuries sustained appeared to be of an intentional nature, according to Rogers.  Other possible signs of abuse were also discovered.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested the child’s 20-year-old mother for child abuse and attempted first degree murder.

An affidavit was forwarded to the Seward County Attorney’s Office for the determination of formal charges.

Police released no additional details.

SALINE COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 4 a.m. Thursday in Saline County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1992 Chevy Cavalier driven by Michael Rudroff, 29, Rolla, Missouri, was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of Hedville Road.

The car left the roadway and came to rest underneath the bridge.

A passenger Stacy Crader, 44, Tipton, Missouri, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rudroff was transported to the hospital in Salina. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

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SALINE COUNNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 70 just west of Salina.

Just after 4a.m., authorities in Lincoln County were notified of an accident on Interstate 70 near the Hedville-Culver exit, according to KHP Trooper Ben Gardner.

There were two occupants in the eastbound vehicle and one died.  Name of the victim has not been released.

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SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 70 just west of Salina and an injury crash in Russell county.

According to Trooper Ben Gardner with the Kansas Highway Patrol,  “It is yet to be determined if weather was a contributing factor.”

Check Hays Post for additional details as they become available.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – An anti-abortion activist who shot and wounded Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller in 1993 and committed clinic attacks in several states has been released from prison in Oregon.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday confirmed the release of 62-year-old Rachelle “Shelley” Shannon. The bureau says she’ll be on supervised release for three years. Conditions of her release aren’t public.

Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in prison for six fire bombings and two acid attacks at abortion clinics in California, Oregon and Nevada.

She received 11 years for shooting Tiller, who was fatally shot in Wichita in 2009 by another anti-abortion extremist, Scott Roeder, who visited Shannon several times in prison.

Shannon had been staying at a halfway house in Portland, Oregon, since May. She has been in custody for 25 years.

MANHATTAN —Investigators have determined that the November 2, house fire at a home on 820 Church Avenue in Manhattan was intentionally set, according to a media release from the Manhattan Fire Department.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested  Michael Watt, 27, Manhattan.  He is currently confined in the Riley County jail on suspicion of arson. His bond was set at $75,000.

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RILEY COUNTY— Officials are investigating the cause of a Friday house fire in Manhattan.

Just before 9:30p.m. Friday, firefighters were dispatched to 820 Church Avenue after report of a house on fire with multiple explosions, according to a media release.

Upon arrival, crews found a one-story single family dwelling with heavy fire showing from the rear. The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within 30 minutes. A total of 19 firefighters responded on six fire apparatus. No injuries were reported.

The occupant of the home was outside when units arrived on the scene. The loss was estimated at $80,000 to the structure and $20,000 to the contents. The owners were listed as Michael Watt and Elena Klotz of the same address.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing 12 people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene.

An Emergency Information Hotline to assist locating people that may have been involved in the #BorderLineShooting incident has been established by @Venturaoes: at 805-465-6650

— Ventura Co. Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) November 8, 2018

The dead from the shooting Wednesday night also included 11 people inside the bar and a sheriff’s sergeant who was the first officer inside the door, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

“It’s a horrific scene in there,” Dean told a news conference in the parking lot of the Borderline Bar & Grill. “There’s blood everywhere.”

The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since 17 classmates and teachers were gunned down at a Parkland, Florida school nine months ago. It also came less than two weeks after a gunman killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. That, it turn, closely followed the series of pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, CNN and former officials critical of President Donald Trump.

The gunman at the country dance bar was tall and wearing all black with a hood over his head and his face partly covered, witnesses told TV stations at the scene. He first fired on a person working the door, then appeared to open fire at random at the people inside, they said.

Many more people had more minor injuries, including some that came from their attempt to flee, Dean said.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus and a passing highway patrolman were responding to several 911 calls when they arrived at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks at about 11:20 p.m., the sheriff said. They heard gunfire and went inside.

Helus was immediately hit with multiple gunshots, Dean said. The highway patrolman cleared the perimeter and pulled Helus out, and then waited as a SWAT team and scores more officers arrived. Helus died early Thursday at a hospital.

By the time they entered the bar again the gunfire had stopped. They found 12 people dead inside, including the gunman.

It’s not yet clear how the gunman died, and authorities do not yet know his name or have any idea of a motive, Dean said.

It was college night and country two-step lessons were being offered Wednesday at the Borderline, according to its website.

The bar, which includes a large dance hall with a stage and a pool room along with several smaller areas for eating and drinking, is a popular hangout for students from nearby California Lutheran University. It’s also close to several other universities including California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, Pepperdine University in Malibu and Moorpark College in Moorpark.

When the gunman entered, people screamed and fled to all corners of the bar, while a few people threw barstools through the windows and helped dozens to escape, witnesses said.

Tayler Whitler, 19, said she was on the dance floor with her friends nearby when she saw the gunman shooting and heard screams to “get down.”

“It was really, really, really shocking,” Whitler told KABC-TV as she stood with her father in the Borderline parking lot. “It looked like he knew what he was doing.”

Sarah Rose DeSon told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she saw the shooter draw his gun.

“I dropped to the floor,” she said. “A friend yelled ‘Everybody down!’ We were hiding behind tables trying to keep ourselves covered.”

Shootings of any kind are very rare in Thousand Oaks, a city of about 130,000 people about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Los Angeles, just across the county line.

Helus was a 29-year veteran of the force with a wife and son and planned to retire in the coming year, said the sheriff, who choked back tears several times as he talked about the sergeant who was also his longtime friend.

“Ron was a hardworking, dedicated sheriff’s sergeant who was totally committed,” Dean said, “and tonight, as I told his wife, he died a hero because he went in to save lives.”

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a bar in Southern California (all times local):

A sheriff says 13 people are dead, including a sheriff’s sergeant and the gunman, after a shooting inside a crowded Southern California bar late Wednesday.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean says sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus responded to the scene and was shot after he entered the building. He died at a hospital early Thursday.

Authorities did not say how the gunman died.

For information on the Borderline Bar & Grill incident please call the Joint Public Information Hotline at 805.465.6650 or https://t.co/iHQJXycKbX
Para mas informacion sobre Borderline Bar & Grill incidente porfavor llame a la linea de infromacion conjunta del Condado de Ventura

— Ventura OES (@Venturaoes) November 8, 2018

Dean says around 10 other people were shot and wounded. No other information on the victims was immediately known.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Garo Kuredjian said the first reports of shots fired came around 11:20 p.m. at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, which is about 40 miles west of Los Angeles.

The bar’s website says its hosts “College Country Night” every Wednesday. Police said hundreds were inside when the shooting occurred.

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2 a.m.

Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Eric Buschow says the gunman is dead inside a Southern California bar where 11 people were injured late Wednesday.

Authorities say a responding deputy was shot and taken to a hospital. No other information on the victims was immediately known. 

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Garo Kuredjian said the first reports of shots fired came around 11:20 p.m. at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, which is about 40 miles west of Los Angeles.

The bar’s website says its hosts “College Country Night” every Wednesday. Police said hundreds were inside when the shooting occurred.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of four women who tried to steal 26 pairs of blue jeans worth thousands of dollars has been sentenced to prison.

25-year-old Shaikeece Whisonant, of Grandview, Missouri, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly two years in prison for robbery.

She was one of four women who tried to steal the jeans, worth more than $4,200, from The Buckle in downtown Lawrence. They dropped 22 pairs and ultimately stole only four pairs, valued at $805.

Prosecutors say one of the women maced a store employee and Whisonant punched an employee in the head.

Whisonant, who has three small children, is currently serving a prison sentence for a Johnson County theft conviction. Prosecutors say she 18 prior convictions, mostly misdemeanor theft and traffic cases.

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By SCOTT CANON

Kansas, a state that went for President Donald Trump by 20 points two years ago, on Tuesday turned one of its four Republican seats in Congress to Democrat.

Democratic newcomer Sharice Davids topped incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder in his quest for a fifth term. She beat the Kansas City-area 3rd Congressional District by roughly 9 percentage points.

Another political newcomer, Steve Watkins, was elected to replace fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the 2nd Congressional District that covers most of the eastern third of the state. He edged out Democrat and former Kansas House leader Paul Davis.

In the Wichita area, incumbent Republican Rep. Ron Estes won re-election over attorney James Thompson, the same Democrat he beat in a special election last year.

And Republican U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall won another term in the sprawling western Kansas 1st Congressional District, again beating perennial opponent Democrat Alan LaPolice.

Davids became one of the few Native Americans, and perhaps the first American Indian woman, elected to Congress.

3rd District

Davids and Yoder clashed over immigration, as much as anything .

Davids was criticized early in the contest for a podcast appearance where she seemed to call for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She later walked that back, insisting only that the agency needed reform.

Likewise, Yoder vastly overstated the number of immigrants filing false claims in seeking asylum. He also waffled at times on various immigration issues — at one point this year siding with Democrats on asylum issues, then later joining ranks with the Trump administration.

The two also differed sharply on health care issues. Yoder voted with other Republicans time and again in opposition to the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. For a time, that served him well in his Republican-leaning district. But after Trump took office, Obamacare became increasingly popular. Davids made it a centerpiece of her campaign.

At the Davids party, the room was boisterous when the cable networks began calling the race for her, another seat shifting to Democrats in their hopes of wresting control of the House from Republicans. They did.

“We have a chance to re-set expectations when people look at Kansas,” Davids said to a room full of cheering supporters. “I knew we could do better, and we just did.”

This Kansas district — a mix of largely white and wealthy Johnson County and more diverse and less prosperous Wyandotte County — sent a one-time mixed martial arts fighter and openly lesbian attorney to Washington.

“From the beginning,” Davids told supporters Tuesday night,  “this campaign has been built on bringing new leaders to the table and new voices to the table.”

Across town, the Yoder party began to thin out early, many supporters uninspired by never-say-die backers of the incumbent and a band playing “Lukenbach, Texas.” Yoder had won the seat four times, always by fairly comfortable margins.

Yoder wished Davids good luck and called for unity but said the raise-money-and-run-again merry-go-round of American politics is a problem.

“This perpetual campaign cycle must close,” he said.

The district is again returning to Democratic hands. Dennis Moore served several terms before retiring amid mounting health problems and his wife later lost to Yoder.

2nd District

Watkins emerged from a crowded and bruising primary, where his opponents directed criticism at him that was uncharacteristic of attacks within a party.

But he brought an impressive resume to the race. Watkins is a West Point graduate and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. His campaign stumbled in the general election when reporters discovered that he exaggerated, or invented, business and philanthropic accomplishments.

Davis appeared to be a formidable opponent. While he’d lost a bid for governor in 2014, he won within the 2nd District. But that was a race for state office, where Kansans are far more willing to vote for Democrats. In federal races, Republicans tend to enjoy an advantage.

Watkins gave the usual round of thanks for family and campaign workers, but the congressman-elect also mentioned those he’d known in the military academy and in combat. They, he suggested, would appreciate another victory in life.

“I’ve lived to fight another day,” he said.

Davis said Tuesday’s loss marked the end of his political career. He chose to look at Kelly’s victory as the silver lining to his cloudy day.

“We have something to celebrate tonight,” he said. “It’s time for me to turn a page in the next chapter of my life. But I’m not going to back away from the things that I believe in.”

Brian Grimmett, Stephen Koranda, Sam Zeff, Nomin Ujiyediin and Frank Morris contributed to this article.

Scott Canon is digital editor of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @ScottCanon.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, police responded to a shooting at a residence in the 2200 block of south Anna in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival, police contacted 47-year-old Reginald Griffith of Wichita who had a single gunshot wound to his upper right leg. Griffith was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment of non-life-threating injuries. Griffith was treated and released from the hospital. Officers also contacted a 28-year-old male in the mobile home park armed with a handgun.

The investigation revealed Griffith had physically battered the man, his roommate, and attempted to take the gun from him. The male fired one shot, striking Griffith.

Griffith was booked into jail on charges of aggravated robbery and domestic battery.

Results of the investigation will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office, according to Davidson.