KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The co-owner of a Kansas water park who is accused in the decapitation death of a 10-year-old boy has been charged with drug possession and hiring someone for sex.

Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry surrendered to authorities in Kansas on Monday and was released on $100,000 bond. Henry’s defense attorney, Carl Cornwell, hasn’t returned a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Henry is already facing second-degree murder and other charges in the August 2016 death of Caleb Schwab.

Henry is accused of rushing into service the 17-story Verruckt waterslide — which was billed as the world’s largest — that Caleb was riding when he was killed.

Henry is among several peoplecharged in the tragedy .

Deconstruction of the slide began Tuesday.

By ANDREA TUDHOPE

Incumbent Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder and his challenger, Democrat Sharice Davids, faced off in a debate on Tuesday afternoon, just a week ahead of the midterm election. 

“I’ve done three of them by myself,” he said.

In response, Davids told the media after the debate it was “political gamesmanship,” and called out Yoder’s delay in agreeing to Tuesday’s debate.

Yoder arrived with a fresh endorsement from President Donald Trump Tuesday. 

The questions, asked by journalists from the Kansas City Star, KCPT and Fox 4 News, touched on immigration, healthcare, Trump and other topics. 

When asked which government program or service was “performing so poorly it should be eliminated,” Yoder named the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I think one of the most destructive agencies out there is the EPA,” he said. “What the EPA has attempted to do in their efforts to attack Americans and drive up their cost of doing business hurts the economy and is what caused part of the slow recession.”

Davids said she was “floored” by that.

“When I think about where we should be spending less money, certainly it’s not in protecting our environment,” she said. “But I do think there are some regulatory inefficiencies we need to be addressing.”

After the debate, Yoder said he didn’t want to eliminate the EPA, but he told KCUR the EPA needs a “better balancing act.” He said EPA regulations are increasing energy costs and hurting working-class families, pointing specifically to the Clean Power Plan, which the administration wants to toss out.

Davids cited the recently released U.N. Climate Report to argue there’s an “urgent” need to take action on climate change. 

Immigration has been a hot-button issue for both candidates, and Yoder seemed to take every opportunity he had to draw attention to a comment Davids made, on the podcast Millenial Politics, in support of abolishing ICE.

Asked whether Congress should move to end birthright citizenship, as Trump told Axios he hopes to do, Yoder skirted the question and answered that the root cause is a “failure to secure our borders.”

“My opponent, who’s running on a platform of open borders and abolishing ICE, defunding our immigration enforcement, would leave our borders open,” he said.

Davids later walked back her comments on ICE, and reiterated that she supports “bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform,” before saying Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship by executive order is unconstitutional, and an example of why Congress needs to be a check on the executive branch.

“Representative Yoder has failed at that,” Davids said.

Protections for LGBTQ individuals also came up in the debate, after the New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration may redefine gender. 

Davids, who would become the first openly gay person to represent Kansas in Congress if elected, said LGBTQ persons should be a protected class.

“What we’ve seen this past year from this current administration, back-tracking on some of the protections for LGBT folks, is very troubling,” she said.

Yoder said he agreed, and decried discrimination against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but he didn’t endorse specific legislation that would realize those protections. After the debate, however, he said he would support that kind of legislation, and told KCUR he doesn’t agree with the Trump administration’s reported move to redefine gender.

So far in the race, polls have shown Davids in the lead over Yoder. FiveThirtyEight has the district leaning Democrat, forecasting a greater than 80 percent likelihood Davids will win. 

 

Andrea Tudhope is a reporter for KCUR in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. Follow her on Twitter @_tudhope. KCUR news intern Celisa Calacal contributed to this report.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a felony suspect on new charges after an attempted traffic stop Tuesday.

Just after 8:30p.m. Tuesday, police attempted to stop a green Chevy Suburban with two occupants, at NW Waddell and NW Taylor in Topeka for a traffic infraction, according to Lt. John Trimble.

The driver identified as 31-year-old Cory Shughart initiated a vehicle pursuit that lasted under a minute.

Police found the vehicle without its occupants at the intersection of NW Tyler and NW Paramore. During the investigation police determined that Shughart was a convicted felon and in possession of a firearm.

The passenger, Peace Goodman was also located during the investigation. Shughart was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Felony Obstruction, an outstanding warrant, and several traffic charges.  Shughart has a previous forgery conviction and seven drug related convictions, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Goodman was charged with Felony Obstruction and released from the scene.

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A recently disbarred lawyer has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison for hitting a nurse while she was crossing a street.

Fifty-five-year-old Mark Logan was sentenced for aggravated battery and failure to yield to a pedestrian.

The victim, who was pregnant, was hit in October outside the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. The collision broke both of her legs. The woman’s baby is 10 months old and in good health.

The Kansas Supreme Court disbarred Logan in June after he voluntarily surrendered his law license.

The court noted in the disbarment order that Logan, who had a law office in Shawnee, faced six disciplinary complaints. He admitted to such violations as misappropriating client money and not cooperating with investigators.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The campaign treasurer for independent candidate Greg Orman has resigned to endorse Democrat Laura Kelly in the Kansas governor’s race.

Tim Owens, a former Republican state senator from Overland Park, resigned Tuesday, effective immediately. In a news release issued by Kelly’s campaign, Owens said it was time to unite behind Kelly and stop GOP candidate Kris Kobach.

Kelly and Kobach are locked in a tight race with Orman a distant third in recent polling.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Owen said he has supported Orman’s political ambitions for several years. He said he resigned because he believes electing Kobach would be one of the worst things that could happen to the state.

Orman said he accepted Owens’ resignation but he did not intend to leave the race.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly has raised $900,000 more than Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach since the end of July in the tight governor’s race.

New campaign finance reports filed Monday show that Kelly has raised $2.3 million, Kobach $1.3 million and Independent Greg Orman $805,000 over that period. In the final weeks of the campaign, Kelly has half a million available to spend, compared to $61,000 for Kobach and less than $15,000 for Orman.

Kobach, who is nationally known for advocating tough immigration and voter identification policies, enjoys the support of President Donald Trump. But Kelly said in a statement that her advantage is “enthusiasm.” She says Kansans of “all political stripes have a home in our campaign to rebuild our state.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Crews are tearing down a giant waterslide that a 10-year-old Kansas boy was riding when he was decapitated two years ago.

Deconstruction of the 17-story Verruckt, which was billed as the world’s tallest waterslide, began Tuesday.

Caleb Schwab, the son of a Kansas legislator, was riding the slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, in August 2016 when the raft he was in went airborne. Caleb was killed when he struck a metal rod that held a safety net in place.

The demolition was delayed because of disagreements over which parts of the slide should be preserved for evidence in criminal cases. Two maintenance workers have been acquitted of impeding the investigation. Charges are pending against the park’s co-owner and the ride’s designer.

JOHNSON COUNTY —Vice President Mike Pence is returning to Kansas Friday to help candidates in Kansas and Missouri.

The American Conservative Union and Family Research Council Action will be holding a campaign rally for Gubernatorial Candidate from Kansas Kris Kobach, Kevin Yoder (KS-03), Steve Watkins (KS-02) U.S. Senate Candidate Josh Hawley, U.S. House candidates Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) and Sam Graves (MO-6).

The event in Kansas City on Friday November 2, at 1:00PM at the Hy-Vee Arena (formerly Kemper Arena) will allow guests to be among the first to see the remodeled multilevel nationally recognized sports and entertainment venue. An innovative reuse of a city landmark. Site of the 1976 Republican National Convention.

The event is free.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and looking for a suspect.

Just before 6:30p.m. Monday, officers were called to report of a shooting in 1600 Block of South Market in Wichita, according to Captain Brent Allred. Officers located a 23-year-old man with a single gunshot wound to his chest.

The victim was transported to a local hospital with serious but not life-threatening condition, according to Allred.

Investigators learned the victim got into a verbal argument with two other individuals who were sitting in a black Lincoln Navigator. During the argument, the front seat passenger fired one shot at the victim and the SUV fled the scene.

Later in the evening, officers located the SUV at a residence in the 1000 Block of North Volutsia. They spoke to the vehicle’s owner, 30-year-old Franklin Landis. Police booked him into jail on outstanding warrants, according to Allred.

The suspect is described as a 20-year-old white male. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, has an unknown red and blue tattoo under his left eye and he was carrying a black handgun.

Despite initial reports Monday’s shooting was related to a fatal weekend shooting in Haysville, that is probably not the case, according to Allred. “We are working with police in Haysville as the investigation continues.”

Anyone with information on the Monday shooting is asked to contact police.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Wichita shooting that critically injured one man may be related to a killing outside an event venue in a nearby community.

Emergency crews responded around 5:45 p.m. Monday to the Wichita shooting. Police Sgt. Robert Henning says a man in his 20s had been shot once in his chest. The man was awake and alert when he was taken to a hospital.

Henning says it appears that he was on a sidewalk with his friends and was flagged over to a vehicle, where a disturbance happened and he was shot. Henning says the vehicle is possibly connected to a deadly shooting that happened around 1:45 a.m. Sunday in Haysville after a party.

Haysville is about 10 miles south of Wichita.

Vice News tested Facebook’s new rules for eliminating false advertising — and was approved to receive a “paid for by” notation on behalf of each of the current 100 U.S. senators.

The “paid for by” notation on political advertising was unveiled by Facebook this spring in an effort to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Click HERE to read the article from Vice News or watch the video above.

WICHITA— A federal judge has again delayed the sentencing of three men who plotted to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali refugees in Kansas.

According to a media release from U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Tuesday moved the sentencing scheduled this week to November 19, for Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen.

The men were convicted in April of one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy against civil rights. Wright was also convicted of lying to the FBI.

They were indicted in October 2016 for an attack planned for the day after the presidential election in the western Kansas meatpacking town of Garden City.

JACKSON COUNTY — A woman facing charges for a triple-fatal Kansas crash made a court appearance via video Monday, according to Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller.

Maria De Jesus Perez-Marquez, 49, Omaha, arrested last week by U.S. Marshals in Nebraska was extradited to Kansas and held without bond, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse. On Monday, a judge during the status hearing refused to set a bond and she remains in custody.

On October 11, she didn’t show for a hearing but was charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and reckless driving for the November 2017 crash near Holton that killed the mother, sister and uncle of two Kansas high school football players shortly after the family watched the boys’ Sabetha team win a state football championship. Two other people were injured.

Perez-Marquez will have an opportunity to request a bond modification during her next court appearance set for 10a.m. on November 7, according to Miller.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to order the end of the constitutional right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born in the United States.

Trump made the comments to “Axios on HBO” ahead of midterm elections that he has sought to focus on his hardline immigration policies. Trump, seeking to energize his supporters and help Republicans keep control of Congress, has stoked anxiety about a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S.-Mexico border. He is dispatching additional troops and saying he’ll set up tent cities for asylum seekers.

Revoking birthright citizenship would spark a court fight over whether the president has the unilateral ability to change an amendment to the Constitution. The 14th Amendment guarantees that right for all children born in the U.S.

Asked about the legality of such an executive order, Trump said, “they’re saying I can do it just with an executive order.”

Trump added: “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States.”

An excerpt of the interview was posted on Axios’ website on Tuesday.

The president said White House lawyers are reviewing his proposal. It’s unclear how quickly he would act on an executive order.

In the final days before the Nov. 6 midterms, Trump has emphasized immigration, as he seeks to counter Democratic enthusiasm. Trump believes that his campaign pledges, including his much vaunted and still-unfulfilled promise to quickly build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, are still rallying cries for his base and that this latest focus will further erode the enthusiasm gap.

The first line of the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

The Axios HBO series debuts on Sunday.