DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai is recalling nearly 978,000 cars in the U.S. because the front seat belts could detach in a crash and fail to hold people.
The recall covers Sonata midsize sedans from the 2011 through 2014 model years, and the Sonata hybrid from 2011 through 2015.
Hyundai says in government documents that a fastener for a seat belt anchor may not have been fully latched during assembly. If that happens the belts can detach.
The company says it knows of one minor injury caused by the problem.
The trouble was discovered in September when an owner reported that the front passenger belt in a 2013 Sonata came loose in a collision.
Owners will be notified starting April 7. Dealers will inspect the seat belt anchor system and repair it if needed.
JEFFERSON COUNTY- A Kansas man died in an accident just after 8p.m. on Wednesday in Jefferson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Pontiac Firebird driven by, Travis Huggins, 40, Topeka, was eastbound on 62nd Street and Kincaid and just west of Kansas 4 Highway.
The vehicle was traveling at an excessive rate of speed. It left the roadway, hit a utility pole and the driver was ejected.
Huggins was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
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JEFFERSON COUNTY- The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatality accident in Jefferson County.
Just after 8p.m. on Wednesday, a vehicle was eastbound on 62nd Street just west of Kansas 4 in Jefferson County.
The vehicle was traveling at an excessive rate of speed. It left the roadway, hit a utility pole and the driver was ejected.
No additional details were released early Thursday.
Check the Post for more information as it released.
Sen. Moran meets Lt. Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, Commander, Army Cyber Command; Sgt. Maj. William G. Bruns, Command Sgt. Major, Army Cyber Command; and Kansas native Capt. Robert Frost, Cyber Operations Officer, 780th Military Intelligence Brigade.
OFFICE OF SEN. MORAN
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies – was the first member of Congress to visit the U.S. Army Cyber Command Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia. During his meetings on Friday, March 10, Army Cyber Command briefed Moran on our nation’s efforts combat cyber-attacks and maintain readiness.
“It was a pleasure meeting with the Commander of Army Cyber Command and the cyber warrior soldiers he leads, including two Kansans, whose critical operations and cyber missions are serving soldiers overseas,” Sen. Moran said. “Army systems and programs at Fort Belvoir protect our nation from adversaries seeking to disrupt our way of life with asymmetric warfare. I appreciate all the hard work of the young, motivated soldiers I met on Friday and found the visit extremely valuable.”
“We were honored to host Sen. Moran and his team at Army Cyber Command Headquarters on Friday where he met the young men and women that work around the clock to defend our country and our Army against adversaries in cyberspace,” said Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander, U.S. Army Cyber Command.
“Our mission is complex, but our priorities here at Army Cyber are clear: operate and aggressively defend Army networks, deliver cyberspace effects against our adversaries, and develop the tools our Army will need to maintain readiness for the future fight. We were grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate these priorities to such an esteemed visitor, and send thanks to Sen. Moran and his colleagues in Congress for their support to the state-of-the-art Army Cyber Command Operations Center complex currently under construction at Ft. Gordon, Ga., a regional hub of innovation and the eventual center of gravity for the U.S. Army in Cyberspace.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Republican legislators are floating the idea of having Kansas adopt a “flat” personal income tax as lawmakers consider raising taxes to fix the state’s budget problems.
Conservative GOP Sen. Ty Masterson of Andover said Wednesday that his colleagues are increasingly interested in moving to a single personal income tax rate for all filers.
The state faces projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. Legislators are looking at rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
The state slashed tax rates in 2012 and 2013, went from three tax brackets to two and granted an exemption to more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
Masterson said he might support ending the exemption if the state went to a single tax bracket.
Just before 2:30p.m. Sunday a 2.7 quake was centered 21 miles south of Wellington, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Three quakes were reported in Kansas last week, including two in Sumner County and one in Harper County. They were approximately all the same strength, according to the USGS.
In February, the agency recorded six Kansas earthquakes. They measured from 2.5-3.3 magnitude.
There have no reports of damage or injury from Wednesday’s quake.
Police went to the Schlitterbahn Kansas City Water Park on July 7, to investigate the death of Schwab- photo courtesy KMBC
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Amusement park regulations in Kansas could be tightened after a lawmaker’s son was killed last year on a water slide that a passed private inspection.
House Federal and State Affairs Committee Chairman John Barker says he will hold hearings March 23-24 on a bill to strengthen inspection requirements of amusement parks.
The bill would require the parks’ insurance companies to hire engineers with some experience to inspect rides that can now be inspected privately.
The current law came under scrutiny after Olathe Republican Rep. Scott Schwab’s son, Caleb Schwab, was killed last year on the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City. The slide had passed inspection by a private inspector.
The ride has been closed and will be torn down when an investigation is completed.
RENO COUNTY— Seven members of the Hutchinson Fire Department took time to answer questions from the media regarding last week’s fire. The stories they told showed why this fire was one of the most dangerous and hard to contain fires in recent memory.
Craig Rothe, Bryan Goble, Danny Chambers, David Goering, Dalton Black Ernie Young and Troy Mueller told of a fire that was more intense and fast moving than some of them had ever seen. At one point the fire was estimated to be moving at more than 20 miles per hour.
Many told of how at times things were moving so fast that tough decisions had to be made regarding the protection of homes and buildings. Some instances the homes survived much to their surprise, others they had to watch as they burned with no hope of saving them.
Rothe recalled being trapped in a long driveway of a home and turning to one of his crew who had been with the department for six months, and asked him if he was scared?
The fireman replied “yes” to which Rothe responded “so am I,” his comments made to let the firefighter know the gravity of the situation.
Young told of getting out of his truck to protect a structure then getting back into the truck and feeling heat inside the vehicle. He looked down to find two large embers sitting in his lap. He also recalled being so involved in the fire that he forgot to put his helmet on.
The group also took time to express thanks for all of the outside agencies that helped put out the fire. Many from outside Hutchinson said they will take the experience back with them to their stations to use as training if they have to face such a situation again. They also commented to local fireman how tough it was to fight the fire with the soft sand and the brush that is unique to the Sandhills area.
Most of all they wanted to thank those that have thanked and supported them over the past week.
Trump with Auto industry execs on Wednesday- courtesy photo
JILL COLVIN, Associated Press
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump says his administration will restart a review of federal requirements governing the fuel efficiency of new cars and trucks.
The announcement was supposed to come in a speech Trump is giving in Michigan. But he revealed the plan a bit early during a meeting before the speech with auto company executives and workers.
Trump tells the group meeting with him in Ypsilanti that he’s in Michigan to “make right” on what they were promised. Then he announced the review.
Trump is also predicting that the U.S. will make thousands and thousands of additional cars.
The review Trump is restarting was halted by his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, before Obama left office earlier this year.
Kansas lawmakers appear poised to pass a Medicaid expansion plan despite objections from Gov. Sam Brownback and uncertainty about the future of federal funding.
Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle thinks the Legislature will approve a Medicaid expansion bill. But she says “the timing is wrong” because of uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act. STEPHEN KORANDA /KPR
Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, doesn’t hesitate when asked if the expansion bill, which passed the House in late February, will clear the Senate later this month.
“I believe the bill passes on the Senate floor,” Wagle says, adding that she believes it will be approved by a wide margin.
“It will be close to veto proof … because the (Kansas) health care community has become very vocal,” she says.
Despite those predictions, Wagle says “the timing is wrong” for expansion because of uncertainty in Washington, D.C., as Congress debates how to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the federal health reform law better known as Obamacare.
“It could sit there, because what I see the feds doing is winding that program down,” she says.
The American Health Care Act, the GOP federal replacement bill, would continue to provide most of the funding until Jan. 1, 2020, for the 31 states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. That gives Wagle and others pause. She worries that if federal Medicaid support drops below the 90 percent guaranteed in the ACA, Kansas would “all of a sudden” boot low-income adults covered by expansion off the program.
But health care providers and others advocating for Medicaid expansion see the deadline in a different light. They say it’s an opportunity to get in line for a program that Congress might not be able to shut down if all but a few states are relying on it.
“Our read of the bill is that it does not repeal Medicaid expansion,” says Tom Bell, president of the Kansas Hospital Association. “From our perspective, this provides states with some encouragement to actually expand their programs prior to that January 1 of 2020 date.”
David Jordan, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a nonprofit advocacy group that supports expansion, expects that the number of Republican governors pushing to save Medicaid expansion will pressure Congress into preserving the program in some form.
“There is just as much urgency because we cannot afford to be left behind,” Jordan says. “Expanding KanCare puts us in line to be one of the states that has expanded before any changes to the ACA are made.”
KanCare is the name of the state’s privatized Medicaid program administered by three managed care organizations.
Currently, KanCare eligibility is limited to children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and seniors in need of long-term care who have exhausted their financial resources. Parents are eligible only if they earn less than a third of the federal poverty level, or about $9,200 annually for a four-person family.
Single adults without children currently are not eligible no matter their income.
Expansion would make all Kansans who earn up to 138 percent of FPL eligible, or $16,642 annually for an individual and $33,465 for a family of four.
It’s estimated that approximately 300,000 Kansas would qualify for coverage under expansion, though only about half that number initially would enroll.
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee has scheduled two days of hearings on the expansion bill, starting March 20. If the measure passes out of committee, as expected, the full Senate could vote on it the following week.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police are officially identifying the body found in a car in the Missouri River as that of a missing Wichita woman.
Police said Wednesday the body of 20-year-old Toni Anderson was inside her car, which was pulled from the river near Parkville Friday.
Her parents had previously confirmed their daughter’s death but police waited until receiving confirmation from a medical examiner.
Anderson, a Missouri-Kansas City student, was last seen in the early hours of Jan. 15 when she was stopped by a North Kansas City police officer for an improper lane change.
The officer watched her drive to a nearby convenience store.
Police have said they found no evidence of foul play. It’s unclear how Anderson’s car wound up at Platte Landing Park in Parkville.
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — The father of an American United Nations worker who was among six people kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo says his son has been doing humanitarian work and has had some success in persuading militia leaders to give up child soldiers.
John Sharp, who lives with his wife in Hesston, told The Wichita Eagle that his 34-year-old son, Michael Sharp, is committed to finding nonviolent ways to end conflict.
A Congo government spokesman said Monday that Michael Sharp and another U.N. worker, Zahida Katalan, of Sweden, were abducted along with three Congolese drivers and a translator while traveling through the Kasai Central province.
John Sharp says his son, who was raised in Indiana and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when not abroad, is resourceful and capable of finding a way out of his predicament.
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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government says two United Nations officials, one American and one Swedish, have been kidnapped along with four Congolese in Kasai Central province.
Government spokesman Lambert Mende said Monday that Michael Sharp of the United States and Zahida Katalan of Sweden were taken with three Congolese drivers and a translator while traveling by motorcycle.
Michael Sharp is the son of Hesston College Bible faculty members John and Michele Sharp, according to the school’s social media page.
A government statement says the kidnappers have not yet been identified. It was not clear when the kidnapping occurred on a bridge near the village of Ngombe.
Judicial authorities in the province have opened an investigation and are working with the U.N. mission in Congo to free those held.
This vast Central African nation is home to multiple militias competing for stakes in its rich mineral resources.
SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — Cabela’s has laid off several dozen people as part of the outdoor gear seller’s efforts to reduce its expenses.
Cabela’s spokesman Nathan Borowski said Tuesday the exact number of layoffs will be determined after affected workers decide whether to apply for other jobs within the company.
Cabela’s plans to close its call center in Sidney, Nebraska, and consolidate operations at its North Platte call center within 30 days.
The other layoffs were at Cabela’s corporate headquarters in Sidney.
Borowski says the layoffs aren’t related to Bass Pro’s pending $4.5 billion deal to buy Cabela’s. Bass Pro is privately held and based in Springfield, Missouri.
Federal regulators are still reviewing the merger, and banking regulators have questioned Capital One’s proposed purchase of Cabela’s credit card operation.
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Pittsburg residents have approved a $31 million bond issue that will be used to expand the district’s six schools.
Unofficial results show the bond issued passed Tuesday in a special election by a 1,542-641 margin.
Funds from the bond will be used for projects such as heating and air conditioning and renovating the cafeteria and band rooms at Pittsburg High School. Several science classrooms at the high school will be upgraded.
Other projects include adding rooms at elementary schools and expanding the gymnasium at the middle school. All of the additions will also be storm shelters.
Superintendent Destry Brown says heating and air conditioning work will begin this summer, while planning and construction on other projects could take up to three years to complete.
