A look at the international boundary marker at the Columbus Port of Entry in New Mexico-photo U.S. Customs and Border Protection
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.
The agency said Friday on a website for federal contactors that a request for bids would be published on or around March 6. Companies would have to submit “concept papers” to design and build prototypes by March 10.
CBP will narrow the field by March 20 and require that finalists renew their offers by March 24, with a price attached.
The timetable shows that Trump is aggressively pursuing plans to build what he calls “a great wall” on the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.
Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that construction will start “very soon” and is ahead of schedule.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly shooting at a Kansas bar that some witnesses said was racially motivated (all times local):
4:25 p.m.
Three GoFundMe sites started for one man who was killed and two others who were injured at a suburban Kansas City bar have raised a total of more than $670,000.
The sites were set up to help pay expenses for Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who died in the shooting Wednesday at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe. His friend, Alok Madasani, was wounded. Another man, Ian Grillot, was shot when he tried to stop the gunman.
As of Friday afternoon, the site for Kuchibhotla, whose funeral will be in India, had more than $410,000. A second combined campaign for Kuchibhotla and Madasani had close to $61,000 and a third site for Grillot was up to more than $200,000.
Adam Purinton is jailed on murder and attempted murder charges. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
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2:20 p.m.
Police on the scene of Wednesday night shooting-photo courtesy KCTV
The wife of a man who was killed in a shooting at a suburban Kansas City bar said she wonders what the U.S. will do to stop hate crimes against minorities.
Sunayana Dumala spoke at a news conference Friday organized by Garmin, where her husband, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, worked before he was shot to death Wednesday in an attack at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe that witnesses could have been racially motivated.
Adam Puriton, of Olathe, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder in the attack, which also left two men injured. He has not been charged with a hate crime.
Dumala says she was concerned about shootings in the U.S. and wondered if they should stay in the country, but her husband said “good things happen in America.”
She also said reports of bias in the country make minorities afraid of being in the country. She says she wants an answer to one question — “Do we belong here?”
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1:20 p.m.
Phone logs from the Henry County, Missouri, 911 center detail the phone call that led to the arrest of a man charged with fatally shooting a man and wounding two other people in a suburban Kansas City bar.
The logs indicate a bartender at an Applebee’s in Clinton, Missouri, called the 911 center at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday and said a man in the bar told her he had “done something bad” and was on the run from police for shooting two people in Olathe, Kansas.
Adam Puriton was arrested shortly after the bartender placed the call. He is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder in the attack Wednesday night at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas. He was extradited back to Kansas on Friday.
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1:15 p.m.
A man charged with killing an Indian man and wounding two other people at a suburban Kansas City bar has been extradited from Missouri to Kansas.
A Johnson County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Office spokesman says 51-year-old Adam Purinton, of Olathe, Kansas, was moved Friday. Bond is set at $2 million.
Purinton is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder in the attack Wednesday night at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe. Some witnesses said the shooting was racially motivated.
Purinton was arrested hours later at a bar in Clinton, Missouri, and waived extradition.
His first appearance is scheduled for Monday. An attorney hasn’t been formally assigned because Purinton hasn’t yet appeared in court in the county.
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12:30 p.m.
A church near a suburban Kansas City bar that was the scene of a deadly shooting is planning a vigil.
KCTV-TV reports that the First Baptist Church of Olathe is opening its doors Friday night for employees of Austins Bar and Grill and the community.
The church was filled with around 80 children and some parents when shots rang out Wednesday night across the street. Some witnesses said the attack that killed an Indian man and wounded two others was racially motivated.
The church went on lockdown before the manhunt ended hours later in Clinton, Missouri, with the arrest of 51-year-old Adam Purinton. He’s charged with murder and attempted murder.
Pastor Susan Peach says what happened is “a horrible thing” and “beyond what people can process on their own.”
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11:40 a.m.
A man who was shot in the chest in a Kansas bar shooting that left an Indian man dead is recovering.
A University of Kansas Hospital spokeswoman says 24-year-old Ian Grillot, of Grandview, Missouri, is in fair condition. Grillot told the spokeswoman he still feels very sore after being shot Wednesday while trying to intervene in the attack in Olathe, Kansas. Some witnesses have said the attack was racially motivated.
Grillot said in a recorded interview Thursday that the bullet went through his right hand and into his chest, just missing a major artery but fracturing a vertebra in his neck.
Another man hurt in the shooting has been released from the hospital.
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton was arrested hours later in Clinton, Missouri. He’s charged with murder and attempted murder.
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10:25 a.m.
A man suspected of killing an Indian man and wounding two other people at a suburban Kansas City bar served in the Navy.
A Navy official could provide no other details about 51-year-old Adam Purinton’s service because the records are old. The official was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Purinton is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder in the attack Wednesday night at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, that some witnesses said was racially motivated.
Kansas voter records show Purinton is registered at an Olathe, Kansas, address within blocks of a manufacturing plant operated by GPS-maker Garmin. LinkedIn accounts say the two Indian men who were shot worked at Garmin.
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Lolita Baldor in Washington, D.C., contributed to this item.
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9:10 a.m.
A man suspected of killing an Indian man and wounding two other people at a suburban Kansas City bar is awaiting extradition.
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder in an attack Wednesday night at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, that some witnesses said was racially motivated.
He was arrested hours after the shooting at a bar in Clinton, Missouri, and he has waived his right to fight extradition. Bond is set at $2 million.
Johnson County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Howell said authorities aren’t releasing details about when Purinton will be picked up for security purposes.
An attorney hasn’t been formally assigned because Purinton hasn’t yet appeared in court.
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7:20 a.m.
An Indian man who survived a suburban Kansas City bar shooting that killed his friend and wounded a man who tried to intervene has been released from the hospital.
The Kansas City Star (https://bit.ly/2kQvSu4 ) reports that 32-year-old Alok Madasani was released Thursday from the University of Kansas Hospital. The Star says 24-year-old Ian Grillot is improving. The hospital hasn’t provided an update on his condition Friday morning.
The shooting Wednesday night at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. Witnesses said the shooting was racially motivated.
Grillot said in a videotaped interview released by the hospital that he “prayed all night for both of them” but that “unfortunately only one of my prayers were heard.”
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton is charged with murder and attempted murder in the shooting.
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6:40 a.m.
The owner of a suburban Kansas City bar where an Indian man was fatally shot and two other men were wounded says it will do anything it can to support the victims.
Owner Brandon Blum wrote on the website for Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, that the staff’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims” of the Wednesday night shooting that some witnesses described as racially motivated.
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton was arrested hours later, 70 miles away in Clinton, Missouri, and has been charged with murder and attempted murder. The FBI is helping police investigate.
The bar’s website said the restaurant is “sorry that this happened on our premises” and that it will be “working diligently, doing anything we can to support and help the parties that were involved.” The bar plans to reopen Saturday.
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3:45 a.m.
A man accused of shooting two Indians in a crowded suburban Kansas City bar, killing one man and injuring two others in an attack that some witnesses said was racially motivated, has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
Authorities repeatedly declined at a Thursday news conference to say whether the shooting was a hate crime although local police said they were working with the FBI to investigate the case.
A bartender at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, said Adam Purinton used “racial slurs” before he started shooting Wednesday night as patrons were watching the University of Kansas-TCU basketball game on television.
Police say 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla died at an area hospital. They say 32-year-ol Alok Madasani and 24-year-old Ian Grillot were hospitalized and are in stable condition.
NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A woman who was taken into custody in connection with a central Kansas shooting that left four people dead has been released from custody.
Harvey County authorities say a 42-year-old Newton woman was arrested Thursday. But the sheriff’s department said she was released Friday after questioning and investigators don’t expect to charge her.
Three victims were found dead Thursday inside a home in Newton. A suspect in those deaths, 33-year-old David Lee Montano, of Newton, fled from the home and was shot to death by a Newton police officer during a confrontation.
Harvey County Attorney David Yoder said Friday the shootings appeared to be a domestic situation, rather than drug-related.
Yoder also said Montano was facing federal charges in a separate case, which was not related to Thursday’s shooting.
NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A woman is in custody in Harvey County in a shooting that left four people dead, including the gunman.
Harvey County authorities say Corina Castro, 42, Newton, was arrested for conspiracy to commit capital murder but formal charges are pending.
Three victims were found dead early Thursday inside a home in Newton. A suspect, 33-year-old David Lee Montano, of Newton, fled from the home on foot. He confronted officers with a shotgun during the pursuit and was shot to death by a Newton police officer.
Harvey County Attorney David Yoder said Friday the shootings appeared to be a domestic situation, rather than drug-related.
Investigators on the scene of triple-murder, police shooting near Newton-photo courtesy KWCH
Yoder also said Montano was facing federal charges in a separate case but that case apparently was not related to Thursday’s shooting.
Castro has previous drug convictions in Harvey County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A lawyer for a Kansas man accused of plotting to attack Somali refugees says his client believed then President Barack Obama would declare martial law and not recognize the validity of the election if Donald Trump won — forcing militias to step in.
The defense claim of a “self-defensive posture” surfaced during a detention hearing Friday for Patrick Stein, whom prosecutors say was the leader of militia group called “The Crusaders.”
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren did not immediately rule.
But attorney Ed Robinson offered a glimpse Stein’s mistaken views that the election would end with social collapse and violence regardless of who won.
Prosecutors allege Stein and others plotted to detonate truck bombs the day after the election at an apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live in western Kansas.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County continue to investigate a Thursday afternoon shooting and are searching for suspects.
Just before 3p.m. on Thursday, the suspect shot Tyler Reinbold, 22, Salina, during an incident in the Executive Plaza parking lot, 1500 East Iron Street.
Reinbold was transported to Salina Regional Medical Center in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.
The victim’s injuries are no longer life-threatening but he has not been cooperating with law enforcement, according to Forrester.
Police believe Reinbold was a passenger in a maroon Chevy truck when he was shot twice with a handgun.
The pickup was also involved in a case and was actively being sought by police before the shooting.
A witness told authorities they saw a blonde woman in dark clothing fleeing the scene. A K-9 officer and
Kansas Highway Patrol helped Police search northeast Salina Thursday afternoon but they were unable to locate the suspect.
Farmers discing up a fire line in concert with Gray County Fire Units-photos Gray Co. Sheriff
GRAY COUNTY- A blown electrical transformer is being blamed for a large grass fire in rural Gray County on Thursday afternoon.
Fire crews were called just after 4p.m. to the blaze 3 miles southwest of Ingalls, according to Gray County Rural Fire Coordinator Rex Beemer.
Dry conditions along with 40-mph winds allowed the fire to spread very quickly. It grew to over 2 and one half miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide and consumed almost 500 acres of CRP grass, wheat stubble, trees, irrigation equipment and telephone poles.
Fire crews from Gray, Haskell, Ford County and Garfield township had the fire under control by 8p.m., according to Beemer. There were no injuries.
On Sunday, a wheat stubble, CRP grass fire consumed over 800 acres north of Montezuma, according to Beemer.
KANSAS CITY -A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging a man for his role in planning for a terrorist attack in Kansas City, according to Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Robert Lorenzo Hester, Jr., 25, Columbia, MO., was charged in a two-count indictment for his role in making preparations to launch a terrorist attack with persons he believed were members of ISIS, but who were actually undercover law enforcement agents.
Hester, who was the sole subject of this undercover investigation, remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Hester is a U.S. citizen who was born in Missouri. He was enlisted in the U.S. Army for less than a year, receiving a general discharge from service in mid-2013.
Count One of the federal indictment alleges that, from October 2016 to Feb. 17, 2017, Hester attempted to provide material support or resources to be used in preparation for, and in carrying out, the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Count Two of the federal indictment alleges that, from October 2016 to Feb. 17, 2017, Hester attempted to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, knowing that ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) was a designated foreign terrorist organization that engages in terrorist activity.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, FBI agents undertook a review of Hester’s publicly available posts on multiple social media accounts in September 2016. FBI employees using undercover identities communicated with Hester via social media, texting and personal meetings on several occasions. When Hester arrived for a meeting with an undercover FBI employee on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, he was arrested.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney says it will be closing anywhere from 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping.
The closures, announced Friday, represent about 13 percent to 14 percent of the company’s current store count, and less than 5 percent of total annual sales.
The company did not identify if any Kansas stores were included.
The news came as Penney posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss a year ago.
The company posted quarterly sales of $3.96 billion, down 0.9 percent from $3.99 billion a year ago.
Revenue at stores opened at least a year was down 0.7 percent.
J.C. Penney is joining other department stores like Macy’s who are shrinking its footprint amid challenges in the industry.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are advancing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals to raise cigarette and liquor taxes even though they do not think the measures have much support.
The House and Senate tax committees on Thursday forwarded separate bills containing Brownback’s tax proposals to their chambers without endorsing them.
Some lawmakers said it’s likely both chambers would reject the measures to send the governor a message. The committees acted a day after Brownback vetoed a bill increasing income taxes.
Each committee’s bill also includes Brownback’s proposals to raise annual business filing fees and restore personal income taxes on so-called passive earnings such as rent and royalties.
His proposals would raise $378 million over two years, starting in July. Kansas is facing projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.
Photos of explosion near Bushton, Kansas- photo KHP
RICE COUNTY – Investigators continue to investigate the cause of the explosion at the OneOk plant, 777 Avenue Y in rural Rice County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol was asked to take aerial photos of the scene. The debris field was over a mile.
The blast, just after 9:40p.m., was felt up to 55 miles away in Hutchinson and destroyed a brick building, according Gregg Klein, with Rice County Emergency Management.
The fire was under control in about 30-minutes and there
were no injuries, according to Klein. OneOk gathers, processes, stores and transports natural gas and natural gas liquids across the U.S
WASHINGTON -The Trump administration Wednesday lifted federal guidelines that said transgender students should be allowed to use public school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity.
“The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce the law and remains committed to the proper interpretation and enforcement of Title IX and to its protections for all students, including LGBTQ students, from discrimination, bullying, and harassment,” according to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The Wednesday decision is a reversal of an Obama-era directive issued in May. It will now be up to states and school districts to interpret whether federal sex discrimination law applies to gender identity.
Full text of the letter is below.
February 22, 2017
The purpose of this guidance is to inform you that the Department of Justice and the Department of Education are withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance reflected in:
• Letter to Emily Prince from James A. Ferg-Cadima, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education dated January 7, 2015; and
• Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students jointly issued by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Department of Education dated May 13, 2016.
These guidance documents take the position that the prohibitions on discrimination “on the basis of sex” in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., and its implementing regulations, see, e.g., 34 C.F.R. § 106.33, require access to sex-segregated facilities based on gender identity. These guidance documents do not, however, contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process.
This interpretation has given rise to significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that the term “sex” in the regulations is ambiguous and deferred to what the court characterized as the “novel” interpretation advanced in the guidance. By contrast, a federal district court in Texas held that the term “sex” unambiguously refers to biological sex and that, in any event, the guidance was “legislative and substantive” and thus formal rulemaking should have occurred prior to the adoption of any such policy. In August of 2016, the Texas court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the interpretation, and that nationwide injunction has not been overturned.
In addition, the Departments believe that, in this context, there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy.
In these circumstances, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have decided to withdraw and rescind the above-referenced guidance documents in order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved. The Departments thus will not rely on the views expressed within them.
Letter Page 2 of 2
Please note that this withdrawal of these guidance documents does not leave students without protections from discrimination, bullying, or harassment. All schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will continue its duty under law to hear all claims of discrimination and will explore every appropriate opportunity to protect all students and to encourage civility in our classrooms. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice are committed to the application of Title IX and other federal laws to ensure such protection.
This guidance does not add requirements to applicable law. If you have questions or are interested in commenting on this letter, please contact the Department of Education at [email protected] or 800-421-3481 (TDD: 800-877-8339); or the Department of Justice at [email protected] or 877-292-3804 (TTY: 800- 514-0383).
Sincerely,
/s/ Sandra Battle
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Education
/s/
T.E. Wheeler, II
Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Justice
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Douglas County District Attorney will not file charges after a sexual assault allegation prompted the University of Kansas to place the Kappa Sigma fraternity on probation in 2014.
District Attorney Charles Branson says his office found no evidence an assault occurred at the fraternity in September 2014.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Lawrence police continue to investigate a second alleged sex crime at the fraternity that was also reported in September 2014.
The university placed Kappa Sigma on two years’ probation after its investigation in fall 2014. The fraternity completed probation in December 2016.
Kansas officials said the fraternity violated the university’s student code’s sections on sexual harassment, endangering others and organizational responsibility but didn’t offer details of the violations.
police on the scene of Thursday’s investigation in Salina
SALINE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a Thursday shooting at the Executive Plaza the 1500 Block of East Iron in Salina.
The victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition, according to police.
Witnesses told police they saw two suspects, a white male and female, flee the area on foot.
K-9 units were assisting in the search for the suspects, according to police.
