WASHINGTON DC -The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in a media release Tuesday that the remains of U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They include Staff Sgt. John E. Copeland of Dearing, Kansas.

On April 10, 1944, 12 B-24D Liberator crew members took off from Texter Strip, Nazdab Air Field, New Guinea, on a mission to attack an anti-aircraft site at Hansa Bay.

The aircraft was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over the Madang Province, New Guinea. Four of the crewmen were able to parachute from the aircraft, but were reported to have died in captivity.

Following World War II, the Army Graves Registration Service (AGRS) conducted investigations and recovered the remains of three of the missing airmen. In May 1949, AGRS concluded the remaining nine crew members were unrecoverable until now. In addition to Copeland they include

Army Air Forces 1st Lts. William D. Bernier of Augusta, Montana; Bryant E. Poulsen of Salt Lake City, Utah; Herbert V. Young Jr. of Clarkdale, Arizona and Tech Sgts. Charles L. Johnston of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Hugh F. Moore of Elkton, Maryland and Staff Sgt Charles J. Jones of Athens, Georgia; and Sgt. Charles A. Gardner of San Francisco, California, have been accounted for and buried with full military honors. Jones will be buried Feb. 28 in Athens, Georgia and Johnston will be buried March 2 in Arlington National Cemetery.

On March 18, there will be a group burial service at Arlington National Cemetery honoring Copeland, Poulsen, and the other crew members. Bernier was buried Sept. 19, 2014, in his hometown. Young was buried Oct. 15, 2014, in Prescott, Arizona Moore was buried on Nov. 11, 2014, in his hometown. Gardner was buried on Dec. 4, 2014 in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 2001, a U.S.-led team located wreckage of a B-24D that bore the tail number of this aircraft. After several surveys, DoD teams excavated the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence.

To account for Copeland and Poulsen, scientists from DPAA used circumstantial evidence that placed them on the aircraft and accounted for them as part of the group.

WICHITA , Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say homicides in the south-central Kansas city rose by 50 percent in 2014 while the local overall crime rate fell nearly 3 percent.

The Wichita Eagle reports that last year’s 26 homicides were nine more than in 2013. But last year’s numbers were consistent with the 28 homicides in 2102, 27 in 2011 and 26 in 2009.

The 280 reported rapes and 556 robberies in Wichita last year both were five-year highs.

The city’s interim police chief, Nelson Mosley, called 2014 “a challenging year full of opportunities.”

He says plans are on schedule to outfit about 500 police officers with body cameras by the end of the year, with funding sources, policies and procedures still being worked out.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to give his office the power to prosecute election fraud cases has won the state Senate’s approval.
Senators passed a bill containing Kobach’s plan on a 23-17 vote Wednesday. The measure goes next to the House.
The vote exposed a split among Kobach’s fellow Republicans. Nine GOP senators joined all eight Democrats in the chamber in voting against the bill.
Kobach is the architect of laws requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls and proof of U.S. citizenship when they register for the first time.
He says county prosecutors are usually too busy to pursue election fraud cases. But critics say there’s not enough election fraud to justify such a move.
The measure also boosts the penalties for election crimes.

JIM SUHR, Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say they’ve cited a Kansas State student for disorderly conduct after he body-checked a Kansas player during an on-court celebration following the Wildcats’ upset victory Monday over the visiting Jayhawks.

Kansas State police on Wednesday identified Nathan Power as the Wildcats fan who collided with Kansas forward Jamari Traylor after Kansas State’s 70-63 victory over eighth-ranked Kansas.

University police say a cooperative Power met voluntarily with them Tuesday, after police sought public help in identifying a photograph showing the student who made contact with Traylor.

Power didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to an Associated Press interview request sent to his student account. A message left at his Kansas City-area home wasn’t immediately returned.

A student identifying himself as Nathan Power also apologized in a letter Wednesday to the university newspaper.

WESTMORLAND- An inmate died at the Pottawatomie County Jail on Wednesday.

The Sheriff’s office reported in a media release a jail deputy making rounds found a 24-year-old prisoner in his cell who was unresponsive.

Pottawatomie County EMS was notified and the inmate was transported to Wamego City Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was immediately notified and is conducting an investigation.

Authorities say at this time, no foul play is suspected.

The identity will be released pending notification of family according to the sheriff.

NEW YORK (AP) — TJX Cos., the owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods stores, says it will boost pay for U.S. workers to at least $9 per hour.

The announcement comes a week after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would increase wages for its employees. Low-paying retailers are having a harder time retaining workers as the job market improves.

A TJX spokeswoman declined to say what workers currently earn. A recent Credit Suisse report estimates TJX’s current hourly pay at about $8.24.

Hourly workers will start to receive the pay increase in June. In 2016, the company plans to pay all associates that have work at its stores for more than six months at least $10 per hour.

TJX, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, operates 3,395 stores and has about 191,000 associates.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate is expected to approve a bill that would allow people to carry concealed guns without requiring them to get a state permit or take training classes.

Senators were debating the measure Wednesday and expected to take a final vote Thursday. The measure is sponsored by 26 of the chamber’s 40 members, led by Majority Leader Terry Bruce.

A state concealed carry permit costs $132.50, and a person must undergo eight hours of training to get one.

Gun-rights groups note Kansas has long allowed the open carrying of weapons without a state permit. The bill’s critics say training should be mandated for people carrying concealed weapons.

The National Rifle Association says Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming don’t require permits to carry concealed anywhere in the state.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill that would heavily restrict sexually oriented businesses did not advance as Kansas lawmakers face key deadlines.

The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee debated the bill Wednesday. It was the last day the panel could meet before the Legislature’s annual “turnaround” deadline. With a 3-3 tie in voting on the measure, it will not advance.

Most bills must clear their original chamber by Friday or be discarded for the year.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee also deferred action on a bill that would suspend the state’s next presidential primary elections.

Lawmakers have canceled every one since 1992 because of the cost. Republicans and Democrats have held caucuses instead.

Senate President Sen. Susan Wagle, a Republican from Wichita, says Kansas should try to form a regional primary.