WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office says a Wichita man has pleaded guilty to several charges in connection to the 2013 death of an Arkansas man.

Dallas Guy pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter, robbery and attempted distribution of a controlled substance. He was one of four men charged in Paul Danny Khmabounheuang’s death during a robbery at a rental house.

The Wichita Eagle reports the victim was visiting a relative in Wichita when he was killed.

Two of the other men, Orville Smith and Dijon Thomas, have already pleaded guilty in the incident.

Corey Pollard was convicted of first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery after a weeklong trial in December.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of products are being pulled from store shelves after traces of peanut were found in cumin spice — a life-threatening danger to people with peanut allergies.

The recall has been ongoing since December, as more retailers identify products that contain the cumin. The Food and Drug Administration is now warning all people with peanut allergies to avoid cumin and products that contain cumin.

While such large allergy-related recalls are rare, undeclared allergens like peanuts are the leading cause of food recalls in the United States.

According to the group Food Allergy Research and Education, or FARE, 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 1 in 13 children. Eight foods account for more than 90 percent of the allergies — peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have been urged to reject Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to increase alcohol taxes by beer and liquor industry lobbyists and even one of his former budget directors.

The House Taxation Committee had a hearing Wednesday on Brownback’s proposal to raise the state’s tax on packaged liquor, wine and beer to 12 percent from 8 percent.

The proposal is included in a bill that also would boost tobacco taxes, raising the cigarette tax to $2.29 a pack from 79 cents.

Former Budget Director Steve Anderson says the state should look at cutting spending first. Liquor and beer industry lobbyists say the alcohol tax increase would hurt businesses and consumers.

House Speaker Ray Merrick said before the hearing that he opposes the tax increases.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick says he opposes Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals to increase tobacco and alcohol taxes to help close a projected budget shortfall.

Merrick said Wednesday that he opposes all tax increases. The Stilwell Republican added that lawmakers should look to trim spending first before they consider higher taxes.

The speaker made his comments as the House Taxation Committee opened two days of hearings on a bill containing the governor’s proposals. They’re a key part of Brownback’s plan for eliminating a projected shortfall of nearly $600 million in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The bill would boost the cigarette tax to $2.29 a pack from 79 cents and raise the tax on alcoholic beverages to 12 percent from 8 percent.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 20 years after his death, there is still plenty of news about Dr. Seuss.

Random House Children’s Books said Wednesday it will publish a recently discovered manuscript with illustrations called “What Pet Should I Get” on July 28. The publisher plans at least two more books, based on materials found in 2013 in the author’s home in La Jolla, California, by his widow and secretary.

The author whose real name was Theodor Geisel died in 1991.

Random House associate publishing director Cathy Goldsmith says “What Pet Should I Get?” was likely written between 1958 and 1962. The book features the same brother and sister seen in Dr. Seuss’ 1960 classic “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has filed a widely expected appeal of a ruling that found the state isn’t spending enough money on its public schools to provide a suitable education.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Wednesday that the appeal had been filed after vowing last month to challenge the ruling.

The Shawnee County District Court panel declared in its December ruling that the current funding is “inadequate from any rational perspective of the evidence.” The panel said the evidence suggests base state aid should increase to at least $4,654 per student — which would amount to about $548 million a year. However, the panel also suggested the figure could be much higher.

Kansas is facing a shortfall of nearly $600M in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is designating three new national monuments for protection as historic or ecologically significant sites, including the Pullman neighborhood in Chicago where African-American railroad workers won a historic labor agreement.

The White House says Obama will be in his hometown Thursday, and he’s expected to announce the Pullman National Monument.

The neighborhood on the city’s South Side was built by industrialist George Pullman in the 19th century for workers to manufacture luxurious railroad sleeping cars. The neighborhood was crucial in the African-American labor movement.

Obama also is expected to announce designation of Honouliuli National Monument in Hawaii, where Japanese-American citizens and prisoners of war were held during World War II; and Brown’s Canyon National Monument in Colorado, a 21,000-acre site along the Arkansas River popular for whitewater rafting.

MANHATTAN -A Kansas man made his first court appearance on Wednesday in connection with a fatal bicycle accident in June.

Derik Kesler, 32, Rossville, is charged with vehicular homicide.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Dodge pickup driven by Kesler was southbound on Kansas 177 just after 7 p.m. on June 26, and struck bicyclist Mark M. Jilka, 49, Manhattan from behind.
Jilka was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kesler was represented by Attorney Tom Lemon of Topeka. He waved the judge’s formal reading of the charges.

Lemon expressed his desire to withhold from giving a plea to the charge, in order to assure Kessler’s application to a diversion. Judge Bosch entered a plea of not guilty for Kesler, which is typical when applying for a diversion.

Kessler’s next appearance will be on March 2.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Federal health officials say more than 96,000 consumers have signed up for health insurance coverage in Kansas through the federal marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced Wednesday that 96,226 Kansas consumers either selected a plan or were automatically reenrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Nationally, HHS says about 11.4 million Americans selected plans or were automatically reenrolled.

The second year of open enrollment ended Sunday.

Of Kansas residents who either selected a plan or were automatically reenrolled, nearly 86,000 were in the Kansas City area.

The agency also reported that 80 percent of Kansas consumers who signed up by the end of January qualify for an average tax credit of $214 per month.