NEWTON COUNTY, MO – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 2p.m. on Thursday in Newton County Missouri.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Hyundai Sonata driven by Alan B. Tash, 23, Riverton, was traveling on Mo. 175 two miles north of Neosho.
The vehicle crossed the center line and struck a 2007 Ford Taurus driven by Kelly R. Fields, 24, Joplin, Mo.,head-on.
Tash was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fields was transported to the hospital in Joplin.
Both drivers were not wearing seat belts, according to the MHP.

LANSING – Officials are investigating a suspicious death at the Lansing Correctional Facility.

James Beeson, 56, died on Sunday, according to statement from the Kansas Department of Corrections and confirmed on the state’s web site.

An autopsy is planned to help determine the cause of death.

Beeson had eight convictions since December of 1998 for a variety of child sex crimes in Osage County.

He had been in held in the El Dorado and Hutchison Correctional facilities until a move to Lansing earlier this month.

Officials canceled visitation at prison this weekend.

FAIRMOUNT, Ill. (AP) — A convoy of trucks from Illinois has arrived in Kansas carrying hay to farmers who’ve lost fields in wildfires that have caused widespread damage.

Wildfires have burned more than 650,000 acres in nearly two dozen Kansas counties.

Illinois farmer Vern Rohrscheib tells The (Champaign) News-Gazette it was a conversation topic last week between colleagues and they came up with the idea to take their extra hay to Kansas.

His daughter, Lynn Rohrscheib, says they’re thankful to help out farmers in any way they can. She says after the wildfires, the cattle that are left behind don’t have much to eat. The convoy leaves Thursday morning from central Illinois to the Ashland area in Kansas.

Earlier this week the group had collected 500 bales of hay, along with donated feed.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press
ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to let states block federal family planning money from going to Planned Parenthood affiliates and other abortion providers.

Senators approved the Republican legislation 51-50. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote after two GOP senators, Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, voted with Democrats against the measure.

The bill erases a regulation imposed by former President Barack Obama that lets states deny family planning funds to an organization only if it is incapable of providing those services.

Some states have passed laws in recent years denying the funds to groups that provide abortions.

Democrats criticized the measure as an attack on women’s rights and abortion. Republicans defended it as a way to let local officials decide where family planning money should go.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating two suspects on drug and other felony charges.

Just after 4 :30 a.m. on Thursday, police responded to a disturbance call at the Ramada Inn in the Block of SW Fairlawn in Topeka, according to a media release.

Occupants in the room had flooded the bathroom and would not let staff or police in. The hotel finally allowed police to force entry.

Police arrested Eric Brownlee McCuiston, 38, and Alicia Maria De Leon, 28, on charges of Felony Criminal Damage, Criminal

Trespass, Criminal Threat, Interference with Law Enforcement, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

 

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on weapons charges.

Just after 11:30p.m. Wednesday, a homeowner called police to report two suspects would not leave his property in the 700 Block of Maple in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Adam Gilbert, 33, and William Sullivan Jr, 37, both of Salina, were looking for a friend’s house when they accidently stumbled into this yard. The two were intoxicated and refused to leave, according to Forrester.

When officers arrived, one of the suspects attempted to walk away. They then saw him throw a handgun in a neighboring yard, Forrester said. Gilbert and Sullivan were both taken into custody and face trespassing charges. Gilbert, a convicted felon, also faces criminal possession of a firearm.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion providers may soon be required to give women detailed information about the physician to perform the procedure using Times New Roman font.

A bill that the House passed Thursday with an 87 to 37 votes also specifies that the typeface must be black and 12-point. A similar bill hasn’t gotten a vote in the Senate.

Abortion opponents say women need information about the doctor’s credentials to make a decision. Abortion rights supporters say it targets providers.

State law already requires that 24 hours before an abortion procedure a woman be given in writing the name of the physician who will perform the procedure. Women also must receive information on abortion risks, the age and characteristics of the fetus and information that may dissuade a woman from having an abortion.

————

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas already requires abortion providers to inform women about the risks involved in the procedure. Soon, it may also require them to tell women where the doctor performing an abortion went to medical school — in black, 12-point Times New Roman font, no less.

The Kansas House voted 85 to 38 on Wednesday to advance a bill that supporters and opponents believe is the first of its kind.

It would require Kansas providers to give women printed information at least 24 hours before the procedure that includes the name of the physician performing the abortion and information on the physician’s credentials, start date at the clinic, malpractice insurance, hospital privileges, state of residency and disciplinary record.

It even specifies the font type, size and color in which it needs to be written.

RILEY COUNTY  – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating an alleged hit and run accident and asking for help to find a vehicle that left the scene of an accident.

Just after 10p.m. on Wednesday, an unknown white truck pulling a trailer on Interstate 70 at Deep Creek Road rear ended a 1991 Mazda Protégé driven by Javier Gali-Rodriguez, 30, Junction City.

The collision pushed the Mazda into a ditch where it rolled. Emergency responders transported Gali-Rodriguez to the hospital in Manhattan, according to Riley County Police.

The truck did not stop.

Police ask that anyone with information contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a suspect for Aggravated Assault and numerous other charges after a brief chase in a stolen vehicle.

Just after 10 a.m. Wednesday, officers contacted a suspect on stolen property and a stolen truck in the 2100 Block of South Rock Road in Wichita, according to Police Sgt. Nikki Woodrow during Thursday’s online media briefing.

While officers were attempting an arrest, holding the 36-year-old suspect identified as Jacob Gillespie, he made his way back to the stolen truck and drove away.

The suspect then drove toward another officer in a patrol vehicle and a pursuit started. The suspect’s truck hit the police vehicle. Officers ultimately arrested him after the truck hit a pole in a residential area near 21ststand Cranbrook Street.

Gillespie is being held for Aggravated Assault of a Law Enforcement officer, possession of stolen property, Resisting arrest, Criminal Damage to Property, Possession of Meth, Auto Theft and numerous traffic violations, according to Woodrow.

Nobody was injured.

Gillespie has 40 burglary and theft convictions in Sedgwick County since 1998, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Members of the Kansas House delayed a vote Thursday to try to override Brownback’s veto of a plan to expand the State’s Medicaid program.

Motion to table veto override vote for medicaid expansion Passes 81-43. #ksleg

— ❄️Stephanie Clayton❄ (@SSCJoCoKs) March 30, 2017

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback vetoing an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program (all times local):

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has vetoed a bill that would have extended the state’s health coverage for the poor under former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

The conservative Republican governor made the move Thursday. He explained that he thinks the expansion would fail to serve the truly needy and would burden the state with what he called “unrestrainable entitlement costs.”

The bill would have expanded Medicaid coverage to as many as 180,000 additional adults.

Legislators gave final approval to the measure Tuesday. It had strong bipartisan majorities in both chambers, but supporters were short of the two-thirds majorities necessary to override a veto. Nevertheless, they are expected to try.

Brownback has been a vocal critic of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” and his action was expected.