WASHINGTON— Kansas statesman Bob Dole has been nominated for the highest civilian honor Congress bestows.

Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Lynn Jenkins are seeking to honor the longtime senator with the Congressional Gold Medal. Roberts and Jenkins jointly introduced resolutions Monday, two days after Dole’s 94th birthday.

I joined @RepLynnJenkins and @JerryMoran, @RepKevinYoder, @RepRonEstes and @RepMarshall intro bill to honor @SenatorDole w/ Cong. Gold Medal pic.twitter.com/8zGsiVsZ3N

— Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) July 24, 2017

The resolution says that Dole has “embodied the American spirit of leadership and determination.” Co-sponsors include the entire Kansas delegation, along with a bipartisan list of representatives and senators from around the country. Two-thirds of the House and Senate must agree to co-sponsor the resolution to award the medal.

Dole served 27 years in the Senate and 10 years in the House. Dole was the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, losing the election to Bill Clinton.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an aggravated burglary.

Just before 1a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a residence in the 1200 Block of SW Woodward in Topeka, according to a media release.

Officers learned three black men all armed with handguns kicked in the back door of the home. Once inside they restrained the women victims and stole items.  There were no injuries.

Officers used a K-9 to track the suspects but they remain at large according to police. The first suspect was wearing a red hoodie and black or grey sweat pants. The second suspect was wearing a black hoodie and black or grey sweat pants. The third suspect was wearing a black or grey hoodie  and similar sweat pants.  Anyone with information is asked to call Topeka police.

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

According to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester, on July 14, Jacob Balthazor, 19, Salina, purchased wine coolers from a friend. He and two 15-year-old girls drank the wine coolers at his father’s shop.

Balthazor then allegedly drove one of the girls to her home before taking the other to a residence in the 100 block of North Estates Drive where the incident occurred.

Police arrested Balthazor Friday for indecent liberties with a 15-year-old girl and furnishing alcohol to minors.

TOPEKA – A Kansas man who owned a Lawrence nightclub has pleaded guilty to a federal sex trafficking charge, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Frank Boswell, 43, Topeka, pleaded guilty July 21 to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. In his plea, Boswell admitted he and co-defendants employed female commercial sex workers who served clients in Kansas and other states. Boswell used the Internet, cell phones, texting and social media to keep in touch with conspirators, track the movements of sex workers and advertise sexual services.

Boswell’s organization looked for women who needed money and a place to live wherever they found them – including homeless shelters – to recruit as commercial sex workers. They targeted single mothers and women with drug problems. The conspirators used drugs well as the threat of violence to make the women compliant. The women turned the money they made over to Boswell and he paid for their rent, utilities and cell phones.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 23. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 51 to 63 months in federal prison.

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City lawyer who worked for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is seeking the Democratic nomination for a Kansas congressional seat currently held by Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder.

Brent Welder, a labor lawyer from Bonner Springs, on Monday announced his candidacy for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

Welder previously worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Sanders nominated him last year to the Democratic National Platform Committee year after Welder helped with grassroots support for the Vermont senator’s victory in the 2016 Kansas caucus. He also worked on Barack Obama’s campaign field staff in the 2008 presidential election.

Other candidates include, Tom Niermann, Andrea Ramsey, Reggie Marselus and Chris Haulmark. Jay Sidie, the Mission Woods businessman who lost to Yoder in November, also intends to run.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run accident.

On Monday, police identified the bicyclist who died as 38-year-old Demarco Ritpatoe, of Wichita.

Police Sgt. Bob Gulliver says a pregnant woman and a man fled Saturday after the sport utility vehicle in which they were riding struck Ritpatoe and a pickup truck.

Gulliver says the woman was taken into custody, but that the man wasn’t immediately apprehended.

HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud to resume collecting detailed voter information from the states.

The commission including its vice chair Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach asked states last month to provide publicly available data including names, birth dates and partial Social Security numbers, but it later told them to hold off until a judge ruled on a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington.

In a ruling Monday, the judge denied the advocacy group’s request to block the data collection. Similar lawsuits are pending in Texas, Florida and New Hampshire.

An Associated Press count of states’ responses earlier this month found 17 plus Washington, D.C., didn’t plan to provide any information.

TOPEKA -A Kansas woman accidentally set her apartment on fire in an attempt to kill a bug by burning it with a small, flip-style lighter.

Monique Quarles tells The Topeka Capital-Journal that sparks shot out of the lighter and caused a mattress to catch fire in the Fairlawn Green Apartments complex in Topeka.

After she was unable to put out the fire, Quarles left the unit with two others and began alerting residents of the fire. Fire officials say 13 adults and six children have been displaced.

Topeka Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Herrera says one person was taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation.

A firefighter also was treated for smoke inhalation.

Officials estimate that the fire caused $140,000 in damage.

The apartment complex was the scene of another large fire in July 2016.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY- Two people were injured during an apartment complex fire early Monday.

Just before 4a.m., fire crews responded to a reported structure fire at 5230 SW 20th Terrace, in Topeka.

Upon arrival firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from the three-story apartment building, according to a media release.

Firefighters began an offensive fire attack and primary search of the building. The fire was quickly brought under control and contained to the building.

During this fire event one occupant and one firefighter were transported to a Topeka area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The occupant was treated for smoke inhalation and firefighter for heat exhaustion.

The Red Cross is assisting thirteen adults and six children displaced due to this fire. Initial damage estimates are $120,000.00 to the structure and $20,000.00 contents.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

WASHINGTON – John T. Booker Jr., 22, of Topeka, Kan., was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison for attempting to detonate a vehicle bomb on the Fort Riley military base in Manhattan, Kan. On Feb. 3, 2016, Booker pleaded guilty to one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of attempted destruction of government property by fire or explosion, according to a media release from U.S. Attorney Tom Beall of the District of Kansas.

“With this sentence, John Booker is being held accountable for his plan to kill U.S. military personnel on American soil in the name of ISIS,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente. “The National Security Division’s highest priority is countering terrorist threats and protecting American lives by bringing to justice those who plot to attack us. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who made this result possible.”

“Violent extremism is a threat to America and all its people,” Acting U.S. Attorney Beall said. “Our goal is to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from inspiring, financing or carrying out acts of violence.”

“The investigation leading to today’s sentencing illustrates the FBI’s commitment to disrupting acts of terrorism,” said Special Agent in Charge Jones. “If Mr. Booker had been successful in detonating a car bomb, the results could have been dozens, if not hundreds, of casualties. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting the citizens of the United States and thwarting acts of terrorism.”

In his guilty plea, Booker admitted he intended to kill American soldiers and to assist ISIS’s (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) fight against the U.S. His plan called for constructing a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Booker intended to trigger the bomb himself and die in the process, and filmed a video he intended Americans to see after his death.

“You sit in your homes and think this war is just over in Iraq,” Booker said in the video. “Today we will bring the Islamic State straight to your doorstep.”

Unbeknownst to Booker, the bomb that he constructed was made with inert materials, and the two men working with him were undercover informants for the FBI.

The FBI began investigating Booker in March 2014 after he posted on his Facebook page that he wanted to commit jihad. Booker admitted that he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army in order to commit an insider attack against American soldiers like the one at Fort Hood in Texas, but his deadly plans were thwarted when he was denied entry into the Army. In October 2014, Booker began communicating with an undercover FBI informant. He told the undercover FBI informant that he dreamed of being a fighter in the Middle East, and proposed capturing and killing an American soldier.

In March 2015, Booker was introduced to another FBI informant who he believed would help him plan an attack. Booker said he wanted to detonate a suicide bomb because he couldn’t be captured, all the evidence would be destroyed, and he would be guaranteed to hit his target. On March 10, 2015, Booker made a video filmed at Freedom Park near Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley in which he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. That month, he rented a storage unit in Topeka where the bomb would be assembled.

On April 10, 2015, Booker and the informants drove to an area near Fort Riley that Booker believed to be a little-used utility gate where they could enter Fort Riley undetected. He was arrested when he made the final connections on the device that he believed would arm the bomb.

Mr. Boente and Mr. Beall commended the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force for their investigation of this case. They also thanked Assistant Trial Attorneys Josh Parecki and Rebecca Magnone of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi of the District of Kansas, who prosecuted this case.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man who has admitted he tried to set off what he thought was a bomb outside an Army post in Kansas to aid the Islamic State group is facing sentencing.

John Booker Jr., of Topeka, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. He pleaded guilty in February to trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) bomb outside Fort Riley, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Topeka.

The plea agreement recommended a sentence of 30 years on one charge and 20 years on a second charged, to be served at the same time.

Booker plotted the bombing with two contacts who were confidential FBI sources. He acknowledged telling one of the sources that he wanted to kill Americans and participate in jihad.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Two people were injured in an accident just before noon Monday in Shawnee County

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Ford Econoline Van driven by Nelson Mathias Rodenbaugh, 26, Topeka, was eastbound on Interstate 470 at Burlingame.

The van rear-ended 2004 Chevy Tahoe parked in the number 1 lane of the 3-laned road.

The driver of the Tahoe Ronisha Nicole Webb, 38, Topeka, was outside the vehicle looking at a tire. The collision pushed Webb and the Tahoe into the ditch

Webb and Rodenbaugh were transported to the hospital in Topeka. Rodenbaugh was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.