WASHINGTON (AP) — A House plan to make major cuts to food stamps would be scaled back under a bipartisan agreement on a massive farm bill, a near end to a more than two-year fight that has threatened to hurt rural lawmakers in an election year.

The measure announced by the House and Senate Agriculture committees preserves food stamp benefits for most Americans who receive them and continues generous subsidies for farmers. The House could vote on the bill as soon as Wednesday.

The compromise was expected to cut food stamps by about $800 million a year, or around 1 percent. The House in September passed legislation cutting 5 percent from the $80 billion-a-year program.

The Democratic-controlled Senate had passed a bill with $400 million in annual food stamp cuts.

Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced their plans to allow Southwest Airlines to temporarily operate a route from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) beginning Feb. 1, 2014. Southwest Airlines recently petitioned for this authority to ensure no interruption of service following Frontier Airlines’ decision to discontinue daily nonstop service beginning Jan. 31, 2014.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – welcomed this news:

“The seamless transition following Frontier’s departure is very good news for Kansas City and air travelers in Kansas,” Sen. Moran said. “As the nation’s largest low-cost air carrier and MCI’s largest airline, Southwest is well-suited to provide travelers flying between Kansas City and Washington, D.C., with an affordable travel option. Maintaining access to air service is essential to connecting Kansas businesses to the rest of the country.”

Last fall, Frontier Airlines was sold to private-equity firm Indigo Partners, LLC. The new ownership decided to discontinue its current route exemptions, allocated by the DOT, for daily nonstop service between MCI and DCA. While DOT begins months-long formal proceedings to reallocate the routes, Southwest Airlines will be allowed to fly between MCI and DCA on a temporary basis.

Southwest Airlines is the nation’s largest domestic airline with a national route structure, allowing Kansas City to serve as a one-stop/connecting option for travelers flying between Washington, D.C., and other points in the United States.

 (AP) – The Missouri attorney general’s office will investigate rising propane prices and a possible shortage of the gas.

Attorney General Chris Koster said Monday he has received many complaints of prices topping $5 per gallon. Republican Sen. Mike Parson, of Bolivar, had called on Koster to investigate the issue to make sure companies aren’t price-gouging.

The Missouri Propane Gas Association says the rising costs are caused by higher exports and increased domestic demand due to colder weather and large crop yields. Propane is used to heat homes and to dry crops after a harvest.

Koster says his office is working with nine other Midwest states in its investigation. Parson introduced a Senate resolution Monday asking the Department of Justice to also investigate the issue.

(AP) – A Missouri Senate committee is considering legislation to require voters to show photo identification at polling places, amid warnings from the state’s top elections official that 220,000 people would be unable to vote if the bill passed.

Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander said Monday that 150,000 registered voters currently don’t have a government-issued

ID that would satisfy the measure’s requirements. He says an additional 70,000 voters have expired licenses.

Sponsoring Sen. Will Kraus, a Lee’s Summit Republican, told colleagues at Monday’s hearing that the bill is necessary to preserve the integrity of elections. His legislation would not apply to people born before 1941.

Previous attempts to require photo identification from voters have been struck down by courts or vetoed by the governor.

(AP) — The government and leading Internet companies have agreed to a compromise allowing companies to reveal how often they are ordered to turn over information about their customers in national security investigations.

The Justice Department announced the deal Monday with Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., Facebook Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. Other companies are expected to participate once it’s approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Companies wanted to make the disclosures to alleviate public speculation about their cooperation with the government. The government opposed the companies’ request, saying it could interfere with national security investigations.

The reporting will be in very general terms. Companies will have to wait six months before releasing information about intelligence orders.

(AP) — A northeast Kansas prosecutor says a 19-year-old Lawrence woman will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of a businessman whose home she shared.

Sarah Brooke Gonzales McLinn had been the subject of a search since the body of 52-year-old Harold Sasko was found Jan. 17.

Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib says park rangers McLinn was found Sunday camping in Everglades National Park in Florida. McLinn was in federal custody in Homestead, Fla.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson says McLinn will be extradited to Kansas and charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Authorities had refused to say during the search for McLinn whether she was considered a suspect or victim.

Sasko owned three pizza restaurants in Topeka and Lawrence.

The Better Business Bureau is warning cellphone users about a new scam that can result in unauthorized charges appearing on their monthly bills.

Consumers across the country report getting calls on their mobile phones during which the caller hangs up. This is being called the “one-ring scam” because the perpetrators program their computers to blast out thousands of calls to random cellphone numbers, ring once and then disconnect.

“The objective is to make you curious about a call you missed and return it right away. When you call back … you are connected to a paid international adult entertainment service or ‘chat’ line located outside the country,” said Jim Hegarty, BBB president and CEO.

Victims subsequently are billed not only for the incoming international call if they answer, but also the unwanted “premium service,” which typically appears as a $19.95 charge. In some cases, the scammers might only put a small charge of several dollars, so as not to arouse suspicion.

The area codes that appear on the caller ID often originate from the Dominican Republic (809), Jamaica (876), British Virgin Islands (284) and Grenada (473).

The practice of third parties placing unauthorized charges on wireless accounts is called “cramming.” The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission have reviewed thousands of complaints about the practice and expect the problem to grow.

Better Business Bureau recommends if you don’t recognize an out-of-state telephone number on your caller ID, ignore it. If you do answer, do not call back. Check your wireless bills carefully and inform your carrier if you spot any unauthorized charges.

(AP)  Missouri curators say they expect a public discussion this week of a former university swimmer’s allegations that she had been sexually assaulted by several football players before later committing suicide.

The Board of Curators meet Wednesday in Columbia. Curators David Bradley and Wayne Goode told The Associated Press Monday the board will review system President Tim Wolfe’s call for an external legal review into Sasha Menu Courey’s death in 2011.

The university said Saturday that it turned its information about the allegations over to Columbia police after ESPN’s story.