SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The state’s supreme court will hear arguments this week about whether a Springfield man is guilty of child abuse.
In 2011, 50-year-old Peter D. Hansen was convicted of abusing one of his children by locking him in a bathroom for several days and restricting his diet as punishment. He’s appealing the ruling.

Hansen says he is a Seventh Day Adventist and that his religion encourages vegetarianism. He says the child’s punishment doesn’t constitute child abuse.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday.

The family was evicted from their home in April 2009 and lived in a car before their local church allowed them to live in their building. Hansen says while the family had little money, they ate two meals a day.

JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration wants to put a stop to excessive payday or car title loans for military service members.

The Defense Department is trying to close legal loopholes that have put hundreds of thousands of service members at risk of excessive fees.

New rules would toughen the Military Lending Act’s limits on interest rates for certain types of credit for service men and women and their dependents.

Under current law, lenders cannot charge members of the military more than 36 percent interest. But loans covered by the law are so narrowly defined that lenders can make simple adjustments to get around its provisions.

The proposed rules would broaden the definition of consumer credit so that more loans would fall under the 2006 law.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has set an execution date for a man convicted of killing a gas station attendant in Independence.
The court on Monday set 56-year-old Leon Taylor’s execution for Nov. 19 at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Taylor was sentenced to death for the April 1994 shooting death of 53-year-old Robert Newton in Independence. Authorities say he also tried to kill the victim’s 8-year-old stepdaughter but the gun misfired.

Taylor had been scheduled for execution in September but the court withdrew that execution warrant after his lawyers argued for more time to work on his case.

Eight inmates have been executed in Missouri this year. Another inmate, Mark Christeson, is scheduled to be put to death Oct. 29.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are looking into a consumer’s petition alleging that older Toyota Corollas can accelerate unexpectedly at low speeds and cause crashes.

The inquiry covers about 1.69 million of the compact cars from the 2006 to 2010 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide whether to open a formal investigation.

An unidentified consumer said in a letter to the agency that a Corolla surged at low speeds several times, and the brakes failed to stop the car. The consumer said the problem caused one collision with a parked vehicle on June 8.

Investigators said they found 141 consumer complaints about the problem. No other crashes or injuries were reported.

The consumer filed the petition on Sept. 11.

Messages were left seeking comment from Toyota.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is hoping to attract more federal research funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university has received national security clearances to pursue classified contract with all federal agencies. In fiscal year 2013, the university received $6.5 million in research funding from Defense Department agencies. That’s about 2.5 percent of the school’s research dollars.

Spokesman Kevin Boatright says research dollars from defense could increase substantially in the future. He says researchers are already working on 60 projects for defense agencies.

To publicize the research opportunities available, the Kansas Office of Research is planning a workshop on Oct. 7.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas school districts report a higher pace of teachers retiring while the number of newly licensed teachers remains flat.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports more than 2,000 teachers retired last school year. The state’s education department says that’s double the number of teachers that retired five years earlier.

Scott Myers is the department’s director of teacher education and licensure. He says the teacher retirement figures are subject to error because it’s self-reported data from school districts.

The Education Department says about 2,500 new teachers received licenses last year, which is almost the same number of those who earned licenses five years earlier.

Meanwhile, the state saw an increase of 13,400 students over the same period of time.

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Another Muslim inmate is suing the Greene County jail, alleging that jailers violated his civil rights by denying him a Quran and a prayer rug and refusing to let him attend Friday prayer services.

The Springfield News-Leader reported Sunday that Richard Ray McLendon Jr. filed a handwritten lawsuit against the jail and the program coordinator of religious matters.

Six other Muslim inmates sued Sheriff Jim Arnott and deputies in 2013, claiming religious discrimination.

McLendon is waiting to be sent to the federal prison in Marion, Illinois, on a two-year sentence for violating supervised release in a sex offender case.

Arnott has said Qurans are available in the jail. He dec

GRANDVIEW (AP) – Fire officials say an adult and an infant died in a fire in a Kansas City suburb.

The fire was reported early Monday at a home in Grandview.

Grandview Fire Chief Chuck Thacker says an adult’s body was found in the home’s basement. The infant was taken to a hospital and later died.

KSHB-TV reports another person was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.

Thacker said two children escaped through a bedroom window and ran to a neighbor’s home to alert emergency workers.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas education official says a new tax-credit system to fund private school tuition for low-income students is on track to start in January.

Deputy education commissioner Dale Dennis says application forms for the tuition program are nearly ready.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the program will allow businesses to donate to nonprofit organizations for scholarships for low-income children attending public schools to transfer to private schools. The businesses would receive a tax credit that subtracts 70 percent of their donation from their tax bills.

Dennis says he thinks the Legislature wanted the program ready by January and his department is working to meet that goal.

Only children who attend one of 99 Kansas public schools considered low-performing are eligible for the scholarships.