SPRINGIFELD (AP) – The city of Springfield has agreed to pay $700,000 to an unarmed panhandler who was shot in the back by a police officer while he was running away from a Wal-Mart.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the city announced the settlement amount to Eric Butts on Thursday. He suffered severe internal injuries on May 9. His attorney says his medical bills have totaled more than $216,000.

Officer Jason Shuck says he got his gun and Taser mixed up. He was sentenced Wednesday to two years of unsupervised probation and has agreed to never again work a job where he would carry a firearm.

The city says the payment will be made from its general fund reserves because Butts was shot before its officers were covered by liability insurance.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general says the United Nations believes air travel to and from the West African countries affected by the Ebola virus should continue despite the first reported case in the United States.

Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that “it’s very important not to isolate these countries” as it would worsen their political and economic situations. He says aid groups need access to the region.

The first reported U.S. case involves a man who flew from Liberia to visit relatives. His travel took him through Brussels and Washington before reaching Texas.

Dujarric emphasized the importance of screening at travelers’ departure and arrival.

The United Nations has spoken out repeatedly against travel restrictions on the Ebola-affected countries.

The U.N. has lost one staffer in Liberia to “probable” Ebola.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider whether retailer Abercrombie & Fitch’s refusal to hire a woman wearing a Muslim headscarf was religious discrimination.

A lower court said the New Albany, Ohio-based company didn’t discriminate against the job applicant because she didn’t’ say she needed a religious accommodation.

But the Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear the Obama administration’s appeal.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had sued on behalf of Samantha Elauf. The agency contended that Elauf wasn’t hired at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, store because her hijab violated Abercrombie’s dress code.

The company later changed its dress rules.

A federal judge initially sided with the government.

But an appeals court reversed that decision, saying Elauf never specifically requested a religious accommodation even though she was wearing the headscarf during her interview.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis County woman is denying she posted a claim on Twitter that a member of a grand jury told her the panel lacked evidence to prosecute the Ferguson police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (bit.ly/1rQTWsG ) reports that Susan M. Nichols of Affton said Thursday that her Twitter account was hacked.

A tweet posted Wednesday under Nichols’ name suggested that a friend serving on the grand jury reviewing Brown’s shooting said the panel lacked evidence to warrant criminal charges against the officer.

Nichols told the newspaper she had “talked to the authorities” about the matter.

County prosecutors said Wednesday they were reviewing the report.

A spokesman for Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch could not be reached for comment Thursday by The Associated Press, and Nichols declined to comment.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight, today issued the following statement after the Justice Department’s announcement that it has indicted five current and former Army National Guard officials on charges of bribery regarding marketing and recruiting contracts, including those from the office charged with overseeing programs she earlier found to be rife with waste and fraud:

“This kind of betrayal of the public trust is outrageous, and dishonors the uniform of the brave members of the National Guard. We’ve already uncovered the wasteful spending of millions of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective NASCAR recruitment program that yielded zero recruits, and millions of dollars in fraud in the Guard’s Recruiting Assistance Program, but bribery by top Guard leadership who administered these programs should result in jail time, and I’m pleased the Justice Department has taken action to bring these corrupt officials to justice.”

In February, McCaskill led a hearing on reports of fraud in the Army National Guard’s Recruiting Assistance Program (RAP), which was administered by the Army National Guard’s former Strength Maintenance Division (ASM). She found that RAP was a vehicle for massive fraud by Guard service members, with up to $100 million in potential fraud of taxpayer dollars, and more than a thousand people implicated.

In May, McCaskill led a hearing on reports of waste and abuse in spending on sports-related marketing and sponsorships with organizations such as NASCAR and IndyCar, which was also administered by the same office under a different name. Following the hearing, McCaskill also sent a letter to Major General Judd Lyons, the Acting Director of the Army National Guard, pressing for answers on the Guard’s sponsorship and marketing contracts. In August, the National Guard announced a decision to curtail its spending on sports-related marketing and recruitment with organizations such as NASCAR and IndyCar.

HARPER, Kan. (AP) — At least eight earthquakes have shaken southern Kansas this week, with the largest cracking walls.

The earthquakes occurred the same week that a panel commissioned by Gov. Sam Brownback announced there isn’t enough evidence to link recent quakes to oil and gas exploration in the region. The group recommended more monitoring.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that this week’s largest earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 when it struck just after 1 p.m. Thursday about seven miles southeast of Harper. Another quake that struck nearby about 30 minutes later had a preliminary magnitude of 3.4.

Interim Kansas Geological Survey director Rex Buchanan says four other earthquakes rocked the state Tuesday and that at least two were recorded Wednesday. All but one of them occurred in Harper County.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas legislator says he was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year about state government under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Ex-Republican state Sen. Dick Kelsey confirmed Thursday that he had multiple conversations with the FBI, ending in July. During a news conference, he and Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley called on Brownback to cut any ties with former chief of staff David Kensinger.

Kensinger left as Brownback’s chief of staff in April 2012 to form a lobbying firm. He remains an unpaid adviser to Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Kelsey said the FBI identified Kensinger as a subject of its inquiry. Kensinger did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Brownback’s campaign was preparing a response.

Federal authorities would not confirm or deny an investigation.