WASHINGTON (AP) — The New York Times is reporting that the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in a St. Louis suburb last summer has told investigators that he was pinned in his vehicle and in fear for his life as they struggled over his gun.
The newspaper reports that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson has told authorities that Michael Brown reached for the gun during a scuffle. The Times reports that the officer’s account to authorities did not explain why he fired at Brown multiple times after emerging from his vehicle.
According to the newspaper, the account of Wilson’s version of events came from government officials briefed on the federal civil rights investigation into the Aug. 9 shooting.
Racial unrest and weeks of protests followed Brown’s death.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A popular refrain for Kansas City baseball fans as their team blazes through the playoffs is that they’re ready to party like it’s 1985, when the Royals beat St. Louis for their first World Series title.
But with a farm crisis raging, interest rates skyrocketing and the economy in shambles 29 years ago, would they really want to?
The NBA’s Kansas City Kings moved to California that year and Union Station closed its doors after decades of neglect. With its empty storefronts, downtown was decades away from its revival as an entertainment mecca, and Kemper Arena was still city’s premier indoor sports venue.
Former Royals second baseman Frank White says a lot more than the old AstroTurf has changed since the team’s glory days, much of it for the better.
Roberts and Ryan at Friday’s campaign event- courtesy photo
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is urging Kansans to back Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in a tight re-election race, saying the three-term incumbent isn’t a “rubber stamp” for President Barack Obama.
Appearing Friday at a hotel in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Ryan is the latest in a string of high profile Republicans to stump for the 78-year-old senator. Attention on the race intensified when the Democratic candidate dropped out, improving independent candidate Greg Orman’s odds.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to recapture a majority and had always counted on Roberts winning re-election. He’s seeking to unify the GOP behind him by highlighting his opposition to Obama and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. Orman says he’ll caucus with whichever party has a clear majority.
NEW YORK (AP) — An official at the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund say it has paid out $551 million over the last year.
The fund’s special master, Sheila Birnbaum, released a letter Friday saying the fund had made 2,042 compensation decisions over the 12 months that ended Sept. 30.
Birnbaum says the fund had made 112 decisions totaling $27 million in the previous year.
She says the fund was able to process far more decisions because of an increase in staffing and better communication with those making claims.
The fund was established in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks to provide compensation for those affected.
Sunday was the deadline to apply for compensation for those who developed cancer after working at ground zero.
As the 2014 election races toward the finish line on Nov.4, candidates from both parties have stooped to their old tricks of slinging mud, name calling and finger pointing at one another. Why can’t candidates do what’s right for this nation and focus on issues?
Instead we are forced to put up with elected officials who grow the government, do-nothing and engage in gridlock.
What Kansas and this nation sorely needs is leadership and a willingness among all elected officials to work together for the good of this country.
What do you think the framers of our constitution and this republic would say about what’s going on in all three branches of government today?
What would Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson think about our way of conducting the nation’s business?
What would Kansas’s own favorite son, Dwight D. Eisenhower say about the way we’re conducting this state and country’s business today?
What would Ike, Alf Landon, Andy Schoeppel and other Kansas leaders of yesteryear think?
Profound?
Enlightening?
Telling?
Where are the ideas for leading this great state and nation?
Isn’t that what they’re supposed to be doing?
Farmers, ranchers and businessmen cannot, and do not want to engage in the same game of blaming one party for the charade going on in Washington and among some of our own state leaders. This is a shared shame and a weakness that is ruining our state and nation.
In spite of claims to the contrary, taxes continue to increase. The only way for the tax-and-spend cycle to be broken is to hold candidates accountable. The citizenry of Kansas and this country must demand candidates clearly state their positions on the issues.
Today’s politicians and the majority of the candidates have become so adept at ducking the issues. They rival a young Muhammad Ali’s ability to float like a butterfly, always out of reach and accountability.
Not only do voters rarely have a chance to ask candidates questions, they have even less chance of receiving a worthwhile answer.
Some candidates also talk out of both sides of their mouth. They tell one gathering of voters one thing and others just the opposite.
They also barrage voters with wave after wave of rhetoric, hoping to obscure their real views. They’re not called politicians for nothing.
At the end of the day, this year’s election is just around the corner. Whether we like what’s been happening in government or not, the mess we’re in remains our own.
It’s our system, and while it may appear broken, we still must vote. Past elections demonstrate rural voters can make a difference by their willingness to go to the polls.
Fiscal responsibility, a reduction in the size of government and increased productivity remain a sound prescription for this country’s economic troubles. The bigger problem of cooperation and compromise while working together for the good of this country must be addressed as well if these remedies are to work.
Urge your friends, family and neighbors to cast their votes Nov. 4
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A North Carolina drugmaker plans to test its experimental antiviral drug in patients who have Ebola, after getting authorization from regulators at the Food and Drug Administration.
Chimerix Inc. said Thursday that it has received FDA clearance to proceed with a trial examining the safety and effectiveness of its brincidofovir tablets in patients who have the virus. The company said in a statement that the drug is available for immediate use in testing.
With FDA’s permission, the Durham, North Carolina, drugmaker previously made the drug available to the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S., who died in Dallas last week.
The FDA does not publicly confirm when it has granted companies permission to begin testing. The agency has not approved any drugs or vaccines to treat Ebola.
The Missouri Western volleyball team won for the 10th time in 11 tries Friday night as they defeated Emporia State in five sets at Emporia.
MWSU claimed the decisive set with a 15-13 victory, winning on a Hornet attack error. Nothing was easy for the Griffons who pulled out the win with a .173 hitting percentage. After dropping the first set, 25-18, the Griffons were in danger of falling in a 2-0 hole to the Hornets. Emporia State led 24-20 in the second set before Missouri Western rallied for five straight points, including two service aces from Kelsey Olion and two kills from Erica Rottinghaus. MWSU took the second set 28-26 then took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in set three.Emporia State forced the fifth set with a 25-20, then Missouri Western took control, leading the entire final set.
Rottinghaus finished with a season-high, 21 kills and matched her season best, 15 digs. Amanda Boender also matched her best performance of the season with 15 kills. Olion and Jessie Thorup each finished with 13 kills. Jordan Chohon had 60 assists and 10 digs, while Sarah Faubel led the team with 19 digs.
The first-place Griffons are now 16-4 and 10-2 in the MIAA. They travel to Topeka for a rematch with No. 5 Washburn Saturday night. The last time the two squared off, Missouri Western handed the Ichabods their first loss of the season. The two teams are now part of a four-way tie atop the MIAA standings with Central Missouri and Nebraska Kearney. The match will begin at 6 p.m.
The script was there and Missouri Western women’s soccer team followed right along with their fifth consecutive 1-0 victory Friday night against Nebraska Kearney. With the win, the 2014 Griffons have matched the school record for most wins in a season with eight.
Tara Russell scored in the first minute of the second overtime to give Missouri Western the victory. Russell scored in the box off a deflection for her second-straight game winner and the fourth goal of the season for the senior.
Neither team managed much offense with the Lopers claiming a 7-6 advantage in total shots. Each team mustered just three shots on goal. All three of those Nebraska Kearney shots equated to saves for Sarah Lyle and her, school record, eighth save of the season. The Griffon defense has pitched five straight shutouts, not allowing a goal since Sept. 28 against Northeastern State.
Missouri Western is now 8-4-1 and 5-3-1 in the MIAA. The Griffons travel to Fort Hays on Sunday for a, something must give battle with the Tigers, who completed their third straight shutout on Friday night. The match begins at noon.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas National Guard member will be honored next week for helping save a woman from a burning house in Wichita two years ago.
Tech. Sgt. Shawn A. Rucker will receive the Airman’s Medal from Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas adjutant general. The ceremony will take place Monday at McConnell Air Force Base.
Rucker serves with the Guard’s 184th Intelligence Wing. Officials say he was driving home the night of Nov. 24, 2012, when he noticed a large plume of smoke and followed it to a house partly engulfed in flames.
Two people were on the porch, but a woman was still inside. Rucker and one of the homeowners found her asleep in the basement and carried her to safety.
The Airman’s Medal is awarded for heroic, dangerous actions that don’t involve combat.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The New York Times is reporting that the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in a St. Louis suburb last summer has told investigators that he was pinned in his vehicle and in fear for his life as they struggled over his gun.
