WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas and Arizona have asked an appeals court for a rehearing of its ruling that their residents can register to vote using a federal form without having proof of citizenship.

A petition filed late Monday contends the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overlooked certain issues when it sided against the states in November.

The federal appeals court ruled that Kansas and Arizona cannot demand federal election officials to help them enforce state laws requiring new voters to submit a birth certificate, passport or other papers documenting U.S. citizenship.

The court overturned an order from a federal judge in Kansas that had required the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to modify its form to require those documents.

The federal commission’s spokesman did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.

JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The drone industry is teaming up with the government and model aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign in response to increasing encounters between small drones and manned aircraft

The campaign by two unmanned aircraft trade associations, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Academy of Model Aeronautics includes the launch of a website, www.knowbeforefly.org , and the distribution of safety pamphlets.

Retailers say small drones, which are indistinguishable from today’s more sophisticated model aircraft, are flying off the shelves this Christmas. But the FAA is concerned that amateurs are using the drones in a reckless manner, increasing the likelihood of a collision that could bring down a plane or rain debris down on people.

The FAA is receiving about 25 reports per month of drones sighted flying near manned aircraft.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Kansas City school district over its punishment of a student who displayed the “Hands up, don’t shoot!” gesture while Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was giving a speech.

Nixon was at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy last month when 14 students held up their hands in protest, the ACLU of Missouri said in a lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of the mother of one of the students. The pose has come to symbolize a movement, even though witnesses offered conflicting accounts of whether 18-year-old Michael Brown had his hands up in surrender when he was killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August.
The lawsuit contends that school administrators ushered the students out of the auditorium, sent them home and threatened them with a 10-day suspension. The district finally settled on a Saturday detention, which the lawsuit says violated the girl’s First Amendment right to free speech.
“School administrators cannot punish students for communications they think will bring negative attention to the school,” Sarah Rossi, the Missouri ACLU’s director of advocacy and policy, said in a written statement. “The First Amendment does not permit that.”

The Kansas City Star reported that the district didn’t comment directly on the lawsuit, but said in an earlier statement that students faced discipline for refusing to obey an administrator’s order to sit down, not for exercising their right to free expression. A district spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
Nixon said at the time of the protest that he understands the students’ concerns. He said they’re “going to be — and need to be — a force, so that we can be a better state and better society after this.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man has been ordered to serve a life sentence with no chance of parole for 50 years in a 2012 killing.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Troy Allen Robinson apologized before he was sentenced Monday for the stabbing death of 43-year-old Oma Bennett. A relative of Bennett yelled out that Robinson wasn’t sorry and was ordered to be quiet.

The Hard 50 sentence was the first imposed in Shawnee County since the Legislature passed a new version of the sentence.

Judge Nancy Parrish called the killing “extremely brutal and senseless.” She also sentenced Robinson to consecutive sentences of 34 months for aggravated burglary and 12 months for misdemeanor theft.

Bennett’s family could have sought restitution, but the prosecution said they didn’t want anything from Robinson.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Keurig is recalling some 7 million of single-serve coffee brewing machines because of reported burns.

Keurig says its Mini Plus Brewing Systems, with model number K10, can overheat and spray water during brewing. Keurig says it had received about 200 reports of hot liquid escaping from the brewer, including 90 reports of burn-related injuries.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released details on the recall Tuesday. The recalled brewers have an identification number starting with “31” printed on the bottom. They were sold online and in stores in the U.S. and Canada between 2009 and 2014.

Consumers are being urged to call Keurig Green Mountain Inc. of Waterbury, Vermont, at 1-844-255-7886 to arrange for free repair.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Department of Transportation is using a nearly $1 million federal grant to apply a surface treatment that is designed to reduce stopping distance and loss of control.

The Columbia Daily Tribune  reports that the high-friction treatment will be applied on seven projects throughout the state. The treatment gets results on curves, loop ramps and other areas where skid-related crashes are more likely to occur.

Missouri was one of six states chosen to divvy up a $5.37 million award from the Federal Highway Administration as part of its Accredited Innovation Deployment Demonstration program. Ultimately, the program will provide $30 million for agencies in every level of government.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says Missouri’s share of the funding is $964,000.