WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Plunging crude prices are hitting oil producers especially hard in Kansas. That is because the oil industry in the state is dominated by small, independent operators who depend heavily on the cash flow from producing wells to pay to drill new ones.

The Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association says the low prices are causing many companies to re-evaluate their drilling plans.

Analysts say the growth in new drilling across the country will slow as drillers avoid rock that is either not well understood or known to be unproductive. At high oil prices, that drilling can be profitable but at low oil prices the drilling is either too risky or unprofitable.

That is particularly true in Kansas, where the majority of oil wells are low-producing.

BILL DRAPER, Associated Press

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor will seek the death penalty for a white supremacist from Missouri who is charged with killing three people at two Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City.

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OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A white supremacist who admits killing three people outside two suburban Kansas City Jewish sites is set to appear in court for a hearing on whether he’s mentally competent to stand trial.

Seventy-three-year-old Frazier Glenn Cross, of Aurora, Missouri, is charged with capital murder in the April 13 shooting deaths of 69-year-old Dr. William Lewis Corporon, 14-year-old Reat Griffin Underwood and 53-year-old Terri LaManno.

A Kansas judge last month ordered Cross to undergo a mental evaluation after his attorneys expressed concerns about his ability to help with his defense.

Cross told The Associated Press last week that one of his attorneys said he passed the evaluation “with flying colors.” Results of the evaluation were to be revealed at a hearing Thursday morning at the Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe, Kansas.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Members of a Catholic parish in Joplin that had its church, rectory and elementary school destroyed in a May 2011 tornado have celebrated Mass at their new church for the first time.

The Joplin Globe reports hundreds of residents on Wednesday packed the new St. Mary’s Catholic Church for a dedication service and its first Mass. The service was led by the Most Rev. James Johnston, bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, and the Rev. Justin Monaghan.

A multimillion dollar fundraising campaign, insurance proceeds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations funded the construction of the new church.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) joined an amicus brief led by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) and co-signed by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (Texas) in support of a lawsuit brought by the State of Texas against President Barack Obama’s illegal amnesty. The brief is also co-signed by a number of members from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Last weekend, Blunt also voted in favor of a constitutional point of order offered by Cruz and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (Utah) against the president’s executive amnesty.

“I agree with the president’s previous 22 comments that he didn’t have the authority to take this action on immigration. I voted with Senator Cruz this weekend to show my disapproval for the president’s executive amnesty, and I am proud to co-sign this amicus brief with Senators Cruz and Cornyn against President Obama’s lawless immigration power grab,” said Blunt.

“As Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate next year, I will continue to fight against this administration’s blatant disregard for the law and the Constitution,” Blunt continued.

In its lawsuit challenging the president’s executive action, the State of Texas argues that President Obama’s executive amnesty violates federal immigration law and usurps Congress’ constitutional authority to set immigration policy.

The amicus brief, filed by the American Center for Law and Justice, makes clear that the president’s executive action “changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding [the president’s] constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers.”

In addition to Blunt, Cruz, and Cornyn, the brief was signed by U.S. Representatives Diane Black (Tenn.), Dave Brat (Va.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), John Fleming (La.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Trent Franks (Ariz.), Bob Goodlatte (Va.), Trey Gowdy (S.C.), Morgan Griffith (Va.), Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Tim Huelskamp (Kans.), Mike Kelly (Pa.), David McKinley (W.Va.), Jeff Miller (Fla.), Alan Nunnelee (Miss.), Pete Olson (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Bill Posey (Fla.), Tom Price (Ga.), Phil Roe (Tenn.), Adrian Smith (Neb.), Lamar Smith (Texas), and Rob Wittman (Va.).

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — After 30 years of operation in Springfield, the Forest Institute for Professional Psychology will close in the fall of 2015. The school also plans to close its smaller operation in St. Louis.

School officials announced in a news release Wednesday that acting school president Gerald Porter will resign, effective Friday, to take another job.

Board of Trustees Chairman Kent Ragan says the school is closing for financial reasons. Current students who are scheduled to earn their degrees by the end of the summer will be able to do so. Ragan says the school will help other students find alternative institutions.

The Springfield News-Leader reports  Forest enrolls about 254 students in degree programs that include a master’s degree, a post-master’s certificate and a doctoral degree in professional practice.

FULTON (AP) – Federal officials are delaying a decision on issuing a 20-year extension for the Callaway County nuclear power plant.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the decision is on hold pending an administrative hearing on an environmental group’s legal challenge regarding spent fuel rod storage.

A decision on extending the license for the Fulton plant was expected this month. The plant’s current operating license is set to expire in 2024. The license renewal would extend the license another 20 years.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports the NRC expects to respond in the next few days to a petition filed by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

A recent lawsuit against the nuclear agency objects to new rules allowing above-ground storage of spent nuclear fuel. The environmental group joined that lawsuit.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford says it’s expanding a recall for faulty driver’s side air bag inflators to the entire U.S. as demanded by the government.

The move adds 447,000 Ford vehicles to the list of those recalled due to driver’s inflators made by Japan’s Takata Corp. The inflators can explode with too much force, spewing shrapnel into drivers and passengers.

Ford’s action puts pressure on BMW and Chrysler, the only two automakers that haven’t agreed to national recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the demand, saying the inflators are dangerous.

Honda and Mazda recalls already are national. Previously the recalls were limited to high-humidity states mainly along the Gulf Coast.

Ford’s national recall covers certain 2005 to 2008 Mustangs and 2005 and 2006 GT sports cars.