JULIE PACE, Associated Press

MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. will end its outdated approach to Cuba that has failed to advance U.S. interests.

Obama is announcing Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and open economic and travel ties.

Obama says the U.S. is changing its relationship with Cuba. He says it’s the most significant change in U.S. policy toward Cuba in more than 50 years.

Obama says the U.S. will now begin to normalize its relations with Cuba and begin a new chapter. He says the U.S. intends to create more opportunities for Americans and Cubans to work together.

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JULIE PACE, Associated Press
MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has spoken to Cuban President Raul Castro about normalizing full diplomatic relations between the longtime foes.

Senior administration officials say the two leaders spoke by phone Tuesday for more than 45 minutes. It’s the first substantive conversation between U.S. and Cuban leaders since 1961.

The call follows more than a year of secret discussions between the U.S. and Cuban officials. The talks happened in Canada and the Vatican and included personal involvement by Pope Francis.

Obama will discuss the opening of relations with Cuba from the White House Wednesday. The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of Obama’s announcement.

PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shadowy outside groups ran an estimated $25 million in ads to shape state-level elections this year, and their full roster of donors is unlikely to ever be known.

That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity.

While that advertising spending is a small slice of the $850 million spent in statewide races, the amount is still almost twice what outside groups shelled out during the last midterm elections in 2010.

Mysterious groups also ran twice as many ads as they did in 2010, the first election after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the ultra-rich, corporations and unions to quietly bankroll campaigns through anonymous groups.

The state that saw the most ads from opaque groups was Kansas, where Republican Gov. Sam Brownback prevailed in an uphill contest with Democrat Paul Davis. The state saw a total of 34,300 ads through Election Day on Nov. 4. Of those, 11,328 were from nonprofits whose finances can be shielded for years, if not forever.

One of the most prominent outside nonprofits in Kansas was the Alliance for a Free Society. The group incorporated in Delaware in July, meaning its tax disclosures will not be available until 2015 or later. And there’s no telling whether those documents will include the patrons or a list of other similarly vaguely named groups.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The future of Heartland Park Topeka will be in limbo until at least early next year.

The Topeka City Council learned Tuesday that the city staff isn’t expected to recommend a prospective buyer for the racing venue until Jan. 6.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported  the city had announced Monday that it received four proposals to operate the park.

The city voted in August to authorize the purchase of Heartland Park, although it does not intend to run the racetrack.

A subsequent petition drive gained enough signatures to put the matter up for a citywide vote. But the city filed a lawsuit and a Shawnee County judge ruled last month that the petition drive was invalid. That ruling was appealed and is awaiting further court action.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is seeking a special prosecutor for an investigation into allegations that Kansas City Councilman Michael Brooks choked an aide.

Baker said Tuesday a special prosecutor was needed to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest within her office. An assistant county prosecutor, Alissia Canady, is running for Brooks’ 5th District Council seat. Brooks has not yet filed for re-election.

Police have turned over a case file to Jackson County for review.

A law firm is conducting a separate investigation for the city.

Presiding Jackson County Circuit Judge Marco Roldan will appoint the special prosecutor.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission will ask for an outside audit of public funds spent on the Rock Chalk Park sports complex.

The commission also decided Tuesday to delay a $1 million payment for infrastructure for the park in northwest Lawrence. The commission had been criticized for not seeking competitive bids on about $12 million in infrastructure work at the park.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  City Auditor Michael Eglinski will determine the scope of the audit and recommend auditors not connected to the city or the University of Kansas.

Commissioners said they hope the audit will be finished by early February.

Commissioners have said they did not require competitive bids on the project largely because KU Endowment officials objected to the bid process.

A Ferrelview, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court for using four young victims to produce child pornography as part of a nationwide child pornography ring. US Attorney Tammy Dickinson says Raymond M. Appling, 32, of Ferrelview, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 40 years in federal prison without parole.

On March 4, 2014, Appling pleaded guilty to four counts of producing or attempting to produce child pornography. Appling admitted that he took pornographic photos and video of four child victims, which he shared with others.

FBI agents had identified two suspects in Colorado and in San Diego, Calif., that linked Appling to the child pornography ring. Detectives with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department executed a search warrant at Appling’s residence on Feb. 8, 2012, and seized computers, computer media and a camera. In an interview with the detectives, Appling identified a third member of the child pornography ring located in Pennsylvania. The other members of the child pornography ring are being prosecuted in those jurisdictions.

Appling admitted that he took a child victim, identified as Jane Doe #1, to visit the San Diego suspect, whom he knew had a sexual attraction to minors. Appling also took pornographic photos of Jane Doe #1 when she was eight years old.

Appling also took photos of a second child victim, identified as Jane Doe #2. Appling took photos of Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 together in the shower. Jane Doe #2 also told investigators that she had met the San Diego suspect at Appling’s home.

Appling took photos of a third child victim, identified as Jane Doe #3, while she was asleep on his couch. A series of photos depicts Appling moving Jane Doe #3’s clothes so that she is exposed, and Appling touching her.

Appling also produced a movie of a 12-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #4, while she was undressing and getting ready to take a shower.

Officials uncovered other, fragmented evidence of multiple child porn images, videos, and chats.

JULIE PACE, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Obama administration official says Cuba has released American Alan Gross, who has been imprisoned for five years.

The official says Gross has departed Cuba on a US government plane bound for the United States. He was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States, the official said.

The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly by name.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Canine inhabitants of downtown Kansas City will have a new place to exercise next year.

The Kansas City Star  reports that bids will go out early next year for a 1.5-acre off-leash dog area. It will include fencing, a curved path, stone staircase, new trees and benches. Construction should begin in the spring. The park is expected to open later in the year after the new grass is well established.

The parks department says a separate fundraising effort is underway to create another smaller off-leash area at a different location.

WASHINGTON (AP) — He may be president now, but Barack Obama says he’s a black man who has been mistaken for the valet.

Obama tells People magazine that every black professional male his age has had someone hand over their keys while waiting outside a restaurant. That happened to him, he said.

First lady Michelle Obama says her husband also used to have trouble catching cabs and once was mistaken for a waiter at a black-tie party. She says even when she went to Target as first lady, a fellow shopper asked her to get something from a shelf.

The president says racial relations have gotten better, but more progress is needed.

He says the small indignities they have experienced pale in comparison to young men who have been mistaken for criminals just for being “dressed the way teenagers dress.”