BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in southern Missouri say two people have died in a three-vehicle accident.

The Western Taney County Fire District says the accident shut down Highway F near Branson for more than two hours Tuesday night.

Officials say the people who died were in separate vehicles. They didn’t say what caused the crash.
Troy A. Wilson, 17, Rockaway Beach and Tonya Luna, 46, Merriam Woods, died in the crash.

No charges have been reported. The Missouri Highway Patrol is investigating.

 

 

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A southwest Missouri woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for leaving the scene of an accident after she fatally hit a bicyclist while fleeing from her boyfriend.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 32-year-old Shannon Smith of Buffalo received the punishment in the November 2013 death of 23-year-old Zachary Gibson. She pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident in March.

Authorities say Smith was being chased through Springfield by her boyfriend when she killed Gibson near the Missouri State University campus. Smith tells police she was speeding to get away from 24-year-old Blake Basten. She says Basten had a gun and she was hoping police would stop her.

Basten was also sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in October.

TOPEKA- Two Kansas men were killed in an accident just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1993 Chevy pickup driven by Steven G. Galarneau, 62, Scranton, was westbound on NW 62nd Road at U.S. 75 four miles north of Topeka.

The driver failed to yield at the stop sign and struck a 2011 Ford F350 driven by Leon J. Weber, 56, Yates Center, that was travelling northbound on U.S.75

Galarneau and a passenger David N. Hilleland, 64, Topeka, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call.

Weber and a passenger in the Ford were not injured.
The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have increased their presence at a Kansas high school after rumors circulated that people who were angry about the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old last weekend might seek retaliation.

The Kansas City Star reports Turner School District assistant superintendent Jason Dandoy sent a letter home with parents saying that the school was keeping watch over students, but there wasn’t a credible threat at this time.

The school district says about one-third of the students at the school in Kansas City, Kansas, were absent on Tuesday.

Dandoy says some families chose to pick up their children, though most were going about their school day as normal.

Police say Kahlif L’ron Hampton of Kansas City, Kansas, was shot Friday night and died Sunday.

TOKYO (AP) — Only small fries with that? McDonald’s in Japan has begun limiting the serving size of fries as stocks of spuds run short due to labor disruptions on the U.S. West Coast.

McDonald’s began rationing its fries Wednesday morning. It said prolonged labor negotiations with port workers on the West Coast had made it difficult to meet demand despite an emergency airlift of 1,000 tons of spuds and another extra shipment by sea.

Japanese consume more than 300,000 tons of french fries a year, mostly at fast-food restaurants, and largely made from imports of frozen, processed potatoes. Domestic production has been declining for years, while imports have risen.

McDonald’s has 3,100 outlets in Japan. It also cut prices for set meals to compensate for including only small fries.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A homeless amputee has lost nearly everything he owned — including his prosthetic legs — after a candle he was using to stay warm started a fire in a Topeka storage facility.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the blaze, reported at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday, caused $135,000 in damage at AAA Self Storage. A local advocate for the homeless says the man had been living in the storage units for two months.

Advocate Justyn Hosman says the man lost “everything but himself and his wheelchair.” Hosman says he saw a melted prosthetic leg at the fire scene.

He says the unidentified man lost his legs several years ago when he was struck by a train near the Topeka Rescue Mission.

BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new set of classic films including “Saving Private Ryan” and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ among films being preservedis being inducted into the National Film Registry for long-term preservation.

The Library of Congress is announcing 25 movies selected for preservation this year. The films span the years 1913 to 2004. The selections include such familiar and popular titles as “The Big Lebowski” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory;” others were milestones in film history.

The oldest selection dates to 1913 and is believed to be the earliest surviving feature film starring black actors. Vaudevillian Bert Williams gathered with black performers in New York City to make the film “Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day.” The film was discovered 100 years later in the film vault at the Museum of Modern Art.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — New Kansas House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs has filled three staff positions.

Abbie Hodgson will be the Kansas City Democrat’s chief of staff. She is a Democratic activist from Lawrence who worked in the administrations of Democratic Govs. Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.

Hodgson ran this year for the House seat of outgoing Minority Leader Paul Davis, who lost the governor’s race to Republican incumbent Sam Brownback. Hodgson lost the Democratic primary to Rep.-elect Boog Highberger.

Burroughs tapped Davis’ campaign staff for two aides.

Shelbie Konkel of Haysville will be communications coordinator for Burroughs after serving as Davis’ deputy finance director.

Jake Miller of Kansas City will be Burroughs’ policy and constituent liaison after working as a regional field director for the Davis campaign.

LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating after a student found a handgun magazine containing bullets on an elementary school playground in a Kansas City suburb.

A Blue Valley School District spokeswoman says the child found the .45-caliber magazine with eight bullets during recess on Tuesday. The student brought the magazine to a teacher, who alerted authorities.

Officers from Leawood and the Blue Valley School District searched outside and inside the elementary school and nearby Leawood Middle School. No guns or ammunition were found during the search.