TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An attorney for a Missouri-based utility is telling Kansas regulators that its proposal to buy their state’s largest electric company will result in significant savings that will keep rates in check for customers.

But the Kansas Corporation Commission also heard arguments Monday from attorneys strongly criticizing Great Plains Energy’s proposal to purchase Topeka-headquartered Westar Energy. Great Plains is the parent of Kansas City Power & Light.

The acquisition would create an electric company with 1.5 million customers straddling both sides of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Great Plains would assume $3.6 billion in Westar debt.

Attorney Rob Hack argued on behalf of Great Plains and Westar that the deal provides long-term benefits to consumers.

But the commission’s staff and consumer advocates contend the deal is not good for consumers.

Donors motivated by a well-timed tweet have raised thousands of dollars to pay off school lunch debt in districts around the country.

It started when New York City writer Ashley C. Ford read that kids with unpaid lunch accounts are often embarrassed with a substitute meal of a cold cheese sandwich. She appealed to her 66,000 Twitter followers with a solution in early December: Ask if your school has kids with overdue lunch accounts, and pay off the debts.

The tweet resonated. In Minnesota, an online fundraising effort has paid almost $100,000 in lunch debt in Minneapolis schools and $28,000 in St. Paul’s. Donors also stepped forward in Kansas, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Indiana and upstate New York.

Ford says she hopes the acts will inspire more community giving.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and Major League Baseball have raised enough money to fund an Urban Youth Academy sports complex in Kansas City.

Officials said last week the entire project near the historic 18th and Vine district should be finished by September or October.

Construction on the complex designed to attract urban boys and girls to baseball and softball began last April. The project’s cost has grown from $14 million to $19 million but supporters were told at a public meeting that fundraising is complete.

Architect Justin Cox said the complex will have baseball fields, a softball field, basketball courts, tennis courts, bleachers and a walking trail. It also will have multipurpose building to provide a year-round free academy for classes and activities.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A large crowd gathered at Kansas City International Airport to protest President Donald Trump’s suspension of refugee entry into the U.S.

Hundreds of people rallied at the airport on Sunday, with many chanting: “Say it loud, say it clear: Refugees are welcome here!”

Airport officials said they were aware of the protest but didn’t issue any further statement.

Trump’s executive order temporarily bars citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. The order has sparked protests around the country.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — More than a hundred Fort Riley soldiers are helping University of Kansas researchers study how intense running affects wounded soldiers with mild traumatic brain injury.

David Johnson, who is leading a two-year study, says many soldiers have significant problems with traumatic brain injuries. Many of the injuries are caused by improvised explosive devices and other blasts.

Clinical trials will assess whether intensive cardiorespiratory exercise helps wounded warriors recover from mild traumatic brain injury. Johnson’s premise is that aerobic exercise helps the brain heal itself. All the soldiers participating in the study have been exposed to major explosions.

Johnson says soldiers will run to improve their aerobic capacity, with a goal of running more miles more quickly.

The research is supported by $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man was killed driving on a highway Thursday when a wheel from a trailer being towed broke loose and struck his windshield, causing him to crash into a concrete barrier.

The Kansas City Star reports the victim has been identified as 67-year-old Michael J. Skali of Kansas City, Missouri.

The Missouri Highway Patrol says Skali was driving southbound on Interstate 435 when the wheel from the trailer going northbound crossed the median and struck Skali’s windshield on the driver’s side. Skali then collided into the barrier on the left side of the road and died at the scene.

The driver of the pickup truck towing the trailer was not hurt. Both men were wearing seat belts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The man who has been the face of a national organization advocating for victims of abuse by clergy, especially those in the Catholic Church, has resigned from the organization.

The Kansas City Star reports that David Clohessy of suburban St. Louis voluntarily resigned Dec. 31 from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

The organization announced Clohessy’s resignation this week, days after a former employee filed a lawsuit claiming SNAP was exploiting sexual abuse victims and receiving kickbacks from attorneys for directing clients their way.

Clohessy called the case “preposterous” and said his resignation was unrelated to the lawsuit.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Another attempt is underway to establish California as a separate nation.

A proposal has been submitted to state election officials that would ask voters to repeal part of the state constitution that declares California an inseparable part of the U.S.

Supporters have been cleared to begin collecting the nearly 600,000 voter signatures needed to place the plan on the ballot.

Similar attempts to divide the state or break it off from the union have failed.