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Services set for slain Kansas officer

Capt. Robert Melton
Capt. Robert Melton

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Funeral services have been scheduled for a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer killed in the line of duty.

Capt. Robert Melton was shot and killed Tuesday while looking for suspects in an earlier drive-by shooting. Two suspects are in custody but formal charges haven’t been filed.

The police department said Wednesday in a release that visitation for Melton is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the city’s civic center. His funeral is Saturday morning at Children’s Mercy Park.

The department says Melton will be buried immediately after the service at the Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Iowa men expected to change not guilty pleas in Pokemon case

Pokemon World Championships logoBOSTON (AP) — Two Iowa men accused of bringing guns and ammunition to Boston after allegedly making online threats against the Pokemon World Championships are expected to change their not guilty pleas. James Stumbo, of Boone, and Kevin Norton, of Ames, are scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Thursday for a change-of-plea hearing. The men pleaded not guilty after they were arrested last year on five weapons charges.

Authorities say the men made online threats before driving 25 hours to Boston to attend the Pokemon event in Boston last August. Prosecutors say they had an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and nearly 300 rounds of ammunition in their car. They were arrested while trying to register for the event.

The men’s lawyers have said that the online remarks were just idle chatter.

Vandals spray-paint at Kansas park, reference Pokemon

Great Plains Nature CenterWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say vandals have spray-painted signs and wetlands boardwalks at a Wichita park, referencing “Pokemon Go” with some of their images.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the damage at Chisholm Creek Park was done Monday night.

Officials say the vandals also spray-painted names. Great Plains Nature Center director Jim Mason says those names have been reported to police.

Park staff had put out a sign welcoming “Pokemon Go” players and asking them to visit the center, located at the park, and sign up as volunteers.

The damage has disappointed park officials and some “Pokemon Go” players in Wichita who have played the game at the 282-acre park and volunteered to pick up trash while playing.

St. Louis man acquitted in shooting death of neighbor

Glynn Smith
Glynn Smith
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri jury has cleared a man in the 2013 shooting death of a neighbor whose body was found in her car’s truck in Illinois nearly a month after she went missing.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that jurors deliberated about two hours before acquitting 42-year-old Glynn Smith of first-degree murder and armed criminal action counts.

Smith was accused of killing 50-year-old Sybil Ann Brandon in Smith’s apartment in November 2013 after a night of partying.

Brandon’s body was found 25 days later in her abandoned car’s trunk in Madison, Illinois. The newspaper reports that the prosecution’s case hinged heavily on testimony of Clarence Hill, who told jurors he was an alcoholic, homeless and sometimes struggled to remember things.

AB InBev says it has US approval for SABMiller merger

Anheuser-Busch Brewery at St. Louis. Photo courtesy wikipedai
Anheuser-Busch Brewery at St. Louis. Photo courtesy wikipedai

NEW YORK (AP) — Anheuser-Busch InBev says it has reached an agreement with the Justice Department that clears the way for U.S. approval of its merger with SABMiller.

The maker of Budweiser and Bud Light says it will sell SABMiller’s interest in MillerCoors to Molson Coors, as previously announced, as part of the agreement. AB InBev is selling brands in other parts of the world to ease concerns that it would have too much control of the market.

AB InBev says it has approval in 21 jurisdictions including Africa and Latin America, and is working with authorities where the deal is still pending. The European Union’s regulator gave approval in May, conditional on the sale of practically the entire SAB beer business in Europe.

The company expects the deal to close later this year.

Panera sues former executive, Papa John’s over trade secrets

Panera logoST. LOUIS (AP) — The restaurant chain Panera alleges in a lawsuit that a former executive who left to go to work for pizza chain Papa John’s took trade secrets with him.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis names both former Panera executive Michael Nettles and Louisville, Kentucky-based Papa John’s International.

The lawsuit says Nettles worked for four years as a vice president in Panera’s information technology department, with access to highly sensitive confidential and proprietary information and trade secrets. He began work for Papa John’s on Monday. Suburban St. Louis-based Panera says Nettles’ new position violates a confidentiality and non-compete agreement.

Papa John’s issued a statement saying it’s disappointed in the lawsuit and does not consider Panera a competitor.

Man admits role in Kansas bank heist with tot in getaway SUV

Bank robbery crime policeKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man has admitted in federal court that he played a role in robbing a Kansas bank before leading police on a high speed chase with a co-defendant’s toddler in the getaway car.

Thirty-nine-year-old Gary Jordan of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty Wednesday to bank robbery and gun charges.

A co-defendant, 18-year-old Jacob L. Smith of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty last week to bank robbery and weapons felonies.

Authorities say Jordan and Smith were armed when they held up the Stilwell bank in March, then fled into Missouri with law enforcers in pursuit. Smith was accused of firing shots during the chase and Jordan of trying to carjack another vehicle after the wreck.

The toddler belonging to another co-defendant now awaiting trial wasn’t hurt.

Cows in labor send texts to dairy researchers

cowxDURHAM, N.H. (AP) — University of New Hampshire dairy researchers are more relaxed these days about monitoring pregnant cows: A sensor attached to their tails sends text alerts to help detect when they’re in labor.

Moocall measures tail movement patterns triggered by labor contractions. On average, it alerts dairy managers by cellphone and email about an hour before a cow gives birth.

Moocall was developed in Ireland and released commercially last year. The company says the University of Kentucky also uses the technology.

Doctoral student Kayla Aragona says with about 70 calves are born every year at the farm, it’s a help.

But it’s not foolproof. One unhappy cow rubbed her tail up against everything and banged the sensor on the wall to try to get it to fall off, leading to false alarms.

Slain Kansas cop was in honor guard at funeral

Capt. Robert Melton
Capt. Robert Melton

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, police captain who was gunned down while looking for a suspect in a drive-by shooting was a member of the department’s honor guard at the funeral for a fellow officer who was fatally shot near Kansas City two months ago.

Police say Capt. Robert Melton was shot in his car Tuesday after driving up to someone who matched the description of a suspect in a drive-by shooting. The suspected shooter is in custody.

Melton’s LinkedIn profile says he served in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan from September 2010 to March 2012.

He also was a member of the honor guard at the funeral for detective Brad Lancaster, who fatally was shot near Kansas Speedway on May 9.

Melton was honored Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, with a moment of silence before before the Royals game against Cleveland.

Kansas set to lose about $800K in arts funding

National Endowment for the Arts NEA logoTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is set to miss out on about $800,000 in arts funding this year because state spending doesn’t meet a minimum set by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the state is about $250,000 short of the minimum needed to receive federal matching funds for the NEA. Kansas allocated $191,000 in arts funding for this fiscal year.

The executive director of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission says losing more than $400,000 in federal matching funds will limit the amount of grants the commission can award this year. The loss of NEA funding has resulted in the loss of other arts funding, bringing the total to $800,000.

The Mid-America Arts Alliance announced it would suspend Kansas’ memberships earlier this month. One of its requirements is that states must meet the NEA minimum.

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