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Syrian refugees have begun settling in Nebraska

Nebraska State Seal
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Families of refugees from Syria have begun settling in Nebraska over the past two months.

The Omaha World-Herald reports 48 Syrian refugees have quietly moved into Nebraska with the help of relief agencies. Just last month more than 2,400 Syrian refugees arrived in the United States.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts continues to question whether federal authorities are doing enough to check the backgrounds of refugees, but he acknowledges that he has no power to stop their arrival. Federal officials have defended the security procedures they are using.

The refugees that arrived recently are still adjusting to Nebraska. Faedah Karbouj says she has been impressed with how friendly the people of Omaha are.

Missouri community looks for economic boost from gun plant

bullets rifle ammunition KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A small Missouri community steeped in Civil War history and small-town charm hopes a gun-making plant can boost its economy after a decade of manufacturing job losses.

CMMG is seeking a $200,000 forgivable loan from Boonville so it can move its operations from rural Fayette, half an hour to the north. Boonville economic development director Jim Gann says most people in the heavily Republican community support bringing in the plant and its 52 high-paying jobs.

Opponents say having a factory that makes AR-15 semi-automatic rifles goes against the town’s long-cultivated tourism image. City Councilwoman Susan Meadows says she’s opposed morally because she doesn’t think the weapons should be available to the public.

Gann says CMMG would have an annual economic impact on the community of nearly $5 million.

Baton Rouge shooter identified as KC man

wpid-police-850054_1280-1-150x150.jpgBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation into the shooting deaths of three Baton Rouge police officers says the shooter has been identified as Gavin Long.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Multiple news agencies are reporting Long was from Kansas City, Mo.

The official did not have any other details on Long.

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4:20 p.m.

President Barack Obama is calling on Americans to lower avoid “overheated” rhetoric and focus on unifying words following the fatal shooting of three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Obama is delivering a statement about the shooting from the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. He says as of now, the killer’s motive is unclear. He says officials don’t know whether the killer was targeting police or killed them down as they responded to a call.

Obama is noting that the shooting and other recent incidents in Texas and elsewhere come just before the Republican and Democratic conventions are set to begin. He says that’s a time when rhetoric tends to get hotter than usual. Obama says the U.S. doesn’t need “careless accusations” intended to score points but should instead try to “temper our words.”

He says attacks like the one in Baton Rouge are happening far too often and constitute an attack on the rule of law.

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4:15 p.m.

According to radio traffic, Baton Rouge police answered a report of a man with an assault rifle and were met by gunfire — and for several long minutes, didn’t know where it was coming from.

Three law enforcement officers were killed and three wounded, one critically. Police say the suspect was shot and killed at the scene.

The radio exchanges were made public Sunday by the website Broadcastify.

Nearly 2½ minutes after the first “Officer down!” report, an officer on the scene is heard saying they don’t know the shooter’s location.

A statement that the location is known comes nearly six minutes after the first shots are reported.

About 30 seconds later, someone says shots are still being fired.

The recording lasts about 17 minutes and includes urgent calls for an armored personnel carrier called a BearCat.

It does not include word that the gunman is dead.

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Online: http://www.broadcastify.com/news/20

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4:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton condemned the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge.

In a statement on Sunday afternoon the Democratic presidential nominee said, “There is no justification for violence, for hate, for attacks on men and women who put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and communities.”

Clinton said that violence must be rejected to “strengthen our communities.”

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4:55 p.m.

A spokesman for the Louisiana state police says they believe the gunman who killed three officers in Baton Rouge was the only shooter but that officials are unsure whether he had accomplices.

Major Doug Cain said Sunday, “we are not ready to say he acted alone.”

Cain says two people had been detained in another town called Addis, which is near Baton Rouge, and called them “persons of interests.”

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4:20 p.m.

The governor of Louisiana says the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge was unjustified.

Gov. John Bell Edwards told media Sunday afternoon that the gunman committed, “an absolutely unspeakable, heinous attack.”

Edward says the hatred has got to stop.

Three officers are confirmed dead in the attack outside a store in Baton Rouge about a mile from police headquarters early Sunday morning. Three others are injured. The gunman was fatally shot.

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4:10 p.m.

Police say there is no active shooter in Baton Rouge where three police officers were killed Sunday morning.

Col. Mike Edmonson told media, “We believe that the person who shot and killed our officers that he was the person that was shot and killed at the scene.

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3:45 p.m.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, responding to the police shootings Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, says there is no place in the United States for such appalling violence.

In a statement issued Sunday, Lynch says she condemns the shooting deaths of three officers and the wounding of several others “in the strongest possible terms.” She also is pledging the full support of the Justice Department as the investigation unfolds.

The attorney general says Agents from the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are on the scene, and Justice Department will make available victim services and federal funding support, and provide investigative assistance to the fullest extent possible.

Lynch says everyone’s hearts and prayers are with the fallen and wounded officers, their families and the entire Baton Rouge community in “this extraordinarily difficult time.”

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2:15 p.m.

A witness tells WAFB-TV (http://www.wafb.com/) that he saw a masked man in black shorts and shirt running from the scene where three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers were shot and killed.

Brady Vancel says the man looked like a pedestrian running with a rifle in his hand, rather than someone trained to move with a rifle.

Vancel says he’d gone to work on a flooring job on a street behind the gas station where authorities say the shooting occurred. He said he heard semi-automatic fire and perhaps a handgun.

He saw a man in a red shirt lying in an empty parking lot and “another gunman running away as more shots were being fired back and forth from several guns.”

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1:45 p.m.

Republican Donald Trump is blaming a “lack of leadership” for Sunday’s shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Trump says in a statement posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages that “We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today.”

Three officers are dead and three others wounded after the shooting less than one mile from local police headquarters.

Trump is placing the blame on a lack of leadership and is demanding “law and order.”

He asks, “How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country? We demand law and order.”

The violence comes less than a month after a pair of police shootings prompted the assassination of five police officers in Dallas.

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1:40 p.m.

The nephew of a Baton Rouge man shot and killed last week says he condemns the shooting deaths of three law enforcement officers.

Terrance Carter spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday by telephone from his work. He said the family just wants things to be peaceful and said his uncle, Alton Sterling, would not want this.

Authorities said that three law enforcement officers were shot to death early Sunday. Three others were wounded. One suspect was also shot and killed, and authorities are still searching for two more.

It was not immediately clear why the officers were shot.

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12:15 p.m.

Police in Baton Rouge say a gas station not far from police headquarters is where three law enforcement officers were shot to death early Sunday. One suspect was also shot and killed.

Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely Jr. says the shooting took place outside and possibly inside the B-Quik convenience store on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

He says the suspect’s body was found next door, outside of a fitness center.

Three other law enforcement officers were injured. Authorities believe two suspects may still be at large.

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12:45 p.m.

A spokesman for the Louisiana governor says that the governor is at the hospital where police officers were taken following a shooting in Baton Rouge.

Richard Carbo told The Associated Press that Gov. John Bel Edwards was meeting Sunday with officers and their families.

The city is on high alert after three officers were shot and killed Sunday morning. Three others have been wounded in the Louisiana shooting.

A sheriff’s spokesman in Baton Rouge said earlier that one suspect is dead and two others are believed to be at large.

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12:20 p.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has asked to be updated throughout the day as more details become available.

The White House has been in contact with local officials in Baton Rouge and offered any assistance necessary.

Obama spent most of last week focused on trying to reduce tensions and helping build trust between police and the communities they serve.

Obama attended a memorial service for five Dallas police officers last week and also led a nearly four-hour meeting featuring dozens of leaders from police organizations, community activists and elected officials.

He also spoke by telephone to the families of two black men shot in separate incidents in Baton Rouge and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

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11:45 a.m.

Police in Louisiana say they are using a specialized robot to check for explosives near the body of a suspect who was shot and killed in Baton Rouge early Sunday.

The suspect is believed to have been involved in the shooting of law enforcement officers in the Louisiana city early Sunday. Three officers are dead and three are hospitalized with injuries. The shooting occurred less than 1 mile from police headquarters.

Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean Mckneely Jr. says authorities do not have an immediate indication that explosives are present.

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11:25 a.m.

Authorities say three law enforcement officers have been killed and three have been injured in a shooting in Louisiana.

A sheriff’s spokesman in Baton Rouge also said that one suspect is dead and two others are believed to be at large.

Spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks issued a statement asking the public to report anything suspicious in the area to 911. Officers and deputies from the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office were involved in the Sunday morning shooting that took place less than 1 miles from police headquarters.

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9:55 a.m.

Police in Louisiana say that more than one officer has been shot in Baton Rouge.

The shooting happened early Sunday, less than 1 mile from police headquarters.

Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola did not know the extent of the injuries or the precise number of officers injured.

He said that authorities believe the “scene is contained,” meaning that a shooter was unlikely on the loose.

Virgin Mobile USA to establish headquarters in Kansas City

virgin mobileKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A communications company that specializes in prepaid wireless service has announced it will open a headquarters in Missouri and create more than 50 new jobs.

Virgin Mobile USA says it’s still scouting out potential office space in downtown Kansas City and is actively recruiting candidates for a number of positions, including executive. It expects to have its office finished and staffed by the end of the year.

Virgin Mobile is affiliated with Sprint Corp., which is based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company’s decision to expand into Missouri is part of a plan to relaunch the brand under Sprint.

The state is working with Virgin Mobile on possible incentives contingent upon the company meeting its projection of 84 new jobs within the next five years.

Measure to reopen raced-based murders passes Senate

court, judgeWASHINGTON (AP) — A law designed to extend federal and state reviews of “cold cases” of racially motivated killings during the civil rights era is one step closer to being renewed.

A unanimous Senate voted Thursday evening to permanently renew a 2007 law that calls for a full accounting of race-based murders, many of which had been closed for decades.

More than 100 cases from the 1960s and earlier have been checked out, with one conviction. But new racially suspicious murders have been identified for investigation.

North Carolina GOP Sen. Richard Burr and Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill sponsored the measure, which now heads to the House.

The bill is named after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy murdered in 1955 after whistling at a white woman.

Trump chooses Pence as running mate

Mike Pence
Mike Pence
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump says on Twitter that he’s picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.

Trump says he’ll hold a news conference on Saturday morning.

Trump had originally planned to announce his running mate on Friday. But he delayed the announcement because of the attacks in Nice, France, late Thursday.

Pence had already flown to New York before Trump announced the postponement.

Missouri couple accused of riding naked on stolen mower arrested

mowerJOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a couple accused of riding naked on a stolen lawn mower northwest of Joplin.

Jasper County Det. Tim Williams said the 55-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman admitted that they rode the lawn mower home naked after their clothes were stolen while they were skinny dipping in a creek. The Joplin Globe reports that authorities arrested them Tuesday morning on suspicion of stealing after finding them at a house with the riding mower parked in the front yard.

Williams said an investigation determined that the lawn mower did not belong to either of them. No charges had been filed as of Friday morning.

Man says Westar Energy undervalued itself in sale

Westar logo squareTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A class-action lawsuit has been filed saying that Westar Energy executives undervalued the company when selling it to Great Plains Energy.

Westar’s board of directors agreed to sell the company for about $12.2 billion on May 29. According to the agreement, stockholders will receive $51 in cash and $9 in Great Plains stock.

Westar stockholder Troy Miller says that is unacceptable and filed the suit against the two companies and eight executives Wednesday. Miller says Westar’s stock price increased 55 percent in the year before its sale, but the $60 stock price Great Plains paid is only a 13 percent increase in Westar’s stock price.

He says Great Plains will get an increasingly valuable company, but will pay much less than what it is worth.

Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig says the company cannot comment on pending litigation.

Trade, opioid crisis on agenda as governors meet in Iowa

National Governors AssociationDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governors from across the U.S. are expected to discuss international trade and the opioid crisis when they meet in Iowa on Friday.

About half of the nation’s governors are in Des Moines for the summer meeting of the National Governors Association.

A bipartisan group of governors is expected to join with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to call for the passage of the Trans Pacific Partnership. They say the proposed trade agreement with several countries bordering the Pacific Ocean would increase exports and create jobs.

Governors also will hear from experts on the spiking number of overdose deaths caused by addiction to prescription pain relievers and heroin, and discuss their plans to respond. They signed a compact earlier this week pledging to fight the problem.

Appeals court sets September hearing in voting rights case

BallotWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in September in an appeal that could affect the voting rights of thousands of voters in Kansas, Georgia and Alabama in upcoming elections.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday set a Sept. 8 hearing date in the case of a U.S. election official who, without public notice, required documentary proof of citizenship on a national voter registration form used by residents of the three states.

The court a day earlier had set deadlines for July and early August for the parties to submit written filings.

A judge in Washington, D.C., sided last month against voting rights advocates who seek a temporary order overturning the move by Brian Newby, executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

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