GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in western Kansas say a gunman who held Finney County’s chief judge and his wife hostage over a child custody matter eventually surrendered and the two were released unharmed.

Authorities say the standoff began shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday, when the armed suspect forced his way into 61-year-old Wendell Wurst’s Garden City home and confronted the couple.

Garden City Police Chief Michael Utz says the suspect ordered Wurst to the ground and bound the judge’s hands. Utz says Wurst’s 62-year-old wife was allowed to use the bathroom, where she called police on her cellphone. She was later released.

The standoff ended more than five hours later, at which time Wurst was freed.

Police say the suspect was upset over a custody case Wurst handled.

There was no immediate word about any charges resulting from the incident.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are preparing to consider overriding Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill enmeshed in a multi-million dollar tax dispute involving a retired pizza magnate.

The Republican-dominated Legislature expected to take up the issue Wednesday before formally adjourning their annual session.

The GOP governor rejected the bill over a provision dealing with how tax disputes are handled.

The provision would have ensured that any taxpayer losing a dispute before the Board of Tax Appeals could have another full trial in district court before a limited review by the state Court of Appeals.

Legislators are considering the issue as ex-pizza magnate Gene Bicknell is asking the state Supreme Court to order the state to refund $42.5 million in income taxes.

Overriding the veto would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City woman has admitted in court that she stole tens of thousands of dollars of stolen clothing and merchandise she was peddling out of her nearly $1 million home.

Forty-six-year-old Kelli Bauer of Overland Park, Kansas, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Johnson County to a felony theft charge. It alleged she stole between $25,000 and $100,000.

Bauer also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor theft counts.

Bauer was charged last year after police found stolen merchandise in her home during a search prompted her Facebook posting for the private sale of more than 1,000 pieces of “high-end” women’s clothing.

As part of the investigation, detectives also followed Bauer and said they saw her stealing items from several stores.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 20.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican leaders are saying Kansas lawmakers could consider an education funding proposal Wednesday in response to a recent state Supreme Court decision.

Senate President Susan Wagle initially said Tuesday that she and other leaders of the GOP-dominated Legislature did not plan to take up education funding issues.

Lawmakers planned to convene Wednesday for a ceremony formally adjourning their annual session. But top Republican legislators emerged from a private meeting with GOP Gov. Sam Brownback unsure of their plans.

If lawmakers didn’t act Wednesday, Brownback would have to call a special session to consider additional school funding fixes.

The court on Friday rejected some changes made earlier this year by legislators. The justices gave lawmakers until June 30 to respond or face the possibility that schools would remain closed.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is pushing a bill she says is aimed at helping World War II veterans exposed to mustard gas.

McCaskill on Tuesday announced legislation to require federal agencies to reconsider disability claims denied to those veterans.

The Democrat says the military tested the effects of mustard gas and the blister agent lewisite on about 60,000 service members by the end of WWII.

Those veterans were sworn to secrecy until 1991. Since then, McCaskill says some have struggled to receive compensation for health issues caused by exposure.

McCaskill’s office says about 90 percent of applicants for benefits have been denied by the Veterans Affairs Department. They estimate a couple hundred veterans are still alive.

Requests for comment by The Associated Press to the federal agency weren’t immediately returned.

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a Missouri man died when his ultralight plane crash in northeast Missouri.

The patrol says the plane belonging to 68-year-old Dean Wagner of Belgrade, Missouri, went down Monday evening in a field near Potosi in Washington County.

Sgt. Al Nothum says witnesses told authorities Wagner was doing stunts with his one-seater, single-engine aircraft when one of the wings malfunctioned and the plane went down.

An ATV crash in Kansas claimed the life of the driver after his vehicle hit a deer on a rural road.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identifies the victim as 29-year-old Trevor Allen McCoy of Meeker, Colorado. The accident happened early Sunday morning in Elk County, Kansas.

A crash report says Mr McCoy was travelling on Quail Road near Road 32 when his ATV struck a deer in the roadway. McCoy was ejected when his vehicle rolled. He was prounounced dead at the scene.

TIPTON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri state authorities say they are investigating a weekend shooting death involving a 19-year-old man in central Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Robert Ashbaugh died Saturday night at a house in Tipton in Moniteau County.

The patrol believes Ashbaugh was shot during another person’s horseplay with a gun.

There was no immediate report Monday of any charges or arrests. The patrol is investigating at the request of Tipton police.