KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A consultant says the Jackson County jail in Kansas City, Missouri, is in a crisis meriting swift action because it can’t retain enough corrections officers to control a dangerous situation.

The Kansas City Star reports that CRA Inc.’s Jim Rowenhorst’s assessment to county legislators Thursday comes as one corrections officer was in charge of 130 inmates, and when two corrections officers were overseeing 190 inmates.

The county last year raised wages to $12.60 an hour, which hasn’t kept the lockup from running below minimum staffing.

As Jackson County Circuit Court’s presiding judge, John Torrence says the situation is so bad that judges and lawyers cannot count on defendants getting to court for legal proceedings because there is no one to escort them to the courthouse.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are trying to determine who placed a hidden camera at a movie theater in west Wichita.

Police officer Paul Cruz says an employee of the Palace Theatre reported finding the camera late Saturday.

Cruz says the camera had footage from one of the theater’s bathrooms. At least one victim, a minor, has been identified.

Police have identified a potential suspect but have made no arrests.

Further information was not released.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri man faces a decade to life in prison after being convicted of playing a leading role in a drug plot that authorities say brought more than a ton of marijuana to St. Louis and Boston.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a federal jury found 31-year-old Thomas G. Anderson Jr. of St. Louis County guilty Wednesday of conspiracy counts related to drug trafficking and money laundering.

Prosecutors say Anderson led a conspiracy that bought marijuana in California, and that his co-conspirators had it shipped, driven or flown to St. Louis and Boston.

Anderson’s lawyer, Justin Gelfand, told jurors Wednesday that his client wasn’t the kingpin portrayed by prosecutors but was blamed by co-defendants and others in a bid for leniency.

Anderson’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 21.

KENNETT, Mo. (AP) — A southeastern Missouri man is facing a felony animal-abuse count after allegedly purposely letting his dog kill a cat by tearing it in half.

Dunklin County prosecutors also have charged Zachary Burns of Kennett with felony harassment.

The Kennett Humane Department says a woman told police July 25 that she saw Burns grab her cat and let his dog attack and kill the animal while Burns held the cat by its hind legs. The victim told police she could not stop Burns, who thought the killing of the cat “was funny.”

The dog had survived being shot by a Kennett officer in 2016 after the officer said it tried to attack him.

Online court records don’t show if Burns has an attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Low oil prices and the high cost of extracting Canadian oil are casting new doubts on the Keystone XL pipeline as project developer TransCanada faces its final regulatory hurdle in Nebraska.

After nine years of protests, lawsuits and political wrangling that saw the Obama administration reject Keystone XL only to have President Donald Trump revive it, the economics of the project have worsened. Shippers have also found other ways to transport oil.

Project opponents say they’re not letting their guard down and will continue to protest.

Officials with Calgary-based TransCanada will try to persuade the Nebraska Public Service Commission to approve the pipeline during a series of hearings that start Monday. The company says it will decide whether to proceed with the pipeline in late November or early December.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is taking a first step toward entering the race for U.S. Senate.

Hawley spokesman Scott Paradise on Wednesday confirmed the Republican will launch an exploratory committee this week for a possible challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Big-name Missouri Republicans and donors coalesced around Hawley as a favored candidate to challenge McCaskill. She’s among 10 Senate Democrats running in states won by President Donald Trump.

An exploratory committee will allow Hawley to start raising money for a bid before he announces a final decision.

While he had close to $1 million in his state campaign coffers at the end of June from his 2016 race for attorney general, he can’t use that money on a federal race.

McCaskill is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the 2018 election.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new federal lawsuit has accused the Nebraska State Patrol of forcing female recruits to submit to invasive, medically unnecessary pelvic exams before they can be hired.

State Trooper Brienne Splittgerber filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the patrol, the state and various other people, accusing them of creating a hostile work environment for women.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, saying women recruits for years have been required to undress from the waist down for a vaginal and rectal exam. The lawsuit says Splittgerber was told the exam was required to check for hernias, but male recruits were generally not required to undress or undergo such invasive exams.

The lawsuit says Splittgerber sued after her complaints about the exams went unanswered or investigated by officials.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ prisons chief says a staffing shortage constitutes an emergency at a maximum-security lockup that has seen several recent inmate disturbances, requiring mandatory overtime and shifts as long as 16 hours.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood made that pronouncement in a Tuesday letter to an employee union in rejecting a grievance over long hours at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.

Mandatory overtime and extended hours are allowed in emergencies under the department’s agreement with the Kansas Organization of State Employees, the union representing prison workers.

The prison moved to 12-hour shifts in June and the union later filed a grievance saying some workers were being required to work 16-hour shifts. The union’s director says the department deliberately held off on declaring an emergency until Tuesday.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Springfield woman who stole mail from at least 40 people in three Missouri counties was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison without parole.

Federal prosecutors say 29-year-old Lisa Beatrice Gee was sentenced Wednesday. She also was ordered to pay nearly $11,000 in restitution to her victims.

Gee pleaded guilty in March to passing a forged check, credit card fraud and stealing mail. She admitted she had mail stolen from at least 40 people in Green, Christian and Polk counties. She stole the mail herself or directed other people to do so, and took checks, credit cards, Social Security cards and personal identification cards belonging to the victims.

Gee used those stolen documents to conduct fraudulent financial transactions.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Special elections will be held Nov. 7 to fill vacant Missouri state Senate and House seats.

Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Monday set the election date for seats including former Sen. Will Kraus’ now vacant Kansas City-area district.

The Republican resigned from the Senate Monday to accept an appointment by Greitens to the State Tax Commission. The district covers Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.

Voters will also choose replacements for former Reps. Randy Dunn and Tila Hubrecht.

Kansas City Democrat Dunn resigned in May to take a job in Omaha, Nebraska, as the executive director of a community development organization.

Republican Hubrecht left her seat in June to work as a nurse. She represented the 151st district in southeast Missouri and lived in Dexter.