WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. safety regulators say people whose cars have been recalled to fix air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. should get the repairs done as soon as possible or face a serious risk of death or injury.

At a public hearing today on the massive recalls, officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said eight people have died and 98 others have been hurt because of inflators that can explode with too much force. Those injured have suffered cuts to the neck, loss of eyesight and hearing and broken teeth.

The agency says it knows of 89 driver’s side and 32 passenger inflator ruptures. Nearly one in 10 ruptures of driver side air bags causes a death.

About 23.4 million Takata driver and passenger air bag inflators have been recalled on 19.2 million U.S. vehicles sold by 12 auto and truck makers.

The agency is moving toward taking over management of the massive recalls to speed up repairs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has agreed to slash how much money companies can charge for phone calls made from jails and prisons.

The agency voted Thursday to cap rates on all local, in-state long distance, interstate and international calls. The changes go further than restrictions adopted two years ago that limited rates on inmate calls from one state to another.

The changes will take effect in prisons early next year and in jails by mid-2016.

Under the changes, most inmate calls will cost no more than $1.65 for 15 minutes. Fees and other costs that increased calls’ cost also will be limited.

Inmates’ families and attorneys fought for the changes.

Phone companies had argued that the calls require costly security features. Prison and jail operators benefited from profit-sharing commissions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Jim Comey says the agency used its aircraft above Ferguson, Missouri, last year to help local law enforcement keep track of unrest on the ground.

Comey did not go into details during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday, including how long the surveillance lasted.

But in response to questioning, he did say that the FBI uses airplanes during investigations of specific suspects in criminal, terrorism and espionage investigations and to help local police during emergencies.

He said the FBI never uses its planes for mass surveillance. When planes are flown above large crowds and gatherings at the request of local law enforcement, the purpose is to look for violence and trouble spots. A plane was also flown above riots in Baltimore last April.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A longtime Kansas State University employee has filed a lawsuit claiming the school discriminated against him because he is an Iranian-born Muslim who was in line for promotion to an associate vice president post.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Abdullah “Abe” Fattaey worked at Kansas State from 1971 until 2014. A federal lawsuit filed earlier this month claims he was terminated after a concerted effort by top university officials to get rid of him.

Fattaey was the school’s director of campus planning and facilities management when he was nominated in April 2013 to become associate vice president for campus planning and facilities management.

He says that instead of the promotion he was given a “terminal contract” and was told he would be dismissed in 12 months.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is opening its new $55-million Topeka crime laboratory next month, replacing a facility that opened in the 1980s.

KBI Director Kirk Thompson says the previous Topeka lab space didn’t meet accreditation standards, and the new lab located at Washburn University will allow for more efficiency in processing evidence.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the new lab is one of four operated by the KBI. Others are in Kansas City, Pittsburg and Great Bend. But the new lab will be the only one with facilities for all of the various forensic science disciplines.

Members of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on State Building Construction toured the site Wednesday. The committee has overseen the project since it was authorized in the state’s 2013 budget.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Christian Scientist school has been accused of turning a blind eye while an employee allegedly sexually assaulted an underage student.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports the million-dollar civil lawsuit filed Oct. 16 maintains The Principia only issued verbal warnings after learning that telecommunications department employee Zachary Retzlaff was carrying on a sexual relationship with a then-16-year-old student.

The lawsuit, filed by the girl’s parents, claims Retzlaff sexually assaulted their daughter more than 40 times on and off campus between July 2014 and May 2015, and accuses the school of interfering with the civil and criminal cases.

Retzlaff’s attorney and school representatives did not immediately respond to interview requests Wednesday.

County prosecutors charged Retzlaff with statutory rape in June. The criminal charges did not mention the school.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jurors have told a federal judge they’re stuck in deliberations in the trial of two aides to Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign who are accused of making secret payments to a state lawmaker.

The jury deliberated for several hours Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, in the trial of Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari.

The judge told the panel to resume deliberations Thursday morning.

Benton faces one count of making false statements. Kesari faces five charges including conspiracy and obstruction. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Jurors told U.S. District Judge John Jarvey in a note that they could not reach a unanimous decision on three counts. Jarvey asked them to continue deliberating.

Prosecutors say the men concealed payments to former Iowa Sen. Kent Sorenson for his endorsement of Paul. Defense attorneys have questioned Sorenson’s credibility.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp is resisting Paul Ryan’s appeals for GOP lawmakers to rally behind him as House speaker and questions the Wisconsin Republican’s interest in the job.

Huelskamp said Wednesday that conditions Ryan has outlined for taking the job leaves the impression with him that Ryan doesn’t really want to be speaker.  Huelskamp is a tea party favorite who represents the 1st District of western and central Kansas.

He is among the hard-line GOP conservatives who forced House Speaker John Boehner to announce plans to retire at the end of the month. Boehner stripped Huelskamp of plum committee assignments late in 2012.

Ryan is insisting on Republican unity and rules changes before he formally seeks the speaker’s job.

Huelskamp said, “I don’t think they are all reasonable demands.”

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis is giving back $5.6 million to motorists who paid red-light camera tickets since early last year.  The city announced the give-back program on Wednesday. It applies to red-light camera tickets paid between Feb. 11, 2014, and Aug. 19 of this year.

More than 56,000 people paid $100 fines for those violations.

The decision follows a Missouri Supreme Court ruling on Aug. 19 that struck down the city’s red-light camera ordinance.

The city of St. Louis says those who paid the fine will receive a check in the mail within 15 business days. Those who believe they are due a check but don’t get one will need to appear at the Municipal Court with photo identification.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts says the state is still working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to try to import lethal injection drugs from India.

But the governor declined to say Wednesday whether he believes the state could carry out an execution before the November 2016 election, when voters will decide whether to keep the punishment on the books.

Ricketts says the state is moving one step at a time, concentrating first on obtaining the drugs. The previous supply expired in 2013.

Nebraska lawmakers voted to abolish the death penalty in May over the governor’s veto, triggering a petition drive that garnered enough support to place the issue on the ballot and prevent the law from going into effect until voters decide its fate.