KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An assistant professor who has accused Emporia State University of racial discrimination has filed a federal lawsuit, accusing the school of defamation and invasion of privacy.

Melvin Hale filed the lawsuit Wednesday. He and his wife, Angelica, who are black, have been embroiled in confrontation with the university since April, when someone left a note with a racial slur in the office of Angelica Hale’s graduate assistant. They allege the dean of School of Library and Information Management did not investigate the incident and retaliated against them for complaining.

In September, the university said an investigation found no evidence of a hate crime or racial discrimination.

Melvin Hale alleges those findings damaged his reputation and portrayed him as a liar.

The university said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Two men were convicted of charges related to the death of a 2-month-old girl who had been living in filthy conditions at a house in Bellevue. The Omaha World-Herald reports 28-year-old Aaron Thompson and 36-year-old Michael Degarmo each pleaded no contest Wednesday to one count of negligent child abuse.

Both were found guilty by Sarpy County Court Judge Robert Wester. The Sarpy County Attorney’s Office dropped three counts of misdemeanor child abuse against each of the men.

They were arrested after Bellevue police responded to a call of a baby not breathing and found Jasmine Thompson. Three other children were removed. The men will be sentenced later.

Earlier, 30-year-old Kristin E. Lary pleaded guilty to one count of felony possession of a controlled substance and four misdemeanor child abuse counts.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is trying to position itself as an industry leader in the emerging field of unmanned aerial system.

The state is building on the framework already in place as an aviation manufacturing cluster and in its technology-driven agricultural sector.

Major Kansas universities are doing cutting-edge research on drones and training the skilled workforce needed to support it.

On Thursday, industry and business leaders gathered in Wichita for a UAS summit that marked the culmination of a series of workshops this year on the use of the technology.

Joel Anderson, the development director at Kansas State University’s office, says the industry is going to have a huge impact in Kansas.

Part of that is driven by precision agriculture which uses data is used to pinpoint fertilizer and water needs within fields.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison for the abuse death of a 3-year-old girl.

Johnson County authorities say 40-year-old Kham Khamchanh of Shawnee was sentenced Thursday in the January 2009 death of Yamarawit Sahle of Merriam. Yami was the daughter of Khamchanh’s then-girlfriend.

The suspect admitted that he threw the girl to the floor five to 10 times and that he’d previously punched and slapped her.

As part of the plea agreement, Khamchanh was sentenced to the maximum of 13 years and nine months.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A man and woman have been arrested after officials say they prolonged a standoff with police in order to have sex. Police tell local news outlets they responded Wednesday night to a Jacksonville mobile home in search of 34-year-old Ryan Patrick Bautista, who was wanted on several warrants.

Bautista and 30-year-old Leanne Hunn were holed up in the mobile home, leading to a standoff. Police say they tried to make contact with the people inside for about 45 minutes. At one point, Hunn told police over the phone that she would give up, but that she wanted to have sex with Bautista “one last time.”

Bautista and Hunn were arrested after SWAT team negotiators arrived. Both were charged with resisting arrest and false imprisonment.

BOSTON (AP) – An 80-year-old man has pleaded guilty to running a massive marijuana-dealing and money-laundering operation. The suspect was pulled over for speeding in Kansas. Marshall Dion is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11 after pleading guilty Thursday under an agreement with prosecutors. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Police pulled Dion over for speeding in Junction City, Kansas, in 2013 and searched his pickup truck, finding nearly $850,000.

Investigators later found $2 million in a bank account, $880,000 in an Arizona building and nearly 400 pounds of marijuana and $11 million at a storage facility in North Reading, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors said Dion sold about 6,600 to 22,000 pounds of marijuana dating back to 1992.

Dion maintains police searched his truck unconstitutionally and is appealing. His lawyer says he is embracing his responsibility.

BOLIVAR, Mo. (AP) — Leaders of a southwest Missouri town have repealed an ordinance that restricted panhandling and another that limited solicitations.

The Bolivar Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to repeal the ordinances, less than a month after the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban on panhandling.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of Bolivar resident Rick Hill, contended the panhandling ordinance violated Hill’s right to free speech and other constitutional rights.

The panhandling ordinance banned aggressive panhandling for money and soliciting from the side of the road. It also restricted non-verbal or “passive” panhandling near most buildings.

Hill said he was most opposed to the ban on passive panhandling.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Bolivar officials declined to discuss the decision to repeal the ordinance.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A third consecutive overall index drop in a monthly rural bankers survey suggests an economic slowdown is ahead for rural parts of 10 Western and Plains states.

The Rural Mainstreet Index sank to 44.4 this month from 49.0 in September and 50.0 in August. The overall index is computed from various economic category scores, and survey organizers say any score below 50 suggests that factor will decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the overall index reflects “weakness stemming from lower agriculture and energy commodity prices and from downturns in manufacturing exports.”

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Recreational shooters are being blamed for sparking two wildfires this week that burned more than 500 acres of the Pawnee National Grassland in northeast Colorado.

Both fires started on the west side of the grasslands, and citations are being issued for shooting at illegal targets.

The “Little Sand Fire” burned 560 acres, and the “500 Fire” burned 29 acres.

Forest Service officials are reminding target shooters that hot projectiles and sparks from ricochets can ignite fires in dry grassy and brushy areas. Recreational shooters are asked to use only cardboard and paper targets, self-healing targets, manufactured metallic targets or clay targets.