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Two injured in Nebraska plane crash

FAALEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a small plane has crashed into an alfalfa field about a mile from the Lexington airport.  The plane went down around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. Two people were aboard the single-engine Piper, the pilot Robert Roberts of Nixa, Missouri, and his brother, Ronny Roberts of Lebanon, Mississippi.

The pilot received a minor injury to his forehead but declined treatment.  The men were flying to Lexington to pick up a hunting dog.

The plane crashed after running low on fuel and then dealing with windy conditions.  The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.

Murder parolee, 70, gets five years for child sex charge

Laddie Dittrich
Laddie Dittrich
NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A man paroled after serving 41 years for murder has been sentenced to five years for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in southeast Nebraska.

Seventy-year-old Laddie Dittrich was sentenced Tuesday in Otoe County District Court. He’d been convicted of groping the girl at a rural home on Nov. 23, 2014.

Dittrich was one of three men convicted in 1973 of the slaying of an Omaha trucking company official.

In April 2013 the Nebraska Pardons Board commuted Dittrich’s sentence of life in prison without parole to 80 years to life, which allowed Dittrich to seek parole because he’d already served more than half of the 80-year minimum.

His parole has been revoked.

Report: $235M saved by year ban on Planned Parenthood funds

Planned-Parenthood-300x155WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ official authority on the budget says a Republican bill halting federal payments to Planned Parenthood for a year could leave about 390,000 people with reduced health care access and save taxpayers about $235 million.

The estimate comes from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office.

Republicans say they want to cut the money in the wake of videos that show Planned Parenthood representatives discussing how they provide fetal tissue for research.

The House plans to vote this week on a bill that would block Planned Parenthood’s federal money for a year.

The House could approve an amendment shifting Planned Parenthood’s money to other women’s health care providers.

If that happens, then the savings and the number of people with reduced health care access could be less than the budget office’s projection.

Car seat recalled due to risk of injury during crash

RecallDETROIT (AP) — Recaro Child Safety is recalling more than 173,000 car seats in the U.S. because the top tether can detach from the seat in a crash.

The recall affects ProRide and Performance Ride seats made before June 9, 2015.

Recaro says the seat shells can crack or come loose from the main shell during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. The problem was discovered in testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The company says no injuries have been reported.

Recaro will send owners new webbing with instructions on how to secure the seats. The recall was expected to begin this month.

Last week the government urged parents to register car seats with the manufacturer so they can get quick notification of recalls.

Police say molestation suspect struggled with officer

police-780322_1280SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police say a Springfield man who’s charged with child molestation fought with an officer for his gun during an interview.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 41-year-old Lester Charles was charged Tuesday with multiple felonies. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

The charges were filed after a girl told police that Charles touched her inappropriately. Police said that while Charles was being interviewed, he told officers he had never been alone with the girl. Court documents say that when an officer told Charles he was under arrest, he replied “You ain’t goin’ arresting me.”

Court documents say that during the ensuing struggle, Charles got a hand on an officer’s gun. Police say Charles fled the room before officers fired a stun gun at him.

Kansas City police: 1 dead, 7 hurt after shooting, crash

police Kansas CityKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say one person is dead and six children are critically injured after a car accident that happened amid a gunfight. A seventh person was wounded by gunfire.

Sgt. Kari Thompson said in a statement that police believe the occupants of two vehicles were exchanging gunfire Tuesday night when one vehicle struck a nearby uninvolved vehicle.

Thompson says 30-year-old Mariana Hernandez-Gonzales was in the uninvolved vehicle when she was killed. Six children who were passengers in the same vehicle were taken to hospitals in critical condition.

She says an occupant of one vehicle involved in the gunfight was also hospitalized in critical condition.

Thompson tells The Associated Press police have a person of interest in custody.

University of Missouri cancels Planned Parenthood contracts

University of Missouri campusCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri and Planned Parenthood have ended their 26-year relationship after state lawmakers started investigating abortions performed at the organization’s clinics.

Within the past month, university officials cancelled 10 contracts with Planned Parenthood clinics in four states where students would complete clinical hours.

University of Missouri Health System spokeswoman Mary Jenkins told the Columbia Missourian that nursing and medical students were never required to work at a Planned Parenthood clinic, but it was an optional rotation.

In July, former Senate leader Tom Dempsey formed the Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life in response to videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood staff selling aborted tissue. The committee’s goal is to investigate the disposal of aborted tissue, funding of abortions and any illegal activity.

The Latest: Missouri legislators considering veto overrides

Missouri Senate chamberJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have convened to consider overriding more than a dozen vetoes made by Gov. Jay Nixon.

The Republican-led Legislature opened the annual veto session a little after noon Wednesday with a goal of overriding the Democratic governor on several bills affecting workers’ paychecks.

A two-thirds vote of each chamber is required to override a veto. Republicans hold the supermajorities necessary to do that, so long as they don’t have more than a few dissenters.

Among the bills up for override votes are measures cutting unemployment benefits, barring local minimum wages and eliminating college scholarships for some immigrants.

Republicans face a longer shot to override Nixon’s veto of a right-to-work bill barring mandatory union fees.

Court documents quantify impact of gay marriage in Kansas

Gay rainbow flagWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Court documents are offering a glimpse at the early impact of the gay marriage ruling in Kansas.

The latest filing Tuesday from state officials comes in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Kansas ban on same-sex marriages. A federal judge has ruled the state’s ban is unconstitutional in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized such unions nationwide.

But he gave the parties extra time to make written filings on whether Kansas has made good on its assurances that it will comply.

One affidavit shows that the Kansas State Employee Health Benefits Plan has granted health insurance coverage to 48 same-sex spouses.

Another document shows Sedgwick County has issued at least 160 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, while Douglas County issued about 60 such licenses.

Veto session Wednesday

Missouri StatehouseJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are to meet Wednesday to consider enacting more than a dozen bills vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

Measures include a contentious right-to-work bill and legislation to cut unemployment benefits.

Right to work doesn’t appear to have enough Republican supporters in the House to pass with the needed two-thirds majority vote. But the GOP-led Legislature looks set to overturn the governor’s vetoes on several other measures.

Those range from blocking scholarships for certain immigrants to a tax exemption for some large-scale laundries to a proposed ban on cities raising the local minimum wage.

Lawmakers need at least 109 votes in the House and 23 in the Senate to override Nixon.

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