PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — After nine days, the state Public Utilities Commission has finished hearing from opposing sides in the debate over whether to allow the Keystone XL oil pipeline to run through South Dakota.

The commission is considering whether to approve for the second time in just over five years construction of the South Dakota portion of the long-delayed pipeline. The state authorized TransCanada Corporation’s project in 2010, but permits must be revisited if construction doesn’t start within four years.

Opponents on Wednesday requested that commissioners immediately deny the pipeline permit. That request was dismissed by commissioners.

Parties involved now have until October 1st to submit post-hearing briefs supporting their arguments and until October 31st to reply to their opponents’ briefs.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged three people who worked for Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign with conspiring to buy the support of a former Iowa state senator.

Among those changed is Jesse Benton, who now heads up a super PAC supporting the 2016 presidential candidacy of Paul’s son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. An indictment unsealed Wednesday charges Benton, John Tate and Dimitrios Kesari with conspiracy and several other related crimes.

The indictment says they negotiated with former Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson to switch his support to Ron Paul in exchange for money. Sorenson had previously backed Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The indictment says the arrangement was concealed from Ron Paul himself and that Benton initiated the deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is opposing a law in Idaho’s biggest city that makes it a crime for homeless people to sleep in public places.

The department says the Boise ordinance unconstitutionally punishes people for being homeless.

At issue is a federal lawsuit on behalf of homeless people convicted of violating the local law. The department has filed a statement supporting the lawsuit.

The head of the department’s civil rights division says many homeless people can’t find a place to sleep indoors because Boise’s shelters are over capacity or inaccessible to people with disabilities.

Vanita Gupta says prosecuting individuals who have no place to go violates their constitutional rights.

MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man was indicted by a grand jury in connection with keeping the body of his dead 1-year-old daughter in a crib in his apartment for over a month.

A Medina County grand jury charged 35-year-old Eric Warfel on Tuesday with abusing a corpse and tampering with evidence, both felony offenses.

The suburban Cleveland resident was arrested July 29 after a cable company employee discovered the decomposing body of Ember Warfel.

Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said more serious charges could be filed pending an investigation into the circumstances of the child’s death. The medical examiner hasn’t ruled on the cause of death.

Officials say Warfel is considered a flight risk due to comments he made to family members about leaving the state.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Oil drilling in Kansas has slowed since winter, and so have the frequency and intensity of earthquakes in the southern part of the state.

State geologists say it’s no coincidence that a reduction in drilling activity has resulted in fewer earthquakes. What they don’t know is how much of that is caused by a slowdown in the use of disposal wells for the waste saltwater created as a byproduct of the drilling.

The Wichita Eagle reports a panel of state geologists and regulators gave an update to the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association on Monday.

There have been 67 earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 3.0 in the last year emanating from Harper and Sumner Counties, but only 15 since April 1, and none in July.

SAUGET, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a 38-year-old St. Louis woman talked her way past a security guard and entered the cockpit of a private plane at an Illinois airport before she was caught and taken to a local hospital for observation.

Police in Sauget, Illinois say the woman entered a 20-seat Global Express jet on the tarmac of the St. Louis Downtown Airport about 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Sergeant Vito Parisi said the woman had started driving to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport but instead wound up at the smaller air field in Sauget, Illinois. The plane, which is owned by a Hong Kong bank, was disabled.

Local prosecutors are reviewing the incident to determine whether to file criminal charges. Officials don’t believe that the incident was connected to terrorism.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has denied a request to move the trial of a 74-year-old Missouri man charged in the deaths of three people at Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City.

Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., of Aurora, Missouri, is charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of three people last year at two Jewish sites in Overland Park, Kansas.

The Kansas City Star reports a Johnson County District Court judge on Wednesday denied Miller’s motion for the change of venue. The judge says without any evidence or testimony to back the request, he had no legal basis to consider the request.

Miller is representing himself at the trial, which is set to begin Aug. 17.

Miller, an anti-Semite, has admitted carrying out the shootings. None of his victims was Jewish.

KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) — A single-engine plane overturned after striking a deer during takeoff in south-central Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says the pilot was trying to take off from the Clyde Cessna Field in Kingman late Monday when the deer ran in front of his plane. The patrol says the deer hit the plane’s front tire, tearing it off and causing the plane to overturn.

The pilot was treated for minor injuries at an area medical center.

There have been about 33 animal strikes at Kansas airports in the last year, and all but one has involved birds. The only other deer strike was last August at Forbes Field in Topeka.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) — A fire broke out at a Lake of the Ozarks condominium in central Missouri, killing four children.

Osage Beach Fire Chief Jeff Dorhauer says the fire broke out late Tuesday night at the condominium. He says two people were rescued and the four children were taken to an area hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Dorhauer says the fire damaged all eight units in the building.

The names and ages of the victims haven’t been released. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri state lawmaker has apologized for telling media he believes he wasn’t impaired after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated.

State Rep. David Hinson apologized Tuesday to Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Sodergren and says he is guilty.

The St. Clair Republican previously told The Associated Press he didn’t believe he was actually intoxicated.

Hinson said last week that he agreed to the charge to avoid court expenses and potentially losing his driver’s license for a year.

Sodergren told Hinson his conflicting statements could lead the public to distrust the system.

The charge stemmed from an incident Feb. 2 when Hinson’s vehicle struck a state truck near a Capitol parking garage.

Hinson said he had one alcoholic drink and was taking medication that could have made him drowsy.