FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Aug. 9 is the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, and police in St. Louis County say they’re expecting a peaceful weekend from protesters. But they add they would be prepared if the observance of Brown’s death turns violent.

Protest leaders are promising that the scheduled events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be calm. They have called on police to respect the free speech of demonstrators and to refrain from confronting protesters in a militarized manner.

Police used tear gas, armored vehicles, flash-bangs and other devices at times to control crowds after Brown was fatally shot by a now-former Ferguson officer. The tactics drew criticism from the Justice Department, among others.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The National Park Service has announced creation of a new Midwest Region Office of American Indian Affairs and has named a program manager for it.

A Park Service news release says Reed Robinson has been given the job and will be leaving his post as deputy superintendent at Badlands National Park, which is near Interior, South Dakota.

 

Park Service spokesman Mike Johnson said Tuesday that the new regional office will be administered from the Midwest Regional Office of the Park Service in Omaha, but Robinson will remain based in Rapid City.

Johnson says Robinson’s primary role will be serving as a liaison between tribes and the park service.

MARSTON, Mo. (AP) — A massive explosion rocked a southeast Missouri aluminum plant Tuesday, injuring some workers and creating a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.

The explosion and fire occurred around 12:30 p.m. at the Noranda Aluminum plant near the town of Marston in New Madrid County, about 170 miles south of St. Louis.

 

Noranda spokesman John Parker said all workers had been accounted for and there were no life-threatening injuries. He said some people suffered what appeared to be non-critical abrasions, dust irritation or smoke inhalation.

Parker said one of the injured workers was taken to a hospital for treatment. Others were treated at the scene.

Parker said a molten metal explosion occurred in the cast house of the plant, where the company produces extrusion billet, a length of metal with a cylindrical shape. Production in the cast house was suspended, Parker said, but work continued at the rest of the facility.

OSHA investigators say molten aluminum hitting water is the apparent cause of the explosion. An OSHA investigation continues.

Noranda employs about 900 workers in New Madrid County. Parker said about 20 people were working in the area where the explosion happened. The cause is under investigation.

Noranda, based in Franklin, Tennessee, is an aluminum producer with six plants in the U.S. and one on Jamaica. The Missouri plant is the company’s primary aluminum smelter. The company’s website says the plant produces about 263,000 metric tons of primary aluminum annually, roughly 15 percent of all U.S. aluminum production as of 2009.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police have confirmed that an officer fatally shot a retired judge’s dog in his backyard while responding to a security alarm that activated at the home.

The police department said Monday that an officer shot the canine twice after it began charging at him in an aggressive manner last month.

The 26-pound, miniature pinscher-boxer mix named Josie belonged to Harriette Macnish and her husband, James Macnish, a retired Shawnee County district judge.

Harriette Macnish says she couldn’t blame Josie if she confronted the officer because the officer was a stranger to her. Macnish said Monday that she has found some consolation in Josie’s death from neighbors and friends, along with two Topeka officers who came by her home to share their condolences.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Lottery says someone who purchased a Super Kansas Cash lottery ticket in northeast Kansas is holding a $1.8 million jackpot winner.

Lottery officials say a ticket matched all five numbers and the Super Cashball on Monday night.

The last mega-jackpot in the Super Kansas Cash lottery was paid on Feb. 9 when a Merriam resident won just over $1.7 million.

Winning players have one year from the date of each drawing to claim their prizes.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has eliminated a $25-per-day limit on ATM withdrawals with cash assistance cards.

The state Department for Children and Families said Tuesday that it was rescinding the policy before it could be put into effect for 15,000 poor residents receiving cash assistance each month. The department confirmed its action in a statement to The Associated Press before making it public.

Legislators approved the withdrawal limit in April as part of a measure rewriting rules for cash assistance. The limit was designed to prevent benefits from being converted to cash for non-essential spending.

Questions from federal officials prompted concerns that the U.S. government might withhold funds from Kansas.

Lawmakers in June approved a follow-up measure giving department Secretary Phyllis Gilmore the authority to raise or eliminate the limit.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former police leader in Pine Lawn is accused in a federal indictment of falsely arresting a mayoral candidate, the latest allegation of wrongdoing involving public officials in the small St. Louis County town.

The FBI on Tuesday arrested 34-year-old Steven Blakeney, a police lieutenant until he was fired in December. Blakeney was indicted last week on one count each of conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, and falsification of records.

Blakeney has no listed attorney.

The indictment alleges that Blakeney ordered another person to falsely report that the mayoral candidate stole a campaign poster from a store, leading to her arrest in March 2013.

Pine Lawn’s former mayor, Sylvester Caldwell, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison in July after pleading guilty to extortion.

LEADWOOD, Mo. (AP) — A 12-year-old eastern Missouri boy is hospitalized after being found in his front yard with a gunshot wound to the head.

The Leadwood Fire Department and St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department were called around 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The parents told authorities that their son was going out to shoot groundhogs or to take target practice. St. Francois County Sgt. Randy Tate says it appears that the gun accidentally discharged as the boy was climbing a fence. He was struck in the forehead.

A deputy at the scene said the child was conscious and talking. He was flown to a St. Louis hospital for treatment.

ADAMS, Neb. (AP) — Two community groups in southeastern Nebraska have partnered to provide fresh vegetables to residents who might otherwise have a difficult time putting food on the table.

The Freeman FFA’s Community Garden in Adams is working with the American Lutheran Church for a weekly distribution of produce to neighbors in need.

Between 50 and 100 pounds of produce is harvested from the garden and distributed to the church every Wednesday night.

Pastor Nathan Metzger says anyone may come to the church to look through offerings and take as much as they would like.

Metzger says the church partnered with Freeman FFA after noticing the need of several families in the Adams area.

(Video posted on YouTube by The Center for Medical Progress)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An anti-abortion group has released its fifth undercover video alleging fetal organ sales that activists say was shot inside a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic.

The Center for Medical Progress’ footage shows people pretending to be from a company that procures fetal tissue for research touring the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast clinic.

What they’re shown includes recently collected fetuses. Gov. Greg Abbott called the video “repulsive and unconscionable.”

Tuesday’s video is the fifth the center has recently released, but the first from Texas. It appears consistent with footage Planned Parenthood previously announced might have been secretly recorded.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading a state investigation of Planned Parenthood prompted by previous videos, and called the latest “simply appalling.”

Paxton was recently indicted on felony securities fraud charges.