WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The National Baseball Congress is suspending the use of bat boys and girls during its World Series in Kansas following the death of a 9-year-old boy who was hit by a bat.

Kaiser Carlile died Sunday after he was hit in the head with a follow-through swing near the on-deck circle during the Liberal Bee Jays’ game a day earlier. He was wearing a helmet.

The general manager of the National Baseball Congress later decided to suspend the use of bat boys and girls.

The organization planned to honor Kaiser at games Monday and Tuesday.

The city of Wichita owns the facility and is deciding whether to investigate the death. A city official says it’s too early to decide.

Meanwhile, members of the semi-pro Kansas baseball team he the youngster was associated with say the 9-year-old was energetic and hard-working, and had a nearly constant smile. The coach and players of the Liberal Bee Jays said Monday that Kaiser was an important member of their team and always reminded them to play hard and have fun.

The boy, who lived in Liberal, was wearing a helmet at the time. His parents have insisted that the team continue playing.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — The jury in the Colorado theater shooting trial has again declined to rule out the death penalty as it moves toward sentencing James Holmes.

Jurors said Monday that Holmes’ lawyers haven’t presented a strong enough case to eliminate execution as an option.

The decision clears the way for another round of arguments before the jury makes a final decision between capital punishment and life in prison without parole. Prosecutors will call victims to testify about the impact of Holmes’ crimes on their lives.

The same jury rejected Holmes’ insanity claim and found him guilty of murdering 12 people and trying to kill 70 more in the 2012 attack.

Prosecutors are seeking his execution, saying his cruel ambush caused untold suffering. The defense wants a life term and says mental illness drove Holmes to kill.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A judge has found probable cause for a 23-year-old Missouri woman accused of arranging her mother’s killing to stand trial.

Gypsy Blanchard has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the June 14 stabbing death of 48-year-old Clauddinnea “Dee Dee” Blanchard at their home near Springfield.

Prosecutors allege Blanchard persuaded her 26-year-old Wisconsin boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to kill her mother. Godejohn also has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Blanchard cried during the hearing Friday in Greene County in which photos were shown of the crime scene and a sheriff’s deputy described finding her mother, who had been stabbed several times.

Defense lawyer Michael Stanfield lost an effort to keep social media postings from being accepted as evidence.

NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A Taco Bell in Newton has fired an employee who wrote an insult on the wrappers of tacos ordered by a police officer and his fiancé.

Police and Taco Bell officials say the employee wrote “PIG” on the to-go orders for the couple Saturday in Newton. The officer complained to the restaurant and pictures of the taco wrappers circulated on social media.

Jeff Graves, senior director of operations for Taco Bell, said Monday the worker was fired.

He told KAKE-TV that Taco Bell strongly supports law enforcement and the company apologizes to the officer, his fiancé and all Newton police officers.

Graves says the restaurant and Newton police are already working together to plan an event to show support for officers and the community.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two journalists arrested last year during Ferguson police shooting protests have reached settlements in lawsuits against St. Louis County.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed two federal lawsuits on behalf of the journalists, who were arrested while covering protests in the weeks after a white officer fatally shot black 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

An Associated Press request for comment from St. Louis County wasn’t immediately returned Monday.

A spokeswoman says the ACLU took final action Friday to dismiss the lawsuits.

A complaint filed against St. Louis County had claimed Gerald “Trey” Yingst of Washington, D.C.-based News2Share was unlawfully arrested in November while filming protests.

Another lawsuit claimed police wrongly arrested New York-based journalist Bilgin Sasmaz in August while he photographed protests for a Turkish news agency.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Officials with the Missouri Lottery say someone is holding a Mega Millions ticket sold in Missouri that is worth $25 million.

The Lottery said Monday that the ticket from the July 31 drawing is the first Mega Millions jackpot ticket sold in Missouri. The winning numbers are 28, 32, 33, 40, 46 and the Mega Ball number is 10.

Missouri Lottery director Mary Scheve Reardon urges the holder of the ticket to sign the back and put it in a safe place until taking it to the Missouri Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City. The winner can also call Lottery headquarters to make arrangements.

The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, in this case, until Jan. 27.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A baby sitter who spent years on death row before winning a new trial for an Austin-area infant’s 1994 death has died less than two months after pleading guilty to murder.

Cathy Henderson’s attorney, Jon Evans, tells the Austin American-Statesman the 58-year-old woman died Sunday. She’d been at a hospital for treatment of pneumonia and a stroke.

Henderson June 12 accepted a plea deal with a 25-year sentence for the death of 3-month-old Brandon Baugh. She was hospitalized June 25 for breathing difficulties.

She’d insisted she dropped the child while caring for him in 1994 at her Pflugerville home. His body was found buried about 60 miles away. She was arrested in Missouri, convicted of capital murder and received a death sentence.

In 2012, a court ordered her retried.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 37-year-old man is in stable condition after Wichita police say his girlfriend stabbed him and broke his pelvic bone.

The Wichita Eagle reports officers responded to a house around 11:50 p.m. Friday where police say a man told them his 24-year-old girlfriend stabbed him in the buttocks during an argument. Sgt. Brian Sigman said the man was stabbed with such force that his pelvic bone was broken.

The man was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery.

 

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Missouri has already recorded more drownings this year than in all of last year.

Officials say flooding and resulting strong currents in waterways are the main causes for the increase.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says as of Thursday, 30 drownings were reported in the state, compared with 29 in 2014.

Patrol spokesman Captain John Hotz says some of the drownings occurred when people tried to drive through flooded roadways and were trapped or swept away.

The Joplin Globe reports high water and strong currents also cause problems with hidden underwater debris and recirculating currents, and strong undercurrents near low-head dams.

Other dangers include being pinned in an overturned boat or canoe by the strong currents.