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Suspect arrested in Overland Park double homicide

Overland Park Police Department coinOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — An 18-year-old man has been charged in a suburban Kansas City shooting that left two men dead.

Marquise Stokes of Kansas City, Kansas was arrested Saturday. He’s charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Velik Henderson of Overland Park. Henderson was killed June 30 along with 19-year-old Trevon Anderson of Kansas City, Kansas.

The homicides occurred on the same Overland Park block where a woman was killed and her 11-year-old daughter was wounded six days later. The slain woman has been identified as 36-year-old Quaushey Harris.

Another man was charged earlier this month with first-degree murder in the double homicide.

He and Stokes are both jailed on $2 million bond. It’s not immediately clear if Stokes has an attorney.

Parents question KSU decision to cancel equestrian athletics

NCEAMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Parents of equestrian athletes at Kansas State University are questioning the school’s decision to cancel the program now that the NCAA plans to continue supporting it.

The university’s Athletics Department says the sport’s viability remains unclear and the department won’t reverse its decision.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that parents raised the issue after the Waco, Texas-based National Collegiate Equestrian Association announced on its website Thursday that the NCAA had shelved an internal recommendation to cut off support for Division I equestrian sports.

That internal recommendation dated to September 2014 and was cited by Kansas State soon after it revealed plans to scrap the sport in 2016 and replace it with women’s soccer.

Child treated for gunshot wounds

Boone County Sheriff patchCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Police say a child has been shot in the arm and taken to a Columbia hospital

Detective Tom O’Sullivan, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, says the shooting occurred just after 5:30 p.m. Saturday in northern Boone County. KRCG-TV reports that the name, age and gender of the child weren’t immediately released.

O’Sullivan says the investigation is ongoing.

Was Missouri sheriff preparing for the “end of times”?

Christian County Mo sheriff badgeOZARK, Mo. (AP) — A former southwest Missouri sheriff stockpiled 3 tons of food in the basement of the Christian County Jail in what his replacement suspects was part of an effort to prepare for the “end of times.”

Interim Christian County Sheriff Dwight McNiel says the discovery was another example of a poorly managed department. Former sheriff Joey Kyle resigned in May on the same day he pleaded guilty to federal charges of embezzlement and using his position to promote a fraudulent investment scheme. Kyle’s lead attorney in the case didn’t immediately return a phone call or message Sunday from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the food was loaded Friday into trucks and donated to charity. It’s not clear whether the food was purchased with taxpayer money.

Clinic to resume abortion services

Columbia family health centerCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Planned Parenthood says a Columbia clinic plans to resume providing abortions in August after hiring a new physician.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the Columbia Health Center received its license as an abortion facility this past week.

Columbia Planned Parenthood was licensed to perform abortions until 2012, when the physician who provided abortions resigned. The clinic suspended abortion services for more than two years while it searched for a replacement physician.

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri president and CEO Laura McQuade says that through the end of 2015, the facility will only offer medical abortions, which are induced with a pill in early pregnancy. The center plans to begin offering surgical abortions in early 2016.

The location is intended to address a service gap.

Kansas Supreme Court won’t remove judge from donor case

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has denied a request to remove the judge from the case of a Topeka man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple.

The state has been seeking to have William Marotta declared the father of the couple’s child so he can be forced to pay child support. The state started pursuing the case in 2012 after the couple split up and one of the women applied for state health insurance for the child.

Marotta claims he signed a contract waiving his parental responsibilities.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports court documents show the state Supreme Court has denied a request from Marotta’s lawyer to remove Shawnee County District Judge Mary Mattivi from the case.

A status hearing on the case is set for August 18th.

Interim manager named for Kansas State Fair

Kansas state fairHUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — An interim manager has been named for the Kansas State Fair about two months before the 2015 fair gets underway.

The Hutchison News reports the Kansas State Fair board voted Wednesday to name Assistant Fair Manager Lori Hart as interim manager.

The fair, scheduled for September, drew about 350,000 people to the 10-day event last year.

Fair manager Denny Stoecklein announced last month he’s taking a job as director of marketing and communications at Hutchinson Com-munity College. He begins work there Monday.

Fair Board President Harmon Bliss says a five-member committee of the board will continue will search for Stoecklein’s permanent replacement.

Budget cuts lead to poor taxpayer service at IRS

File photo
File photo

WASHINGTON (AP) — An IRS watchdog says the tax agency provided poor customer service during this year’s tax filing season as taxpayers struggled with identity theft and President Barack Obama’s health law.

A report issued Wednesday by the National Taxpayer Advocate says the IRS has been hampered by budget cuts. Congress has cut the agency’s budget by $1.2 billion since 2010.

The report says the IRS blocked nearly 1.6 million suspicious tax refunds this year because of concerns about identity theft. About a third turned out to be legitimate, but for long stretches during tax season, fewer than 10 percent of callers could get through to an IRS help line.

Also, the report said 6.6 million taxpayers had to pay a fine because they didn’t have health insurance. The fines averaged $190.

US Navy says sailor injured in Tennessee shooting has died

UPDATE CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Navy says that the sailor who was shot earlier this week at a military support center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has died.

The death was announced Saturday, two days after a shooting in Chattanooga killed four Marines and injured three others, including the sailor.

The Navy statement did not give the sailor’s name. But he was earlier identified as Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, a reservist serving on active duty in Chattanooga.

Authorities say Kuwait-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, of Hixson, Tennessee, unleashed a barrage of fire at a recruiting center in Chattanooga, then drove several miles away to a Navy and Marine reserve center, where he shot and killed the Marines, and wounded the sailor. Abdulazeez was shot to death by police.

AP Poll: Sharp divisions after high court backs gay marriage

US SUPREME COURT LOGONEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court’s recent ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide has left Americans sharply divided.

That’s according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that suggests support for gay unions may be down slightly from earlier this year.

The poll finds a near-even split over whether local officials with religious objections should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Forty-seven percent say that should be required, 49 percent say they should be exempt.

Overall, if there’s a conflict, most people seem to think religious liberties should win out over gay rights. While 39 percent say it’s more important for the government to protect gay rights, 56 percent say protection of religious liberties takes precedence.

The poll was conducted less than three weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

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