TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local authorities are investigating the death of a 50-year-old inmate in his cell at the Shawnee County Adult Detention Center.

Christopher Alan Clark was arrested at 12:57 a.m. Sunday by Topeka police on drunken driving and other charges.

Clark was found dead shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, 15 minutes after he was seen standing at his cell door.

The cause of his death had not been determined early Monday. First responders administered CPR and used a defibrillator for about 16 minutes before Clark was pronounced dead.

He was arrested on charges of felony driving under the influence, failure to submit to a drug or alcohol test, refusal of a breathalyzer test, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and a defective tag light.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Lawmakers have set aside $375,000 to repair a monument to Missouri’s Civil War troops at the Vicksburg National Military Park.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Missouri is seeking to fix the stone and bronze monument before the 100th anniversary of its October 1917 unveiling. It’s one of two state memorials on the battlefield dedicated to soldiers of both armies. The Mississippi military park where it’s located commemorates the 47-day Siege of Vicksburg in 1863, a decisive victory for Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant.

Civil War heritage groups and the National Park Service are cheering the state funding for repairs.

But Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Steph Deidrick says there are concerns that the project may not be an eligible use of the funds. No details were provided.

HILLSBORO, Mo. (AP) — A 35-year-old man serving life sentences for six Illinois slayings wants to move a Missouri murder trial that could lead to his execution.

Nicholas Sheley’s request for a venue change says he can’t get a fair trial in Jefferson County south of St. Louis, where prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted in the killings of Jill and Tom Estes of Sherwood, Arkansas. Police say the couple was attacked outside a Festus hotel after leaving a 2008 graduation party.

Sheley was scheduled to make his first Missouri court appearance Monday, but his arraignment was postponed after the judge stepped down at Sheley’s request.

Court records don’t indicate why Circuit Judge Mark Stoll withdrew from the case, but under Missouri law no reason needs to be given.

WASHINGTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in eastern Missouri’s Franklin County say one of a man’s ears was bitten off during a weekend dispute.

KMOV-TV in St. Louis reports that the victim told deputies that he and the suspect were arguing about a mutual friend about 3 a.m. Sunday when the biting happened.

Authorities say deputies found the missing ear on a driveway and gave it to ambulance workers who took the man to a hospital in Washington, Missouri.

KMOV says the ear was reattached.

BENTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities allege that a 70-year-old southeast Missouri injured his brother in a hammer attack.

The Sikeston Standard Democrat reports that the suspect was arrested and is jailed in Scott County on $25,000 bond.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter says a deputy responded Friday to the suspect’s Sikeston-area residence.

Walter said in a news release that the man’s brother told the deputy that his brother struck him in the head with a hammer during an argument. The brother had a head injury, and his face and chest area were covered with blood.

Walter says the suspect told the deputy he “lost it” during an argument.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 28-year-old Kansas City woman has been arrested and faces assault charges after police say she shot her father.

According to Kansas authorities, Kansas City police were called to a residence Saturday evening and found a man on the ground outside the home with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and chest. Police say the victim told officers who had shot him.

After a standoff, police say the woman eventually surrendered to officers.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was transported to a local hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s state budget director says increased revenue growth likely will make spending restrictions unnecessary in the new fiscal year.

Newly released data shows revenue collections grew 8.8 percent in the fiscal year that ended last week. That’s compared to the previous fiscal year, when revenues dropped 1 percent.  Budget director Linda Luebbering says that means spending freezes are not needed at this time.

The news comes after Governor Jay Nixon for years has blocked use of some money budgeted by lawmakers, citing lagging revenues. He’s said the withholdings are needed to balance the budget.

Even ending the budget year on a strong note, Nixon refused to allow around $67 million to be spent. Nixon’s office says revenues needed to increase 10 percent to fully fund the budget.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The rare and beautiful Blanding’s turtle once thrived across the Great Lakes region and the Upper Midwest. Now that only pockets of Minnesota and Nebraska support substantial populations, the federal government has agreed to conduct a formal review to determine whether they should be placed on the endangered species list.

The Blanding’s turtle is considered threatened in Minnesota, where the Weaver Dunes of southeastern Minnesota hold one of the largest remaining populations. They’re more secure but still vulnerable in the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge of north-central Nebraska.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week launched a formal assessment process to determine whether the Blanding’s turtle and 20 other species nationwide
should be listed as endangered or threatened. It’s taking public comments through August 31st.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have announced an $18.7 billion settlement with BP that resolves years of litigation over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Thursday’s settlement announcement comes as a federal judge was preparing to rule on how much BP owed in federal Clean Water Act penalties after well over 125 million gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf.

BP has said its spill-related costs already exceed $42 billion — even without the Clean Water Act fine. It’s also unclear how much BP will end up paying under a 2012 settlement with individuals and businesses claiming spill-related losses.

The spill resulted from the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers.