The National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest gun-rights group, has gone eerily silent after the deadly shooting of 26 people, including 20 children, at a Connecticut elementary school.

Its Facebook page has disappeared. It has not sent a message on Twitter since the extent of the carnage became clear.

 

No leaders of the 4.3 million-member organization appeared on the talk shows this past Sunday, two days after the shooting. During past crises, the politically powerful group has defended gun owners’ constitutional right to bear arms, which is popular among millions of Americans.

But with 20 of the victims ages 6 or 7, it may be tougher to advocate for gun owners’ rights.  One Republican strategist says the NRA’s approach is probably wise given the emotions involved.

Most users of this Web site oppose additional gun control in the wake of the shootings. Find the poll, and cast your vote, here.

 

A University of Kansas fraternity has been suspended indefinitely by its national organization amid reports that members abused and killed a turkey at a party.

The suspension Tuesday came as Lawrence police investigate a report of possible animal cruelty during a party at Beta Theta Phi that drew about 150 people last week.

 

A spokesman for the national organization told The Lawrence Journal-World its leaders were “a little shocked” by accounts of the turkey’s treatment.

The turkey had been rented for the party. Witnesses said some fraternity members broke the bird’s cage, chased and choked it and broke its wing and a leg.

Police say they were told a fraternity member killed the bird to end its suffering.

The university says its Interfraternity Council is also investigating the complaint.

Federal regulators have proposed a $70,000 fine against the U.S. Postal Service in the death of a mail carrier who had complained about feeling ill from the heat.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the fine Monday in the July 24 death of 57-year-old John Watzlawick of Blue Springs. He collapsed on his route in Independence a day after he had asked to be relieved because of the heat.

The high temperature July 24 was 104 degrees.

The Jackson County medical examiner found that Watzlawick had a body temperature of 108 degrees when he was taken to the emergency room. A heart attack was ruled a secondary cause of death.

A regional spokesman for The Postal Service said it will contest the citation.

The Washington County Sheriff says a 30-year-old Missouri man suspected of killing a deputy is charged with first-degree murder.

Sheriff Andy Skiles said Sunday that Gary Sancegrow of Mineral Point is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Deputy Christopher Parsons. Parsons, who was 31, was shot and killed when he was responding to an emergency call early Saturday in Mineral Point.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, conducted a daylong search Saturday for Sancegrow, who authorities said fled the scene on foot. Sancegrow was apprehended at a law enforcement checkpoint Saturday evening.

Skiles says Sancegrow is being held without bond at an undisclosed location.

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Authorities in Newtown, Conn. are trying to piece together details about Adam Lanza to see if there are clues as to why he killed 26 children and adults at an elementary school.

Police, so far, have shed no light on a possible motive for the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting. Lanza also killed his mother and himself. There are suggestions he had a personality disorder.

 

UNDATED (AP) — Experts say parents should allow children to talk about their feelings in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings. They also say kids should be sheltered from the 24/7 media coverage of the massacre. The killings have left parents wondering what, if anything, to tell their children. Experts say it’s OK to say you don’t know why it happened.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has used his weekly media message to again offer sympathy and condolences over the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. He says parents everywhere are “heavy with hurt.” He says the country grieves for the victims and prays for the parents of those who survived who know “their child’s innocence has been torn away far too early.” Republicans ceded their time so that Obama could speak for the nation.

 

 

Topeka officials say a 2-year-old girl died after she was attacked by a pit bull mix at a relative’s home.

The child was attacked Thursday afternoon while she and her mother were visiting the relative. Her name has not been released.

Shawnee County Sheriff Lt. Danny Lotridge says the girl died after being taken to a Topeka hospital.

Officers did not release information on circumstances surrounding the attack.

The dog, a 6-year-old male, was taken away by animal control officers. Its fate was not immediately known.

Federal regulators have cited the University of Kansas Medical Center for violations in its animal research facilities, one that led to the death of a goat.

The USDA cited the medical center for inadequate veterinary care, improper reporting and improper supervision of experimentation.

The citation stemmed from an inspection in January.

A medical center spokeswoman says the citation for the goat’s death is being appealed and the USDA has not indicated it will conduct further investigations.

The USDA says some citations are corrected quickly and do not result in more extensive investigations. The agriculture department is conducting another inspection of possible failure to provide adequate veterinary care and adequate laboratory oversight.

The medical center says that investigation involves four relatively minor issues.

A Kansas baby at the heart of an unusual medical drama is home from the hospital now and doing well.

The nearly 7-month-old girl, Mya Whittington, was hospitalized during the weekend while doctors tried to determine why her jaw swelled. Eventually, a doctor pulled a 2-inch feather out of her neck area.

The girl’s father, Aaron Whittington, said Wednesday the baby was home from the hospital.

Doctors decided not to treat an enlarged area on her neck that has a hard knot inside it. They say the area will heal on its own.

The little girl from Hutchinson has become something of a media star. Aaron Whittington says the family has received numerous requests for interviews to discuss his daughter’s unusual medical drama.

A Kansas City woman who spotted her 16-year-old son on surveillance video of an attempted restaurant holdup is getting praise and criticism for hauling him before police.

The teen is one of three people suspected of trying to hold up a Church’s Chicken on Sunday night. They fled when a manager wrestled a gun away.

The mother saw surveillance tape on a TV news report and took her son to a police station Monday night, securing him in her car by hitting the child safety locks.

The restaurant manager is grateful to the woman, who stopped with her son at the restaurant on the way to the police station. But police say she’s also getting grief from some people for her decision to turn him in.