INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A 32-year-old woman has been charged with beating her aunt to death with a baseball bat in an Independence home.

Courtney Hackney was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of Holly Barnett who was found dead Tuesday in a recliner. No attorney is listed for Hackney in online court records.

Court records say a woman who lived with Barnett noticed her in the chair and that Hackney said she was sleeping. The woman then ran from the house but Hackney attempted to drag her back inside. She called police after getting free.

Responding officers found Barnett dead and recovered a bat that appeared to have blood on it. Hackney told police Barnett was her aunt. Witnesses said they saw Hackney frequently carrying the bat.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating a deadly shooting at a home in Kansas City.

KMBC-TV reports that police responded Wednesday to a call that shots had been fired. The officers found that a man had sustained a gunshot wound when they arrived. The man was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.

Police didn’t immediately release any other details. Authorities are urging anyone with information to call a tips hotline.

SIKESTON, Mo. (AP) — An employee of a southeast Missouri retirement center is dead and three residents are injured after a tree fell during high winds.

The Sikeston Standard Democrat  reports that 41-year-old Richard Flye died Wednesday at Green Meadows Retirement Center in Sikeston when a gust of wind blew over a rotting tree. The tree landed on a picnic table where employees and residents were sitting.

Other workers say Flye was trying to help the residents when the tree fell.

Two of the injured residents were treated and released at a hospital. The other remains hospitalized with fractured ribs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are investigating the death of a man whose body was found on a biking and walking trail.

Police say a cyclist found the body about 6:30 a.m. Thursday on the Indian Creek trail in south Kansas City.

Authorities said in a news release that they consider the death suspicious, though they did not elaborate.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is asking Gov. Eric Greitens to bring state lawmakers back to the Capitol to pass legislation for a prescription drug monitoring program.

McCaskill said in a Wednesday letter to Greitens that he should call a special legislative session to enact a prescription database.

Missouri is the only state without a drug-tracking program. Advocates say databases help doctors and pharmacists track when patients receive numerous addictive medications, such as opioids. Then physicians can provide addiction treatment if needed.

Some Missouri lawmakers have pushed back over privacy concerns about a database of patients’ prescription information.

A proposal to create a drug monitoring program failed to pass in the legislative session that ended May 12.

McCaskill says she’s “bitterly disappointed.”

AUGUSTA, Mo. (AP) — An eastern Missouri man is charged with leaving the scene of an accident that cost a motorcyclist his leg, and the victim’s son is being credited with tracking down the suspect.

Authorities say 32-year-old Christopher Wirstrom of Augusta was arrested Monday after D.J. Helfert used evidence at the crash scene and traced it to Wirstrom’s car.

Daniel Helfert’s motorcycle was struck on Highway 94 in St. Charles County on Monday, sending it off the road and into a ditch. One of Helfert’s legs had to be amputated.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the release of Pvt. Chelsea Manning from a Kansas military prison (all times EST):

2:25 p.m.

The Army says newly freed Pvt. Chelsea Manning will be on a special, unpaid off-duty status that will allow the transgender soldier to wear her preferred civilian clothing, including women’s attire.

Manning also will be able to live where she wants.

Manning was released Wednesday from a lockup at Kansas’ Fort Leavenworth. That’s where she’d been serving a 35-year sentence for giving classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

Former President Barack Obama granted her clemency in January before he left office.

The Army says Manning will be on “excess leave,” meaning she is considered to be off-duty, while her court-martial conviction is under appellate review.

An Army spokeswoman says Manning remains subject to the military’s criminal code until her discharge from the Army.

___

9:15 a.m.

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning says she’s uncertain where her life will take her after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

Manning said in a statement Wednesday that “whatever is ahead … is far more important than the past,” and that she’s “figuring things out right now.” The statement was emailed just hours after her release from a military prison in Kansas.

Minutes later, she tweeted a photo of her feet in tennis shoes, with the caption: “First steps of freedom!!”

Manning, who is transgender and was known as Bradley Manning before she transitioned in prison, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations. Former President Barack Obama granted her clemency in January before he left office.

___

8:25 a.m.

A documentary is being created about Pvt. Chelsea Manning, the transgender soldier convicted of giving classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

Pulse Films announced the film at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, the same day that Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. The film is titled “XY Chelsea” and will be directed by British filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins and executive produced by “Citizenfour” filmmaker Laura Poitras.

Hawkins was planning to film Manning as she was released from prison Wednesday. Producers say Manning granted filmmakers “unprecedented access.” Hawkins has followed her legal team since 2014.

Manning, who was known as Bradley Manning before transitioning, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations. President Barack Obama granted her clemency in January before departing office.

___

7:50 a.m.

The U.S. Army says Pvt. Chelsea Manning has been released from a Kansas military prison after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith says The transgender soldier was released from Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday. Former President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency during his final days in office.

Manning, an Oklahoma native, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud. She was acquitted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy.

The former intelligence analyst in Iraq acknowledged leaking the materials, saying she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military’s disregard of the effects of war on civilians.

She was known as Bradley Manning before transitioning in prison.

___

7:25 a.m.

Media reports say Pvt. Chelsea Manning has been released from a Kansas military prison after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

NBC News, citing an unnamed U.S Army official, says Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison Wednesday at around 2 a.m. Central Time. The BBC also cites an unnamed Army representative in reporting she has left the facility. The Associated Press has not confirmed these reports.

Former President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency during his final days in office.

Manning, an Oklahoma native, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud.

Previously known as Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst in Iraq said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military’s disregard of the effects of war on civilians.

___

11:13 p.m.

Pvt. Chelsea Manning is due to be released from a Kansas military prison after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

The transgender soldier is scheduled to be freed from Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday in accordance with former President Barack Obama’s decision to grant her clemency in his final days in office.

The Oklahoma native’s attorneys and the Army have refused to say precisely when and how she will be released, citing potential safety concerns.

The former intelligence analyst in Iraq acknowledged leaking the materials, saying she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military’s disregard of the effects of war on civilians.

She was known as Bradley Manning before transitioning in prison.

NEVADA, Mo. (AP) — An inmate alleges in a lawsuit that he was forced to participate in “fight nights” at least nine times at a southwest Missouri jail.

Alexander Trexel is seeking more than $100 million in punitive damages in the suit filed Monday in Vernon County. He was jailed there on felony stealing and misdemeanor trespassing charges before being transferred Tuesday to Cedar County.

The Joplin Globe reports that Trexel alleges he required stitches for a cut above his eye and suffers from “fear and anxiety.” Trexel’s attorney, Dustin Dunfield, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher says the jail has security cameras that cover “most of” its grounds. He says the county’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation.

GALENA, Mo. (AP) — A former bailiff in Missouri has filed a lawsuit alleging a sheriff fired him after unsuccessfully trying to convince him to not run for sheriff in another county.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that Warren Hagar filed the suit in April against Stone County and Sheriff Doug Rader. Hagar, who unsuccessfully ran for Christian County sheriff, says he was wrongfully terminated and lost the “ability to effectively campaign for public office.”

Hagar says Rader met with him several times last year to oppose Hagar’s choice to run. Hagar was fired in April 2016.

Hagar’s attorney, Brandon Potter, tells The Associated Press that it’s “disappointing” a sheriff would keep a “qualified candidate” from running for office in another county.

Rader didn’t immediately return a voicemail from The Associated Press seeking comment.

At least two people were killed and dozens of others injured Tuesday after suspected tornadoes tore through a mobile home park in Wisconsin and a subdivision in Oklahoma.

In Elk City, Oklahoma, local authorities report 40 homes destroyed and up to 75 more damaged. The Elk City Fire Dept. identified the fatality as Bo Mikles, 53, who died near Highway 34 and Highway 152 south of Elk City.

Beckham County Emergency Management director Lonnie Risenhoover said Mikles was inside a vehicle at the time. Multiple broadcast reports indicate he decided to leave his mobile home to seek shelter right before the twister hit.

A mobile home park was destroyed in a small town northeast of Minneapolis. At least one person was killed and an estimated 25 more were injured.

There were 26 reports of tornadoes Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, but none of them have been confirmed.

None of the tornado reports have yet been confirmed by the National Weather Service.

Authorities say at least one person was hurt when a tornado touched down in central Kansas. The National Weather Service says the storm started Tuesday night in the panhandle of Oklahoma and tracked into Kansas. One confirmed tornado was reported near a small town southeast of Dodge City, although there were no immediate reports of damage. The storm then headed toward the small central Kansas town of Pawnee Rock, where a home was destroyed. No details were immediately available about the person who was hurt there.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Umscheid says radar images suggest the storm may have produced other brief, rain-wrapped tornadoes as it moved over rural farmland.

Assessment crews were headed out Wednesday to determine the extent of the damage.

(Staff and Wire Reports)