LAFAYETTE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Tuesday in Lafayette County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Dana M. Smith, 53, Kansas City, was westbound on U.S. 24 just west of Appletree Lane.

The Ford crossed the center line into the path of a 1999 Dodge passenger vehicle driven by Ashlee A. Watson, 27, Claycomo. Upon impact, both vehicles rotated counter-clockwise and came to rest blocking the road.

Smith and Watson were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Dodge Trevor J. Tackett, 30, was flown to Truman Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. Watson was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Nigerian owner of a day care center in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to submitting false information to the government as part of a fraud scheme to receive federal child care subsidies, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Hauwa Al-Hassan, 49, of Raymore, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to making false statements to the government.

Al-Hassan, a Nigerian immigrant, is the owner and CEO of Guidance Child Care Center, LLC, a child day care center at 8101 E. Bannister Rd., Kansas City, Mo. Al-Hassan is also the vice president of Guidance Academy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

By pleading guilty, Al-Hassan admitted that she engaged in a pattern of fraudulent billing in order to receive funding to which she was not entitled under the federal Child Care and Development Fund grant program. Al-Hassan filed claims that reported more hours and children than actually attended her daycare center.

The Child Care and Development Fund provides daycare subsidies for low-income families where the parents are employed or engaged in job training. Providers, such as Guidance, contract with the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and submit claims electronically. Al-Hassan signed a contract with the Missouri Department of Social Services on May 3, 2010, to operate Guidance as a licensed childcare center providing childcare services to low-income families.

Al-Hassan admitted that she deliberately filed false attendance reports for children for more hours than they actually attended Guidance, causing a loss totaling $74,000. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Al-Hassan must pay that amount in restitution to the Department of Health and Human Services. She must pay $10,000 of that restitution amount prior to her sentencing hearing.

Since 2013, Guidance has been audited formally or informally by the state on four occasions. Each audit found many hours inaccurately billed for childcare services. Based on Guidance’s history of billing for services not rendered and sharing of employees and billed children with other daycares believed to be running fraud schemes on the CCDF program, two pole cameras were installed near Guidance from Feb. 11, 2016 to March 20, 2016. One camera focused on the front doors of Guidance; the second camera showed the parking lot and rear doors.  All doors in and out were covered by a pole camera. Timesheets submitted with the billing were compared with the information on the timesheets to the children seen on the pole cameras being dropped off and picked up from Guidance during that time.    There were significant discrepancies between the timesheets submitted and the pole camera footage.

This case is the result of a nationwide sweep that targeted childcare center fraud schemes. The national law enforcement operation in Missouri and six other states was the result of separate, but related, federal investigations into childcare center fraud that resulted in a loss of more than $1 million to the government.

Under federal statutes, Al-Hassan is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on possible explosive devices sent to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (all times local):

10:18 a.m.

The White House is condemning attempted attacks made against former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement Wednesday: “These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” She adds: “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”

The U.S. Secret Service said Wednesday that agents have intercepted packages containing “possible explosive devices” addressed to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

In addition, the building that is home to CNN in New  York was evacuated Wednesday after officials reported a similar package.

Scene outside CNN NY HQ right now. #NYPD Bomb squad here. @CNNnewsroom pic.twitter.com/avUVaSKDRu

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 24, 2018

The Secret Service says neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures.

Hillary Clinton was campaigning for Democrats in Florida and wasn’t at the family’s suburban New York residence when a suspicious package addressed to her was seized by the Secret Service.

Former President Bill Clinton was at the family’s Chappaqua, New York, home when the package was intercepted at a Westchester County, N.Y., facility. That’s according to a person familiar with his schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity and wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

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10:11 a.m.

The U.S. Secret Service says agents have intercepted packages containing “possible explosive devices” addressed to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The agency says neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures.

It says the devices were discovered late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

A U.S. official tells The Associated Press that a “functional explosive device” was found during screening at Bill and Hillary Clintons’ suburban New York home.

The official says investigators believe the explosive is linked to one found Monday at the compound of liberal billionaire George Soros.

The Secret Service says a second package was addressed to Obama and was intercepted in Washington.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri woman who admitted to health care fraud in the case of a man whose body was found encased in concrete has surrendered her nursing license.

Forty-nine-year-old Melissa Denise DeLap pleaded guilty in August to health care fraud in connection with the death of Carl DeBrodie of Fulton, whose body was found in April 2017.

State records show DeLap surrendered her license Monday. DeLap was contracted to make monthly visits to DeBrodie and three other residents at Second Chance Homes in Fulton, which served developmentally disabled clients.

DeLap acknowledged she falsely documented visiting DeBrodie during months when investigators believe he was dead.

She was paid about $2,500 for the visits. DeLap must pay $106,795 in restitution to Medicaid as a part of her the agreement.

KANSAS CITY,. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was convicted at trial Tuesday of striking two federal officers with his vehicle.

Geno A. Williams, 53, was found guilty during a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough of one count of assaulting a federal officer or employee.

According to evidence introduced during the trial, Williams entered the Social Security Administration office at 2021 Independence Ave., Kansas City, Mo., at about 10:30 a.m. on May 29, 2015. Williams checked in then sat down with his two minor children.

Williams was agitated and confrontational toward the Federal Protective Service officers on duty and began filming them with his cell phone. When the officer told Williams he could not record within the facility, Williams complained he was being harassed and said the officer could not tell him what to do. The officer then told Williams he needed to leave the property.

As Williams was leaving, he told the officers that he “knew who they were,” which was taken as a threat to the officers. Two officers followed Williams out of the facility to his vehicle and were ordered by a supervisor to detain him. One of the officers went to the driver’s side door to talk to Williams, who had gotten into the vehicle and locked the doors. The officers attempted to open the vehicle’s doors while an officer walked to the rear of the vehicle and called in the license plate to headquarters.

At that point, Williams backed up the vehicle into the officer, who told Williams, “You just hit me with your vehicle, stop!” Williams continued to back up, however, continually hitting the officer and causing injury. Another officer walked in front of the vehicle. Williams sped forward, forcing the officer to dive out of the way to avoid being run over.

The incident was captured on video. Williams was arrested later that day at his residence.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Latest on Monsanto ruling (all times local):

 

With the value of its stock dropping and more lawsuits expected, Monsanto’s parent company says it will press on with its nationwide legal defense of its best-selling weed killer Roundup.

On Monday, San Francisco Judge Suzanne Bolanos upheld a verdict saying it causes cancer. But she cut the jury’s award to $78 million.

Legal experts said the decision will have little value in courtrooms across the country where similar cases are pending, but it will likely lead to more lawsuits. Similar lawsuits doubled from 4,000 to 8,000 after a San Francisco jury awarded DeWayne Johnson $389 million in August.

It’s the first lawsuit of its kind to go to trial and legal experts said Monsanto is unlikely to settle any of them until a significant number of adverse verdicts pile up across the country. That will take years, they say.

————–

A Northern California judge has upheld a jury’s verdict finding Monsanto’s weed killer caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, but she slashed his $289 million award to $78 million.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos ruled Monday

A San Francisco jury’s August verdict included $250 million in punitive damages, which the judge said was too high. She reduced the punitive damages to $39 million, matching the jury’s underlying damage award.

Jurors found Monsanto purposely ignored warnings and evidence that its popular Roundup product caused DeWayne Johnson’s lymphoma.

In a tentative ruling on Oct. 11, Bolanos said she was considering wiping out the punitive damage award because there appeared to be no evidence presented at trial that Monsanto employees ignored evidence that the weed killer caused cancer.

 

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an assault and have a suspect in custody.

According to Independence Police, Alexander Schrader, the person of interest in an assault case,  turned himself him at IPD police headquarters on Tuesday. Two other juvenile subjects have also been taken into custody.

Authorities have not released details on criminal charges.

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JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an assault and searching for a person of interest.

According to a  report from Independence Police Department, a disturbing video is being shared on social media showing someone pointing a pistol at a juvenile victim, who is later punched several times by another person.

Police have received numerous calls from the public about this case. Just before  9:30 PM Monday, the Independence Police Department received a report of this incident that occurred on Saturday.

The IPD criminal investigations unit is currently investigating this case and the suspects have already been identified and is being sought.

Detectives would like to speak with 17 year old Alexander (Alex) Schrader. He is white male, approximately 5-foot-5, 120 lbs, with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Anyone who knows where Alex is, please call the Tips Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS, IPD tips at (816) 325-7777 or email leads@indepmo.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – The Air Force says a Missouri-based B-2 stealth bomber landed in Colorado Springs after an unspecified emergency during a training flight, but neither of the pilots was injured.

Officials say first responders from Peterson Air Force Base responded to the plane after it landed at about 4:20 a.m. Tuesday.

The Air Force in a statement did not disclose the nature of the emergency but says a maintenance team is on the way to investigate.

At the time of the landing, the aircraft was returning to its home base at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

The B-2 costs about $1 billion, is designed to evade enemy radar and has a two-person crew.