EDINA, Mo. (AP) — Three junior high school football players have been charged in juvenile court with felony harassment and their coach has resigned in a case of alleged escalating hazing involving members of a younger football team.
Knox County R-1 School District Superintendent Andy Turgeon says he followed board policy in disciplining the students but provided no details, citing student privacy laws. He says the coach’s resignation happened last month after an investigation.
Attorney April Wilson is representing the family of football player on a fifth- and sixth-grade team in the northeast Missouri community. She says he was among those attacked. She says the older boys had a “lookout” and threatened to hurt witnesses if they told or intervened.
Knox County Sheriff Robert Becker says he can’t comment because the case involves juveniles.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says hackers accessed data from 29 million accounts as part of the security breach disclosed two weeks ago, fewer than the 50 million it initially believed were affected.
The hackers accessed name, email addresses or phone numbers from these accounts, according to Facebook. For 14 million of them, hackers got even more data, such as hometown, birthdate, the last 10 places they checked into or the 15 most recent searches.
An additional 1 million accounts were affected, but hackers didn’t get any information from them.
Facebook isn’t giving a breakdown of where these users are, but says the breach was “fairly broad.” It plans to send messages to people whose accounts were hacked.
Facebook said third-party apps and Facebook apps like WhatsApp and Instagram were unaffected by the breach.
Facebook said the FBI is investigating, but asked the company not to discuss who may be behind the attack. The company said it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of smaller-scale attacks that used the same vulnerability.
Facebook has said the attackers gained the ability to “seize control” of those user accounts by stealing digital keys the company uses to keep users logged in. They could do so by exploiting three distinct bugs in Facebook’s code. The company said it has fixed the bugs and logged out affected users to reset those digital keys.
At the time, CEO Mark Zuckerberg — whose own account was compromised — said attackers would have had the ability to view private messages or post on someone’s account, but there’s no sign that they did.
JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and USD 335 officials are investigating a teen for alleged criminal threat against other students.
On Thursday morning, deputies arrested a 14-year-old student at the Jackson Heights High School north of Holton, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse.
The student is alleged to have communicated threats towards specific students and was arrested on three counts of criminal threat.
Deputies and Investigators have been interviewing witnesses, according to Morse.
Anyone who may have further information regarding the incident is encouraged to call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
MIAMI COUNTY, Kansas —On Friday first responders were dispatched to Hospital Drive south of 327th Street for a vehicle in the water, according to the Miami County Sheriff. The flood waters had receded showing the roof of a silver passenger car. The vehicle was a 2006 Chevy Malibu owned by Rachel Phillips. Authorities removed the car from the water and found her deceased inside. Her cause of death has not been determined, according to the sheriff’s department.
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MIAMI COUNTY, Kan. — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for Hazel L. Phillips, age 78.
According to The Miami County Sheriff, Hazel was last contacted on Tuesday in the evening hours by her family.
She told her family that she would be going to Drexel, Missouri Wednesday morning . Hazel did not make it to her destination in Drexel, Missouri.
Similar vehicle to the one described as missing
She is known to drive a silver 2008 Chevrolet Malibu with Kansas tag 450HLB, which is missing also. It is unknown what Hazel is wearing. Hazel is 5-foot-6, 120 pounds, Brown hair and green eyes. Hazel may be suffering from medical conditions which could be a safety concern for her.
Hazel may be in the Paola or Osawatomie location. If you make contact with Hazel or see her, please call the Investigations Division at the Miami County Sheriff’s Office at 913-294-3232.
Several area law enforcement agencies conducted a saturation operation in St. Joseph overnight.
The project focused on street level criminals and locating stolen vehicles. According to the St. Joseph Police Department, there were 77 vehicle stops made, 60 citations issued, 39 warning tickets issued, nine felony warrants served, six misdemeanor warrants served and three other arrests. Five vehicles failed to yield to officers and four of those drivers were arrested.
Capt. Jeff Wilson with the SJPD said there were also a couple guns seized during the course of the operation.
The operation included the St. Joseph Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Andrew County Sheriff’s Department and the Elwood Police Department.
All criminal cases from the operation are being submitted to the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office for charge considerations.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a small alligator has been found under a vehicle in suburban Kansas City.
Police in Olathe, Kansas reported that an animal control officer captured the gator earlier this week. The post says it’s “Something you don’t expect to see in Kansas.” The gator is spending the week in a shelter before heading to a reptile rescue in Manhattan next week. Alligators aren’t allowed to live in the city.
The alligator appears be about 1 foot long. Photos posted online show it soaking in a tub of water and someone holding up the animal.
ALIAGA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on trial of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is accused of espionage and terror related charges(all times local):
A Turkish court has convicted an American pastor at the center of a Turkish-American diplomatic dispute of terror charges, but has released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey.
The court near the western city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Andrew Brunson to 3 years and 1 month in prison for the conviction, but since the evangelical pastor has already spent two years in detention he won’t serve more time.
Andrew Brunson photo courtesy U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Brunson, 50, had rejected the espionage and terror-related charges and strongly maintained his innocence.
Lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said Brunson was expected to leave Turkey for the United States
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4:05 p.m.
A Turkish prosecutor has requested that an American pastor at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Turkey and the United States be released from house arrest pending the outcome of his trial.
In the fourth hearing in the case against Andrew Brunson, the prosecutor however also recommended that he be convicted on terror-related charges.
A panel of judges is expected to reach an interim ruling later Friday.
Brunson, 50, is accused of terror-related charges and espionage. He rejects the charges and strongly maintains his innocence.
The pastor told the court he is “an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey.”
The United States has repeatedly called for his release.
TOPEKA – Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel announced Thursday a significant decrease in the number of youth who have run away from their foster care placement.
Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel explains the importance of locating missing and runaway youth with staff and local law enforcement before a sweep in Wichita.
According to a media release from Kansas DCF, on August 31, 2017, there were 86 missing or runaway youth. Comparatively, on August 31, 2018, there were 63, representing a 26.7 percent decrease in the number of missing and runaway youth.
“It is exciting to see a decrease in the number of youth missing or running away from placement, as this was one of my primary focuses when I started at the agency,” Secretary Meier-Hummel said. “I am extremely proud of the work of our Missing and Runaway Youth Investigator unit. We will continue to actively look for these youth because even one child missing from placement is one too many. Ensuring their safety is of the utmost importance.”
While the number of youth who have run away from placement continues to fluctuate on a daily basis, DCF has consistently seen lower numbers, as a result of recent agency initiatives.
Since Secretary Meier-Hummel’s arrival at the agency, DCF has emphasized locating missing and runaway youth. DCF has a team of investigators dedicated to actively looking for these youth and ensuring their safety. On a regular basis, these investigators partner with contract staff and local law enforcement to locate these youth. Secretary Meier-Hummel receives a daily report on youth who are missing or have run away from placement.
Strong Families Make a Strong Kansas
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Another initiative DCF has recently launched is Missing and Runaway sweeps. During these sweeps, our missing and runaway youth investigators partner with contract staff and local law enforcement to target specific locations to find youth. The agency has conducted these sweeps in Wichita and Kansas City—two of the most populated areas in the state. To date, there have been 880 recovery events.
“On a daily basis, we are working with contacts across the state to search for and locate these youth. Youth that are missing or have run away from placement are at a higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, among other issues and that is why the work we do is so vital. We want to help these youth and keep them safe,” Missing and Runaway Youth Investigator Kody Johnson said.
DCF has also recently partnered with the Youth Advocate Program (YAP). YAP comes alongside case managers to be advocates for families. Once in care, a youth is assigned an advocate through YAP that sticks with them regardless of where they go in the state or where they are placed. It is a trust-based relationship between the advocate and the youth. In our partnership with YAP, we will assign every youth that runs away from placement an advocate that can support them, help identify why they run and help prevent them running in the future. With this partnership, we are giving youth that run away from placement a level of safety, security and support through establishing meaningful relationships with their YAP advocate.
MANHATTAN — Sonny Perdue, U.S. secretary of agriculture, will be the next speaker in Kansas State University’s Landon Lecture Series. Secretary Perdue’s speech, “Leave It Better Than You Found It: Lessons in Public Service I Learned on the Farm,” will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in McCain Auditorium.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Senator Roberts visited during a farm tour outside Manhattan in May-photo by Stephen Koranda/ Kansas News Service
The lecture is free and the public is invited. Please note that for security purposes, no backpacks and large personal bags will be allowed in the auditorium. A bag check will be available in the McCain foyer.
“As a leader in global food systems research, Kansas State University welcomes the opportunity to bring the nation’s top agriculture official to campus,” said Linda Cook, chair of the Landon Lecture Series and the university’s chief of staff and director of community relations. “Secretary Perdue joins a long list of secretaries of agriculture who have participated in the Landon Lecture Series and shared their vision on issues facing an industry that is vital to this university, Kansas, the nation and the world.”
The secretary’s life was shaped and fashioned growing up on his family’s farm. His lecture will focus on the lessons that he learned from family, school, church, sports and caring for the land and animals that formed a foundation of serving others. He has applied the lessons he learned while growing up on the farm to transform the culture of public service to focus on serving the citizens.
Nominated by President Trump, Perdue has been serving as the nation’s 31st secretary of agriculture since April 25, 2017, and brings a strong background in agriculture, public service and agribusiness to the post. He grew up on a dairy and diversified row crop farm in rural Georgia. As a young man, he served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain. After his military service, he went on to earn his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia and worked in private practice in North Carolina.
Perdue pursued a political career next and served as a Georgia state senator for 11 years. He also was elected president pro tempore by his senate colleagues. As a state senator, he was recognized as a leading authority on issues including energy and utilities, agriculture, transportation, emerging technologies and economic development, and for his ability to grasp the nuances of complex problems.
Elected to two terms as governor of Georgia, from 2003-2011, Perdue was credited with transforming a budget deficit into a surplus, dramatically increasing student performance in public schools, and fostering an economic environment that allowed employers to flourish and manufacturers and agricultural producers to achieve record levels of exports. He was named Public Official of the Year in 2010 by Governing magazine.
The secretary followed his public service with a successful career in agribusiness, focusing on commodities and transportation in enterprises that have spanned the southeastern U.S. He also has served as a board member for the National Grain & Feed Association and as president of both the Georgia Feed and Grain Association and the Southeastern Feed and Grain Association. Perdue has long-standing, close relationships with the leadership of the American Farm Bureau and has been recognized by the Georgia 4-H and FFA programs, among others, for his leadership in agriculture.
One of the most prestigious lecture series offered at a U.S. college or university, the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series was instituted in 1966 by former Kansas State University President James A. McCain. The series is a tribute to Alfred M. Landon, who served as governor of Kansas from 1933-1937 and delivered the first lecture in the series, “New Challenges in International Relations,” on Dec. 13, 1966. Perdue will be the 179th speaker and 11th secretary of agriculture to take part in the lecture series.
Scattered rain showers return today, and combined with cooler temperatures, will make for a wet and chilly Friday. We will dry out a bit before rain chances return for Sunday. In addition, temperatures will fall into the mid to upper 30s by tomorrow morning and into the low 30s on Monday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Rain, mainly before 4 p.m. High near 46. Light and variable wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight: Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. South wind 6 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: A chance of rain, mainly after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Sunday: Rain, mainly after 8 a.m. High near 44. North wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Sunday Night: Rain, possibly mixing with snow after 1 a.m., then gradually ending. Low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.
Monday Night: Widespread frost, mainly after midnight. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 30.
Tuesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 55.
Tuesday Night: Patchy frost after 4 a.m. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 35.
Wednesday: Areas of frost. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 59.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39.
According to The Miami County Sheriff, Hazel was last contacted on Tuesday in the evening hours by her family.
