DETROIT (AP) — Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Ford is recalling about 2 million F-150 pickups in North America because the seat belts can cause fires.
The recall covers certain trucks from the 2015 through 2018 model years.
The company says it has 23 reports of smoke or fire in the U.S. and Canada, but it’s not aware of any injuries. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the fires last month after getting five reports. Fires destroyed three trucks.
Ford says some seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they tighten the belts before a crash. That can ignite gases inside a support beam and cause insulation and carpet to catch fire.
Dealers will remove insulation and install heat-resistant tape. Owners will be notified starting Sept. 24.
WINONA, Mo. (AP) — State officials say more than $42,000 is missing and unaccounted for in a southern Missouri town.
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, CPA
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s office said in a news release that a “lack of oversight and poor accounting procedures” were to blame for the problems in Winona. An audit found that the suspicious activity went undetected for at least two years in the Shannon County town of about 1,300 residents.
The news release says auditors found at least $34,000 in cash that was received and documented, but not deposited. In order to prevent detection, unrecorded check payments would be substituted to cover up the missing cash. Additionally, more than $7,000 in utility check payments were recorded but not deposited.
The release says a city employee has been terminated and that authorities are investigating.
Several rounds of moderate to heavy rain are expected today through early Saturday morning as the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon move through the region. Flash flooding along with flooding of local rivers and streams will be possible through the early weekend. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., then a chance of drizzle and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Patchy fog before 1 p.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 72. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A slight chance of drizzle and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. Patchy fog before 8 p.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 64. Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Patchy fog before 11 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 70. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 61. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., then a slight chance of thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 69. Northeast wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 76.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One of Republican Kris Kobach’s main opponents said Wednesday that he is not qualified to serve as Kansas governor because of his tough stance against illegal immigration and because he promises to pursue state policies meant to discourage it.
Johnson County Bar Association Gubernatorial Debate -photo courtesy Kobach for Governor campaign
Independent candidate Greg Orman, Republican Kris Kobach and Democrat Laura Kelly faced off Wednesday during the Johnson County Bar Association Gubernatorial Debate.
Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman, said Kobach’s stance on immigration shows that the Republican does not understand agriculture or how it depends heavily on immigrant labor. Orman made his comment during perhaps the sharpest exchange for the major candidates’ first forum of the fall campaign at a hotel in a Kansas City suburb.
Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, has made illegal immigration a key issue in his campaign after more than a decade of advocating action by states and local communities. He was an early backer of President Donald Trump, advising both his 2016 campaign and the White House on immigration and homeland security issues.
“I almost think the idea, Kris, that you think that we need to rid of all immigrants in Kansas — all illegal immigrants in Kansas — just disqualifies you to be governor,” Orman said. “It’s clearly a red meat issue for your base, but ultimately, it just demonstrates you don’t understand how the ag economy works.”
Both Orman and Kelly are vying for votes from GOP moderates who dislike Kobach’s conservative politics, including his longstanding embrace of tough immigration policies. They have emphasized other issues, such as support for public schools for Kelly and promoting economic growth for Orman.
Both Orman and Kelly said illegal immigration is a federal issue requiring comprehensive reforms to immigration laws from Washington — echoing statements made in the past from major Kansas business and agriculture groups.
Kobach defeated Gov. Jeff Colyer in the Republican primary last month, and Orman picked up the endorsement of Colyer’s ex-campaign chairman, a former Kansas Farm Bureau president. Orman said aggressive attempts to deport illegal immigrants would hurt rural Kansas, particularly dairy and meatpacking businesses.
But Kobach brushed off the criticism and said states should discourage illegal immigrants from settling within their borders. He has promised that if he is elected governor, he will issue an executive order requiring state agencies and their contractors to use the e-Verify system to check workers’ legal status, something he’s done with his own office.
He also has promised to pursue legislation that would cut off state funding to cities and counties that restrict law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants.
Kobach said Orman is suggesting that someone isn’t qualified for governor for wanting to “have the illegal population leave the state and open up jobs for Kansans” is “180-degrees wrong.”
“I’d be the first governor who’s actually tried to do something about the problem,” Kobach said. “We have to look out for the American worker.”
Kobach also has promised to seek the repeal of a 2004 law that helps young people living in Kansas illegally to go to state colleges by allowing them to pay the lower tuition rates reserved for legal state residents. Kobach contends the law subsidizes the educations of illegal immigrants, to the detriment of taxpayers.
Like other supporters, Kelly said the law makes higher education affordable to young people brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents after they’ve made Kansans their home for years.
“I have voted for that, and I’ll vote for it again, if I need to,” Kelly said. “Those kids would be dropping out of college because they couldn’t afford it.”
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Two Columbia, Mo., men pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to their roles in a prostitution operation.
Manthe -photo Boone Co.
Barry Paul Manthe, 65, and Ronald James Clark, 67, each waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty in separate appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps to a federal information that charges them with using the internet to promote a racketeering enterprise, a prostitution business that operated out of a Columbia residence.
In a separate but related case, Kenneth Ronald Jones, 26, of Columbia, pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, 2018, to one count of the sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity by coercion and enticement.
FBI agents learned on June 29, 2016, that a 17-year-old runaway from Wisconsin – identified as “FV1” – was being held against her will and forced into prostitution by Jones. She was located at a residence in Columbia on that day and removed by law enforcement agents. Manthe and Clark operated a brothel at the residence.
FV1 told investigators that Manthe paid for escort advertisements on the website Backpage for the prostitutes utilizing the brothel. According to FV1, she was advertised under a pseudonym but the ads did not include her photograph. Jones found photographs of other females on the Internet and gave them to Manthe to post with the ad.
Clark collected the door fee from the prostitutes, which ranged from $10 to $30. FV1 gave the rest of the money she earned through prostitution to Jones. Clark applied the door fee income to the monthly bills, then split the remaining profit between himself and Manthe.
FV1 told investigators that she met Jones in May 2016 at a party in Milwaukee, Wis., and agreed to travel with him to Columbia to engage in prostitution. Within a few minutes of arriving at a Columbia residence that was used as a brothel, a man arrived soliciting prostitution. This man selected FV1 from the approximately five prostitutes present, and paid to have sex with her. FV1 subsequently engaged in prostitution almost every day, averaging two or three clients per day.
Although Jones knew that FV1 was 17 years old, he told everyone else at the brothel that L.V was 18 years old so she would be allowed to work there.
Another victim, identified as “FV2,” told police that she worked at the brothel every day and was advertised through Backpage. Jones physically abused her in the days prior to her running away in late May or early June 2016. She reported Jones pointed a 9mm handgun in her face and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
A third victim, identified as “FV3”, told investigators that Jones told her she needed to make money, and threatened to kick her to the streets if she did not do what he wanted. She witnessed Jones point guns and threaten the other victims.
Under federal statutes, Manthe and Clark are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole
ANDREW COUNTY— Two people died in an accident just before 9:30p.m. Wednesday in Andrew County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Pontiac G6 driven by Kristen K. Ingles, 36, Peoria, IL., was southbound in the northbound passing lane on U.S. 71 two miles southwest of Savannah, Missouri.
The Pontiac struck the front left bumper of a northbound 2005 Ford Escape driven by Ricky L. Gonzalez, 32, Manhattan, and traveled off the roadway.
Ingles and Gonzalez were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Heaton, Bowman, Smith Funeral Home in St. Joseph.
Gonzalez was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.
JOHNSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and alleged aggravated battery.
Photos courtesy Olathe Police
Three suspects stole a shopping cart full of merchandise from a business in the 14400 Block of 135th Street in Olathe last week, according to Olathe Police.
As the suspects fled, their gray Nissan Frontier nearly hit a witness in the parking lot. Anyone who is able to identify the suspects is asked to contact police.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Mexican nationals were charged in federal court Wednesday for their roles in a Daviess County marijuana-growing operation where law enforcement officers seized nearly $10 million worth of plants.
According to a news release, Sergio Medina-Perez, also known as “Chapo,” 44, and Miguel Pulido-Maldonado, also known as “Mona,” 27, were charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Both men are citizens of Mexico who were living in California prior to coming to Missouri.
Wednesday’s federal criminal complaint charges Medina-Perez and Pulido-Maldonado with manufacturing and distributing 1,000 or more marijuana plants.
The owners of the three real estate tracts that comprise the property in Daviess County live in California. Law enforcement officers, who had been keeping the marijuana grow site under surveillance, executed a search warrant at the property on Aug. 27, 2018. The plants were in a clearing inside a large area of timber. A distinct path led from a building in the wooded area to the area containing the marijuana plants. One person who was present at the marijuana grow site fled into the wooded area and escaped.
Officers located approximately 2,464 cultivated marijuana plants. With an approximate street value of $1,800 per pound of marijuana, this results in approximately $9,757,440 in marijuana plants seized.
Medina-Perez was arrested near the grow site on Aug. 29, 2018. Pulido-Maldonado was arrested on Aug. 30, 2018; he was covered in mud, his arms had numerous bites from either mosquitos or other insects and it appeared he had been outside for several days. Medina-Perez and Pulido-Maldonado have been held on immigration detainers since their arrests.
The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Northwest Missouri Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Daviess County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Grundy County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Livingston County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is limiting lawmakers’ focus during an upcoming special session to drug treatment courts, appointments and education.
Parson in a proclamation released Wednesday directed lawmakers to pass legislation to reform and expand treatment courts. The special session begins Monday.
Parson’s directive comes after he vetoed a wide-ranging bill this year that dealt with treatment courts, judicial retirement plans and efforts to clean up abandoned property. In an earlier letter to lawmakers, Parson said the bill appeared to violate constitutional prohibitions on including multiple subjects.
Parson also wants legislation that allows high school computer science courses to count toward graduation requirements, as well as an online class to raise science, technology, engineering and math awareness among students.
He’s calling on lawmakers to consider gubernatorial appointments as well.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House hearing about social media censorship was briefly interrupted as a protester stood up and yelled at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Republican Missouri Rep. Billy Long drowned her out using his auctioneering skills.
A woman stood up and started loudly yelling at Dorsey, complaining about bias and publicly pleading for President Donald Trump to help.
As a protester interrupts hearing with @Twitter CEO @Jack Dorsey, Rep. Billy Long (@USRepLong@auctnr1), a former auctioneer, takes action.
The recall covers certain trucks from the 2015 through 2018 model years.
