Temperatures will range through the middle to upper 90s this afternoon with heat indices around 100 degrees today, increasing to between 100 and 105 degrees, or maybe hotter, Wednesday. Similar readings are expected through the rest of the work week and the coming weekend as a hot, humid, air mass remains in control of the weather across the Plains States. There is some hope that oppressive heat will let up early next work week, but until then it will be dangerously hot and humid. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 100. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. East wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 101. Light east southeast wind becoming south southeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 96. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 75.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 96.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected judge, for the Supreme Court. Most members of the Missouri and Kansas congressional delegations expressed support for the choice.
Congrats to Judge Kavanaugh on his nomination to the #SCOTUS. I take my responsibility of ‘advice and consent’ very seriously & look forward to the @senjudiciary‘s thorough vetting of his record. I look forward to mtg Judge Kavanaugh & hope for a fair confirmation process.
KANSAS CITY– A Minnesota man was charged Monday with kidnapping a 13-year-old Kansas girl and taking her to St. Paul, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
The case prompted the state to issue an Amber Alert on July 6. Authorities found the teen and she was safe at a bus station, according to the KBI.
Amber Lynn Rewerts-Schiavoni
Dechon White, 23, St. Paul, Minn., is charged with one count of kidnapping.
Documents filed in the case allege White and the victim met online in February 2018. On July 1, White came to visit the victim Amber Lynn Rewerts-Schiavoni at her home in Lenexa, Kan. He told the victim’s mother he was 16 years old.
During his stay in Lenexa, he had sex with the victim.
On July 4, White and the victim told her mother they were going to a shopping mall. Instead, they went to a Greyhound bus station in Kansas City and took a bus to St. Paul.
White -photo courtesy Dakota County, Minnesota sheriff
After the victim’s mother reported her missing, police found White and the victim at his residence in St. Paul.
If convicted, White faces a penalty of not less than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a politically connected conservative judge, for the Supreme Court Monday, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court further to the right.
Trump welcomes Kavanaugh -photo courtesy White House
With customary fanfare, Trump unveiled hs choice on prime-time TV.
A favorite of the Republican legal establishment in Washington, Kavanaugh, 53, is a former law clerk for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Like Trump’s first nominee last year, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh would be a young addition who could help remake the court for decades to come with rulings that could restrict abortion, expand gun rights and roll back key parts of Obamacare.
“There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving,” said Trump, who called Kavanaugh “one of the sharpest legal minds of our time.”
With Kavanaugh, Trump is replacing a swing vote on the nine-member court with a staunch conservative. Kavanaugh, who serves on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is expected to be less receptive to abortion and gay rights than Kennedy was. He also has taken an expansive view of executive power and has favored limits on investigating the president.
A senior White House official said Trump made his final decision on the nomination Sunday evening, then phoned Kavanaugh to inform him.
The official said Trump decided on Kavanaugh, a front-runner throughout the search process, because of his large body of jurisprudence cited by other courts, describing him as a judge that other judges read.
On Monday, Trump phoned retiring Justice Kennedy to inform him that his former law clerk would be nominated to fill his seat. Trump signed Kavanaugh’s nomination papers Monday evening in the White House residence.
Top contenders had included federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett and Thomas Hardiman. Relishing the guessing game beyond the White House gates, Trump had little to say about his choice before the announcement.
Some conservatives have expressed concerns about Kavanaugh, questioning his commitment to social issues like abortion and noting his time serving under President George W. Bush as evidence he is a more establishment choice. But his supporters have cited his experience and wide range of legal opinions.
Ahead of his announcement, Trump tweeted about the stakes: “I have long heard that the most important decision a U.S. President can make is the selection of a Supreme Court Justice – Will be announced tonight at 9:00 P.M.”
With Democrats determined to vigorously oppose Trump’s choice, the Senate confirmation battle is expected to dominate the months leading up to November’s midterm elections. Senate Republicans hold only a 51-49 majority, leaving them hardly any margin if Democrats hold the line. Democratic senators running for re-election in states Trump carried in 2016 will face pressure to back his nominee.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he was bracing for a tough confirmation battle as Democrats focus on abortion. Kennedy, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will get the first chance to question the nominee, predicted a “rough, tough, down in the dirt, ear-pulling, nose-biting fight.”
Trump’s success in confirming conservative judges, as well as a Supreme Court justice, has cheered Republicans amid concerns about his limited policy achievements and chaotic management style. Of the court’s liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 85 and Stephen Breyer turns 80 next month, so Trump may well get another opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for years to come.
Kavanaugh is likely to be more conservative than Justice Kennedy on a range of social issues. At the top of that list is abortion. A more conservative majority could be more willing to uphold state restrictions on abortion, if not overturn the 45-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a woman’s constitutional right.
Kennedy’s replacement also could be more willing to allow states to carry out executions and could support undoing earlier court holdings in the areas of racial discrimination in housing and the workplace. Kennedy provided a decisive vote in 2015 on an important fair housing case.
While the president has been pondering his choice, his aides have been preparing for what is expected to be a tough confirmation fight. The White House said Monday that former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl would guide Trump’s nominee through the grueling Senate process.
Kyl, a former member of Republican leadership, served on the Senate Judiciary Committee before retiring in 2013. He works for the Washington-based lobbying firm Covington & Burling. The White House hopes Kyl’s close ties to Senate Republicans will help smooth the path for confirmation.
Trump is hoping to replicate his successful nomination of Justice Gorsuch last year. The president spent the days leading up to his announcement discussing the pros and cons of various contenders with aides and allies.
The White House invited a number of senators to attend the Monday night announcement, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and committee member Kennedy.
Democrats who were invited but declined included Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Dianne Feinstein of California. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. The others are Republican targets for the confirmation vote who come from Trump-won states where they face re-election this fall.
Kavanaugh is expected to meet in coming days with senators at their offices, going door-to-door in get-to-know-you sessions ahead of confirmation hearings.
Democrats have turned their attention to pressuring two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to oppose any nominee who threatens Roe v. Wade. The two have supported access to abortion services.
One Democrat up for re-election, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, announced Monday he would oppose any nominee from Trump’s list of 25 possible candidates, drafted by conservative groups. He called it the “fruit of a corrupt process straight from the D.C. swamp.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said opponents were using “40-year-old scare tactics” over abortion and other issues but they “will not stop us from doing the right thing.”
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas community has received $107,000 from a family’s insurance company after a 5-year-old boy accidentally knocked over a $132,000 sculpture at a community center.
Security camera image courtesy City of Overland Park
Overland Park spokesman Sean Reilly says the city plans to send $99,000 to the artist of “Aphrodite di Kansas City,” which was damaged in May at the city’s Tomahawk Ridge Community Center. He says that’s the amount the artist, Bill Lyons, would have received if the sculpture sold at the center’s art fair.
A video showed the child wrapping his arms around the piece and then struggling to hold it up as it fell to the floor.
The boy’s mother, Sarah Goodman, said Saturday she had not been told by her insurance company that the money was paid.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) – The mother of two young Missouri girls who died during the July Fourth holiday was denied when she asked to have her bond lowered on unrelated assault charges so she could attend their funerals.
Jenna Boedecker-Ribando photo Clay Co.
Jenna Boedecker-Ribando, of Kearney, made the request Monday during an appearance in Clay County Court on several felonies stemming from a confrontation she reportedly had with her husband hours before her two young children were found dead Wednesday in rural area east of Kearney.
No one has been charged in the girls’ deaths.
She is charged with domestic assault, armed criminal action and property damage after the alleged confrontation on Tuesday with her husband.
A judge entered a not guilty plea for Boedecker-Ribando. She told the judge she has asked for a public defender.
JASPER COUNTY — A Missouri man died in an accident just before 9:30 a.m. Monday in Jasper County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy pickup driven by Tyler D. Box, 26, Carthage, was westbound on MO. 96 three miles east of Carthage.
The pickup crossed the center line and sideswiped a 2014 International dump truck driven by Jason A. Vickers, 44, Carthage. The pickup then collided head-on with a 2008 Chevy 3500 driven by Amiel R. Overman, 24, Carthage.
Box was pronounced dead at the scene.
Overman was flown to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Vickers was not injured. Box was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The state of Missouri brought in 5 percent more in net revenue last fiscal year compared to the previous year.
Data released by Budget Director Dan Haug show revenue growth exceeded expectations for the state fiscal year that ran from July 2017 through the end of June.
Lawmakers crafted a budget based on an estimated 4.2 percent growth over that time period. Budget leaders later cut back expectations, instead projecting only 1.9 percent growth.
The 5 percent net growth was significantly higher than both projections.
Individual income tax collections grew 5.6 percent for the year, and sales tax collections increase 2.3 percent. Corporate income taxes also grew more than 6 percent.
Livingston County was placed under a burn ban Monday morning, by authorization from the State Fire Marshal and by order of the Livingston County Commission.
According to the Livingston County Emergency Management Director, no outdoor burning of any type is allowed and the ban remains in effect until further notice.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have detained a juvenile in the deadly shooting of a former high school football star in Columbia.
Police say 20-year-old Rovon Blocker, of Columbia, was shot Saturday night. Blocker was a star defensive lineman for Battle High School in 2016 and had signed with Coffeyville Community College in southeast Kansas.
Police said in a news release that the juvenile who was detained was “directly linked to the shooting.” No other information was immediately released, including the juvenile’s age.
Temperatures will range through the middle to upper 90s this afternoon with heat indices around 100 degrees today, increasing to between 100 and 105 degrees, or maybe hotter, Wednesday. Similar readings are expected through the rest of the work week and the coming weekend as a hot, humid, air mass remains in control of the weather across the Plains States. There is some hope that oppressive heat will let up early next work week, but until then it will be dangerously hot and humid. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
