KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are searching for a man who escaped from Kansas City, Kansas, police while wearing handcuffs.

Police said in a news release that officers had taken 21-year-old Deron McAfee into custody for felony charges late Monday when he escaped.  McAfee was arrested in 2016 on suspicion of assault. In 2017, he was booked into jail on suspicion of burglary, theft and resisting arrest.

He was last seen wearing a plaid shirt.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas law that increases spending on its public schools still falls up to $1.5 billion short of providing adequate funding under the state constitution, attorneys for four local school districts argued Monday in a filing with the state’s highest court.

Attorneys Alan Rupe and John Robb asked the Kansas Supreme Court to declare the school funding system “void” — effectively shutting down schools statewide — unless the Republican-controlled Legislature approves another, even larger spending increase by the end of June.

The new law phases in a $548 million increase in education funding over five years, an amount Attorney General Derek Schmidt described as “massive” in his own filing with the high court. Schmidt, also a Republican, argued that the law complies with a Supreme Court mandate to boost spending on public schools.

The high court ruled in October that Kansas’ current funding of more than $4 billion a year isn’t sufficient for lawmakers to fulfill a duty under the state constitution to provide a suitable education to every child, even with increases approved last year. The four districts sued the state in 2010.

Rupe and Robb argued in their filing that the phased-in increase approved by legislators would barely keep up with inflation after the first year. They also pointed to studies about education funding needs — including one commissioned by the Legislature this year that improving schools might cost nearly $2.1 billion more a year, depending on how ambitious the state was.

“The demands placed on the Kansas Legislature by the people of Kansas cannot be ignored simply because those demands are challenging,” Rupe and Robb said in their filing.

The court has a hearing scheduled for May 22 on the new law and has promised to issue a decision by June 30. Rupe and Robb filed more than 900 pages of documents to buttress their arguments against the law, while Schmidt filed almost 1,300 pages of documents.

Lawmakers ended their annual session Friday, and Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer might have to call them into special session if the court strikes down part or all of the new school funding law.

Schmidt argued in his filing that the new law provides “sustainable, long-term” funding for schools. Also, by phasing in their increase, lawmakers could avoid boosting taxes this year after raising income taxes last year to help balance the state budget.

Told of the arguments by Rupe and Robb, Kansas House Minority Leader Don Hineman called their position “frankly ridiculous” and said trying to achieve it would result in a political upheaval.

“They must occupy a different universe than I do,” said Hineman, a moderate Republican from western Kansas.

Kansas has been in and out of lawsuits over education funding for several decades, and the latest one was filed by districts in Wichita; Kansas City, Kansas; Hutchinson in south-central Kansas, and Dodge City, in western Kansas. They argued initially that not only was the state’s funding inadequate, it was distributed unfairly, hurting poor and minority students.

The court has ruled multiple times in the districts’ favor since 2014, forcing lawmakers to increase state aid to poor districts before ruling last year that Kansas’ overall funding is not adequate.

MCDONALD COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 7p.m. Monday in McDonald County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Ford F250 driven Hayden S. Harrison, 24, Bella Vista, AR., was southbound on Route E seven miles south of Jane.  The pickup traveled off the road and overturned down an embankment.

Harrison was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Ozark Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Legislature has voted to create a new fund to help investigate areas of the state exposed to radioactive waste.

The bill, approved by the Senate Monday in 24-8 vote, would prioritize sites like the West Lake Landfill, in suburban St. Louis, where radioactive material was illegally dumped more than four decades ago.

The bill would also restrict the Department of Natural Resources from applying certain safety standards to many landfills with “coal ash,” a byproduct of burning coal, unless there was an “imminent threat.”

Proponents say the bill will improve the department’s work.

Opponents say the “imminent threat” bar is too high.

Lawmakers are considering delaying sending bills to Gov. Eric Greitens amid multiple investigations into Greitens’ personal and private life.

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A woman involved in an extramarital affair with Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens will be allowed to testify at his felony invasion of privacy trial next week, a St. Louis judge ruled Monday.

Circuit Judge Rex Burlison rejected claims from Greitens’ attorneys that the woman’s testimony was tainted because of missteps by the prosecution’s investigator, William Tisaby. They’ve accused Tisaby of lying and withholding evidence, and said Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner knew about the misconduct and failed to stop it.

In court Monday, defense attorney Jim Martin said Tisaby has “molded” the testimony of the woman involved in the affair.

“They moved her to statements that made her more and more like the victim,” Martin said.

But the judge agreed with Robert Dierker of the circuit attorney’s office argued that it should be up to a jury to decide whether the woman is credible.

Greitens, who is married, is accused of taking an unauthorized photo of the woman while she was partially nude during a sexual encounter in 2015, before he was elected. Her testimony is crucial because prosecutors confirmed Monday that they still have not obtained the photo she says Greitens took. The alleged incident came to light when the woman’s ex-husband in January released an audio recording of her discussing it. Authorities have not released the woman’s name.

The circuit attorney’s office acknowledges missteps by Tisaby but has denied that his actions tainted the case.

Tisaby has repeatedly declined to reply to phone messages and emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The judge for a second time rejected a defense request for him to hold a bench trial. Jury selection begins Thursday, and Burlison said he will reconsider if it becomes apparent that an impartial jury cannot be seated.

While Greitens’ attorneys were unsuccessful in getting a bench trial or having the woman’s testimony stricken, they did persuade the judge to prohibit testimony from three expert witnesses prosecutors wanted to put on the stand. They included two electrical engineers who would have discussed the distinctive sound an iPhone makes when taking a picture and technical issues about what constitutes transmitting a photo under Missouri’s invasion of privacy law. Burlison also excluded a law professor who would have testified about revenge pornography.

Greitens also faces another criminal charge, multiple investigations, two criminal charges and the prospect of impeachment during a special legislative session later this month.

He is charged with felony computer data tampering for allegedly using a donor list from the veterans’ charity he founded, The Mission Continues, to raise money for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign without the charity’s permission. A trial date in that case has not been set.

Republican state House and Senate leaders announced last week that they had enough signatures from each chamber for a special session beginning May 18. It marks the first time in Missouri history that lawmakers have called a special session, which are typically called by the governor.

If the House votes to impeach Greitens, the Senate would appoint a panel of seven judges to conduct a trial on whether to remove him from office. No Missouri governor has ever been forced out of office.

Greitens, once considered a rising star in GOP politics, admitted in January that he had an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser. He was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury on invasion of privacy in February.

His problems escalated in April when a special House committee released a report on the relationship. The woman told the committee that Greitens had restrained, slapped, shoved, threatened and belittled her during a series of sexual encounters in 2015 that at times left her crying and afraid.

Last week, the same committee released a report on Greitens’ alleged misuse of the charity donor list. The report included testimony from a former Greitens aide indicating the campaign also falsely identified the source of the donor list in a settlement with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Latest on the investigation of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):

1:45 p.m.

A St. Louis judge plans to begin jury selection on Thursday as planned in Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ felony invasion of privacy trial.

Greitens’ attorneys argue that pretrial publicity makes it impossible for him to get a fair trial by jury and asked Circuit Judge Rex Burlison to hold a bench trial. Burlison had previously ruled against a request for a bench trial in the case.

Burlison said Monday that he will begin jury selection and reconsider if it becomes apparent that an impartial jury cannot be seated.

The Republican governor is accused of taking an unauthorized photo of a woman while she was partially nude during a sexual encounter in 2015, before he was elected.

Greitens also faces another felony charge in St. Louis and potential impeachment proceedings in Jefferson City.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – A judge on Monday will consider whether the pivotal witness in Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ criminal trial – a woman involved in an affair with him – should be prohibited from testifying.

Circuit Judge Rex Burlison will preside over the hearing, just a week before Greitens stands trial for felony invasion of privacy.

The married Republican governor is accused of taking an unauthorized photo of the woman during a sexual encounter in 2015, before he was elected. Later this week, lawmakers convene in special session to consider impeachment.

Defense attorneys contend the woman’s testimony has been tainted by the misdeeds of William Tisaby, a private investigator who interviewed her. They’ve accused Tisaby of lies and withholding evidence.

Her testimony is crucial since prosecutors haven’t obtained the photo Greitens allegedly took.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An investigation of Kansas saltwater injection wells has found more than 2,000 wells that weren’t properly permitted.

The Kansas Corporation Commission in November ordered an internal investigation of more than 4,000 saltwater injection oil well permits.

The commission changed the public comment period in 2008 to be cited from 15 to 30 days in published public notices for proposed injection wells.

The investigation found in February that permits for the more than 2,000 wells were approved with public notices stating the public comment period was only 15 days. It also found that the inaccurate notices were provided to the commission’s staff, but the errors were not detected as part of the review process.

The wells have been tied to an increase in the number of earthquakes in Kansas and surrounding states.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri House and Senate budget leaders are recommending giving public K-12 schools a close to $99 million funding increase next fiscal year.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick on Monday said he and his Senate counterpart agreed on a plan that would mean lawmakers meet school funding goals outlined in state law.

House lawmakers recommended the full funding, but senators passed a budget plan with only a roughly $48 million increase.

Legislative negotiators still need to sign off on the plan, which then needs another vote of approval from the full Legislature.

Fitzpatrick said he and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Brown also agree on delaying a planned raise for state employees until January 2019 in order to save money and prevent premium hikes for state worker health care.

STOVER, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are investigating the death of a 79-year-old Missouri man as a homicide.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that officers were responding Sunday to a 911 call from a man about an ongoing assault on his wife. The man was not at the location of the assault in Stover.

The News Tribune reports that deputies could hear a distraught woman when they arrived at the residence and forced their way in. They found a man unresponsive on the floor and a woman in authorities describe as an “hysterical state” in an adjacent room.

Thomas Chandler of Stover was pronounced dead after deputies and EMS personnel attempted life-saving procedures.

The woman was transported to a local hospital and later released.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt argues in a new court filing that the state’s new education funding law provides a “massive” increase in spending on public schools.

Schmidt filed a written defense of the law Monday with the Kansas Supreme Court and included almost 1,300 pages of supporting documents. The court has scheduled a May 22 hearing on whether the new law provides adequate funding.

Schmidt’s filing said the law phases in a $548 million increase over five years. The Supreme Court ruled in October that the current funding of more than $4 billion a year isn’t sufficient under the state constitution.

Schmidt filed his defense the same day Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a bill fixing a flaw in the law that otherwise would have shorted schools $80 million.