DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 1.8 million Ram trucks because they can be shifted out of park without the driver’s foot on the brake.
The recall is mainly in North America and covers trucks with steering-column shifters. It includes certain 2010 through 2017 Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and 2011 through 2017 Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs. Also covered are 2016 and 2017 Ram 3500 chassis cabs under 10,000 pounds. Some 2009 through 2017 Ram 1500 pickups also are included.
Fiat Chrysler says the brake-transmission shift interlock can fail due to long-term heat exposure. That can let the shifter move from park even without a key in the ignition, increasing the risk the trucks rolling away.
FCA reported seven injuries. Owners will be notified when to schedule service.
According to AFL-CIO Executive Director Penny Adams, as of 2:30 Friday afternoon, there were 10 families with teenagers not yet adopted.
The program matches up needy families with donors, who supply Christmas gifts in a number of ways.
Adams said there’s still time to adopt or make a monetary donation by contacting their office at (816) 364-1131, visiting them at 1203 North 6th Street or going to helpmenow.org.
Their offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, if needed.
RILEY COUNTY— A Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper was injured during a chase Thursday evening in Manhattan.
Just before 8:30 p.m., a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper stopped to check on an abandoned vehicle near 3rd and Poyntz in Manhattan, according to Lt. Adam Winters of the Kansas Highway Patrol.
A woman approached the trooper and he returned to his vehicle to check her identification. The trooper was unable to get the information he needed and returned to the woman who was now in the vehicle. She drove away with the trooper hanging onto the front of the vehicle, according to Winters. The trooper eventually was able to return to his vehicle and started a chase that continued down Kansas 177 to Interstate 70. The chase ended at Wabaunsee Road.
The Trooper arrested Micheale Ketra Bennett, 36, Raytown, Mo., for alleged aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer; Fleeing and Attempt to Elude Law enforcement in commission of a felony. She is being held on a $20,000 bond, according to the Riley County Police arrest report.
The trooper was transported to a Topeka hospital for treatment of an injury to his arm, according to Winters. He was released a short time later.
Bennett has a previous conviction for receiving stolen property, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
She has a conviction in Johnson County Kansas for theft in 2007, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
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RILEY COUNTY-Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on felony charges.
Just before 8:30p.m. Thursday police arrested Micheale Ketra Bennett, 36, Raytown, MO., near Humboldt and 4th Street in Manhattan for alleged aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer; Fleeing and Attempt to Elude Law enforcement in commission of a felony. She is being held on a $20,000 bond, according to the Riley County Police arrest report. The Kansas Highway Patrol made the arrest.
Bennett has a previous conviction for receiving stolen property, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
She has a conviction in Johnson County Kansas for theft in 2007, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Authorities did not release additional details on her arrest early Friday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A prostitute has been charged with fatally stabbing a man last year during a fight over money.
Thirty-two-year-old Amber Cunningham, of Kansas City, was arraigned Friday on second-degree murder and armed criminal action charges in Luis Molina’s death. No attorney is listed for her in online court records. Bond is set at $250,000.
Court documents say Cunningham’s fingerprints were found inside Molina’s vehicle and the home where he was found dead. A witness said a woman was in the car when Molina gave him a ride before his death and that Molina described her as a prostitute.
Cunningham told police she agreed to have sex with Molina for $50. She said he wouldn’t pay or let her leave and that she stabbed him after getting a knife away from him.
JASPER COUNTY— A Missouri man died after he was hit by a truck just before 9:30p.m. Thursday in Jasper County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Dodge 2500 driven by Rodney E. Lillared, 59, Carthage, was westbound on Route V a mile north of Carthage.
The truck hit a pedestrian identified as 31-year-old Daven T. Divine, of Joplin who was in the roadway. Divine was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Jasper County Coroner’s office.
Lillared was properly restrained at the time of the accident and not injured, according to the MSHP. The accident remains under investigation.
Security camera image courtesy Great Southern Bank
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are searching for a man who robbed a Springfield bank.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that the robbery happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Great Southern Bank. Springfield police spokeswoman Lisa Cox says a man in his 40s walked into the bank, demanded cash and then left on foot.
The FBI released photos of the white, middle-aged suspect with an average build. He appears to be about 6 feet tall and was wearing a black hoodie and face covering, blue jeans and brown shoes when he placed a wad of cash into a black backpack. The amount stolen wasn’t disclosed.
The bank is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the robber.
Governor Brownback during his Senate confirmation hearing opening comments
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A spokesman for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s nomination for an ambassador’s post is set to return to the White House.
McConnell communications director David Popp said in an email Friday that Brownback’s nomination is not on a list of those to be carried into next year.
The Senate finished its business for the year Thursday night without voting on Brownback’s nomination by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Brownback was nominated in July.
Under the Senate’s rules, an appointee whose has not received a confirmation vote by the end of the year must be nominated again unless senators agree unanimously to carry the nomination into the following year. Brownback appears not to have received such unanimous consent.
It’s beginning to feel a lot like winter, and it may even look like it on Sunday morning! Although any snow accumulations would be low, we could see a few flakes fly after midnight Saturday night. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. North northwest wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. North wind around 6 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind around 7 mph.
Saturday Night: Snow likely, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. North wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 31. West northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Christmas Day: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34.
Monday Night: A chance of snow before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 26.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 14.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 29.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Thursday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
photo courtesy Michael Amick is Innocent in Missouri social media account
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man acquitted of murder after eight years behind bars has filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit.
Michael Amick and his wife, Sara, a teacher, filed the federal lawsuit Dec. 8 in the Western District of Missouri, one year after winning his freedom. It accused southern Missouri officials of making false reports, fabricating evidence and failing to interview witnesses.
Michael Amick initially was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree arson in the 2008 death of his wife’s grandmother, 67-year-old Leona Maxine Vaughan. She was shot and burned in Oregon County, near the Arkansas border.
After the Missouri Supreme Court ordered a retrial, Amick was acquitted by a new jury. The Post-Dispatch couldn’t reach the Oregon County Sheriff for comment.
Members of Congress worked late to settled differences Thursday-photo CSPAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — States are scrambling to decide how to spend the dwindling federal dollars used for a popular program that provides health insurance for nearly 9 million low-income children.
Members of Congress left Washington for the holiday break without providing long-term funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. A short-term patch approved Thursday is designed to maintain funding through March, although some officials say the money could run out in early February.
There’s little argument among Republicans and Democrats that the insurance program known as CHIP should be renewed for five years. The sticking point is how to pay for it.
A survey by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 14 states have been planning to end or phase out coverage for children, including five by the end of January.