LAWRENECE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police say a shooting near the University of Kansas campus was the result of an attempted robbery.

Two of the three people shot Sunday evening were Kansas students. Sgt. Trent McKinley says one of the victims was released Sunday while the others remain hospitalized. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Police on Tuesday continued to search for the two suspects, who fled toward the Kansas campus after the confrontation. McKinley says they both had weapons when they fled.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that at least one of the suspects, if not both, wore a mask when they entered the home.

McKinley says the suspects and victims knew each other. No names have been released.

FORT SCOTT- A Kansas teenager was injured in an accident just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday in Bourbon County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Cadillac Deville driven by Leyka Ann Yakel, 16, Fort Scott, was west bound on Kansas 7 just west of U.S. 69.

The driver braked to avoid an animal.

A 2002 Toyota Tacoma driven by Damon Charles Duren, 24, Fort Scott, rear-ended the Cadillac.

A 2014 Ford Focus driven by Angela Christine Brumback, 43, Arma, then rear-ended the Toyota.

Yakel was transported to Mercy Hospital. Brumback, Duren and a child in the Toyota were not injured.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill closing most of a projected $344 million shortfall in the state’s current budget.

Brownback announced his action Tuesday and said lawmakers worked hard in passing it last week.

The bill mostly diverts money from highway projects and other special funds to general government spending. The state also is shorting contributions to pensions for teachers and government workers.

Separately, Brownback announced plans last week to cut nearly $45 million in funding for public schools and higher education.

Kansas also faces an additional shortfall of nearly $600 million in the budget for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1.

The budget problems arose after lawmakers aggressively cut income taxes at Brownback’s urging in 2012 and 2013.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office says it has paid outside attorneys nearly $1.2 million to defend anti-abortion laws enacted since January 2011.

Schmidt’s office reported Monday that it has paid almost $770,000 to the Lawrence firm of Thompson, Ramsdell & Qualseth for fees and expenses in handling multiple federal and state lawsuits.

The state successfully defended a 2013 law requiring abortion providers to post certain material on their websites for women seeking abortions and another statute restricting private health insurance coverage of abortions.

A state-court lawsuit is still pending against special regulations for providers enacted in 2011.

Schmidt’s office also has paid more than $425,000 to the Wichita firm of Foulston Siefken to successfully defend a measure keeping federal dollars for non-abortion services from flowing to Planned Parenthood.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The parents of an American woman held by Islamic State militants say they have been notified of her death.

Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of Kayla Jean Mueller, released a statement on Tuesday saying they have been told that she has died.

The White House also issued a statement confirming her death.

The Islamic State group said Friday that the 26-year-old Mueller from Prescott, Arizona, died in a Jordanian airstrike.

The government of Jordan dismissed the statement as propaganda. U.S. officials have said they hadn’t seen any evidence to corroborate the report. Mueller is the only known remaining U.S. hostage held by the Islamic State group. She was taken into captivity in August 2013 while leaving a hospital in Syria.

By Amelia Arvesen
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — During the November mid-term election, state Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau’s daughter was unable to vote while attending college in Texas. She intended to vote but her advanced ballot did not arrive in the mail until after the election.

Last week, the Senate Ethics Committee heard amendments to Senate Bill 41 that would allow students attending a college or university outside the state to vote electronically.

Under current Kansas law, voters in the armed services and their families residing outside the U.S. may request to vote through electronic means either through their county elections officer or the secretary of state. SB 41 recognizes that out-of-state residents cannot always vote timely by mail.

Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, the committee’s ranking minority member, said an electronic voting method would have allowed her daughter and other out-of-state students to cast their votes.

“I just see…the students, especially in that age category, casting their vote electronically,” Faust-Goudeau said. “It’s what they do now.”

Bryan Caskey, a representative for the secretary of state’s office, said voters, including students, have been successfully using the current voting system since 1996. He said the county election offices mail advanced ballots 20 days before the election, giving voters an ample amount of time to cast their votes.

“There is no rational basis for college students attending college out of state to be treated more favorably than other Kansans who are temporarily out of state, be it for work, traveling on vacation or attending to personal matters,” Caskey said.

Electronic methods include email and fax, which by law must be printed and hand counted, adding time and expenses to tabulating votes that would otherwise be counted by standard machines at polling places, Caskey said.

In the last election, he said more than 89,000 ballots were mailed on the first day of advanced voting. Already, there is a tight timeframe of 45 days to count votes.

“It is currently impossible to predict how many of those voters would be college students out of state but is reasonable to assume that number would be thousands,” Caskey said.

There are more than 143,000 registered Kansans voters between the ages of 18 and 24, according to the state election’s office.
The bill’s fiscal note indicates the amendment to SB 41 would have no fiscal effect on agency operations, and the financial burden on county elections offices for delivery would be minor.
Ben Gartland, a student at DePaul University in Chicago and a resident of Olathe, said he was able to mail his ballot for the midterm election but would prefer to participate electronically in the future.

“If you’re someone like me who uses email a lot more than physical mail, then it is kind of a hassle,” Gartland said. “Having these options to do it electronically might sway some of the younger voters to go ahead and vote.”

Sen. Michael O’Donnell (R-Wichita) said he recognized that not all counties pay return postage on mailed advances, but a lack of stamps can defer young voters.

“If we’re encouraging Kansas kids to go to college we should also encourage them to vote,” O’Donnell said.

Amelia Arvesen is a University of Kansas senior from San Ramon, Calif., majoring in journalism.

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating after someone stole a vehicle with a 5-month-old baby inside in Lenexa.

The child is safe after authorities say the vehicle was found abandoned in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday night. The Kansas City Star says police were interviewing witnesses following the incident and plan to review surveillance camera images.

Police say the child’s parents were standing in a parking lot near their vehicle that was unlocked and running. They say a man jumped in and drove away with the baby still in the back seat.

Authorities say a pedestrian was hit during the carjacking but wasn’t seriously injured. One of the victim’s cellphones was in the vehicle, and police were able to track it down.