OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled that prosecutors may seek the death penalty against a man accused in the deaths of four people at a Kansas farm, including an 18-month-old girl, in 2013.

Franklin County District Judge Eric Godderz ruled during a hearing Friday the death penalty will be allowed in the case against 29-year-old Kyle Flack of Ottawa. He is charged with murder and rape after two men, a woman and her daughter were found dead near Ottawa. Flack has pleaded not guilty.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Flack’s attorney argued the death penalty should be banned because of “evolving standards of decency,” noting that 120 countries have rejected the punishment.

Godderz said his court is bound to follow precedent in Kansas and the U.S., which allow the death penalty.

NEW YORK (AP) — Pepperidge Farm is recalling about 46,000 packages of bagels because they may contain peanuts or almonds that could set off a serious allergic reaction.

The company said Friday that no illnesses have been reported. It was alerted to the problem by a bakery that makes the bagels.

The recall includes plain, everything and cinnamon raisin bagels. Mini bagels, sold in whole wheat, cinnamon raisin and brown sugar with cinnamon flavors, are also being recalled. The affected bagels have sell by dates ranging from Feb. 7 to Feb. 12.

The bagels were sent to stores in 23 states. Customers can return the bagels to the store for a full refund.

Pepperidge Farm is owned by the Campbell Soup Co., based in Camden, New Jersey.

By Andy Marso 

A representative of a large Kansas nursing home system testified Wednesday for the right to self-insure its facilities under the Health Care Stabilization Fund, like hospitals can.

Legislation passed last year added hundreds of nursing homes to the state fund, which backs up health care providers’ private medical malpractice insurance with additional coverage to diminish their financial risk. All providers who participate in the fund must have private malpractice insurance, but health care systems that already were in the fund are allowed to self-insure if they have two or more facilities with a combined premium cost of $100,000 or more.

Jennifer Sourk, an attorney for Midwest Health, told the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance that the company had self-insured its 53 assisted living facilities in four states since 2004. She said the system’s 29 assisted living facilities in Kansas that now fall under the Health Care Stabilization Act also should be allowed to use its self-insurance to satisfy the stabilization fund requirements.

“Adult long-term care facilities are asking to be allowed the opportunity to apply for self-insurance just as other defined health care providers are allowed under the law,” Sourk said. Not being able to self-insure under the stabilization fund will cost the company $50,000 this year, she said.

“This amount will only increase as Midwest Health grows in Kansas,” Sourk said, “which plays a part into the calculation of whether an operation will be successful.” The bill’s cost to the fund is estimated at about $40,000 in administrative expenses to vet new applications for self-insurance.

Cindy Luxem, CEO of the Kansas Health Care Association, said her group, which represents assisted living facilities, was testifying in support of Midwest Health because its financial strength is integral to the communities where it operates. “In most of these communities this is the main employer, and in many it’s the only health care provider,” Luxem said.

Charles Wheelen, the stabilization fund’s executive director, said a rigorous review process ensures that systems applying for self-insurance have the financial strength to handle it.

“Under a worst-case scenario, a self-insured facility might declare bankruptcy and discontinue operations,” Wheelen said. “In that case, the HCSF would become liable for any and all unresolved claims against the facility as well as any claims that might arise after the facility closed its doors.”

Wheelen said not only is the initial application “somewhat demanding,” systems that have been granted a certificate of self-insurance must provide updated information annually. The stabilization fund is funded through a fee assessed on providers’ private liability coverage.

Jerry Slaughter, executive director of the Kansas Medical Society, said his group is neutral on the bill although “we do have some concerns.” The medical society represents hundreds of physicians across the state who also pay into the stabilization fund. Slaughter said the stabilization fund has worked well for 40 years, and his group is leery of structural changes that might increase the risk of the fund having to pay out large sums of money.

That risk, he reminded legislators, is shared by all who use the fund. “Though we understand the desire of the proponents of this bill to take advantage of the self-insurance provision in the HCSF law,” Slaughter said, “we are concerned that it will make it difficult to say no to other groups of providers in the future who will see this as an opportunity to avoid having to purchase a policy of professional liability insurance.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — J.M. Smucker Co. says it plans to add some animal food products made at plants in Topeka and Lawrence.

The Smucker Co. announced Tuesday that it had purchased Big Heart Pet Brands, which has had operations in eastern Kansas for many years.

The Kansas City Star reports the Lawrence processing plant’s 144 employees produce seven varieties of the dog food including Kibbles & Bits. The Topeka factory and distribution center have a combined employment of 326 workers. It produces several brands of animal foods including Meow Mix, 9Lives, Milk-Bone, Gravy Train and Nature’s Recipe.

Smucker, which is based in Orville, Ohio, paid $5.8 billion for Big Heart, which was previously known as Del Monte Corp. The company says it doesn’t plan to close any pet food operations.

BEIRUT (AP) — A purported statement by the Islamic State group claims that an American female hostage has been killed in Jordanian airstrikes on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the group’s main stronghold.

It identified the woman as Kayla Jean Mueller and said she was killed Friday during Muslim prayers in airstrikes that targeted “the same location for more than an hour.”

It published photos allegedly of the bombed site, showing a damaged three-story building.

American officials said they were looking into the report. The White House said it did not have immediate comment.

The statement could not be independently verified. It appeared on a militant website commonly used by IS.

Mueller is an aid worker whose identity was never disclosed out of concerns for her safety.

DAVID PITT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmers and farm businesses in 20 states have filed more than 360 lawsuits against agricultural chemicals-maker Syngenta, and hundreds more may be coming as a federal judge in Kansas City coordinates the cases so they can proceed.

The dispute centers around Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera, a corn seed genetically modified to contain a protein that kills corn-eating bugs. China hadn’t approved it for import, and boycotted U.S. corn once Viptera was detected in its grain shipments in 2013.

Farmers who did not plant the seed, grain handlers and exporters claim the boycott cost them money.

Syngenta says it plans to seek dismissal because there’s no legal authority barring the introduction of a U.S. government-approved product simply because it wasn’t approved for sale in a foreign country.

China approved Viptera in December.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill before the Kansas House would prohibit employees of universities and state colleges from using their official job titles when they contribute to newspaper opinion pieces.

The bill currently applies only to opinion pieces and letters to the editor in newspapers, not to other forms of media. It prohibits use of job titles only when the subject is an elected official, a candidate or a matter pending before a government body.

Rep. Joe Seiwert, a Republican from Pretty Prairie, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that employees of private businesses are not allowed to identify their places of work when they write an opinion for publication.

But Democratic Rep. John Carmichael of Wichita said the legislation could create constitutional problems and limit public debate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) on Thursday convened his first hearing as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security in the 114thCongress.

The hearing, entitled “Getting it Right on Data Breach and Notification Legislation in the 114th Congress,” focused on the call for policy changes in light of the recent data breaches impacting consumers and companies across the country. The discussion, featuring testimony from a panel of experts, focused on the consumer benefits of a uniform federal law dealing with data security breaches, the timeliness of notification to consumers, and how sensitive personal information should be defined.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate is considering a bill that would allow officials to prohibit concealed weapons in some areas of public buildings.

Currently, people carrying concealed weapons must be allowed to go anywhere in public buildings where the guns are allowed.

Legislation submitted by Republican Sen. Forrest Knox of Altoona would allow officials to ban weapons from some parts of the buildings.

Knox says courthouses in some rural counties want to be able to secure parts of the buildings, such as courtrooms, while the rest of the building would remain open to concealed weapons.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports no one testified in opposition to the bill during a hearing Thursday. The Kansas State Rifle Association, the League of Kansas Municipalities and several law enforcement associations testified in support.

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