LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Two people have suffered critical injuries in an all-terrain vehicle crash in rural Douglas County.

Douglas Country Sherriff’s Office public information officer Steve Lewis says a 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were thrown from the ATV after it struck a deer. The Lawrence Journal-World reports a driver found the ATV on its side early Saturday about five miles south of Lawrence and called for help. The man and woman were unconscious when deputies arrived, and first responders described their injuries as critical.

The man was taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition. The woman was taken to the University of Kansas Hospital. Lewis says her condition is listed as serious.

KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A new report warns that insurance companies — perhaps more than initially thought — may be charging the sickest patients extra for drugs under the federal health law to discourage them from choosing certain plans.

One of the cornerstones of President Barack Obama’s signature health law forbids insurance companies from turning away people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or cancer. But advocacy groups say insurance companies are still discriminating against them by putting their medications in a high-priced option.

The customer is then required to pay a percentage of the drug, which costs far more than a flat co-pay.

A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine only examined HIV drugs, but noted the problem applies to mental illness, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic conditions.

NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid the measles outbreak stemming from California, the White House is telling parents that science indicates they should vaccinate their children.

President Barack Obama’s press secretary says the science on vaccinations “is really clear.” Josh Earnest tells journalists that Obama believes vaccination decisions should be made by parents, with a bias toward good science.

About 100 cases of the measles have been reported in the U.S. since last month in the second-biggest outbreak in at least 15 years. Most have been traced directly or indirectly to Disneyland in Southern California.

Earnest says federal officials are closely monitoring the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing measles.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on the Lawrence school district to suspend a mentoring program for male students.

The group objects to an initiative at Free State High School known as the “LEAP Ambassador Program.” After it kicked off Thursday, the ACLU’s Kansas chapter sent a letter saying the program does “significant harm” to female students.

The letter said the ACLU has learned that all the students participating in the program are male and that all the mentors are “business men.”

ACLU attorney Doug Bonney said excluding female participants is a violation of Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. He said the ACLU would “definitely” sue if the district doesn’t make changes.

The district did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Water Authority accepted a report on proposal to build an aqueduct to take water from the Missouri River to southwestern Kansas.

The authority will circulate the report to appropriate legislative committees. But board members said Thursday they aren’t enthusiastic about the idea of building a 360-mile aqueduct that would cost $18 billion and require an additional $1 billion each year.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports board members said the report doesn’t address several key questions, such as the financial, legal, cultural and environmental impacts.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback told the water authority that state officials are determined to do something to address water supplies but will talk to all interested parties.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has called the aqueduct proposal a “hair-brained idea.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police are searching for a man suspected of lighting a 6-year-old girl’s hair on fire while she was outside in her backyard.

The child’s uncle, George Hearne, tells WIBW-TV  that she suffered third-degree burns to her head and first- and second-degree burns to her hands in the Wednesday incident.

Hearne says his niece and 5-year-old nephew were playing in the backyard when the boy rushed inside, saying his sister’s head was on fire.

The boy says a man came up to the fence and grabbed a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it by his sister’s hair. He says the man ran away after the girl’s hair caught on fire.

Hearne says Topeka officers found a lighter by the fence.

An investigation is ongoing.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has nominated a senior federal judge’s longtime legal adviser and research clerk for the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Brownback announced Thursday that he’s chosen Kathryn Gardner of Topeka for the state’s second-highest court. Her appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation.

Gardner has worked for the past 15 years as Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Crow’s law clerk. She also is a former assistant attorney general, had a private law practice for 12 years and was a research attorney for a state Court of Appeals judge for two years after law school.

Brownback cited her legal experience during a news conference but also noted that Gardner writes cowboy poetry.

She would replace Caleb Stegall, who was elevated by Brownback last year to the state Supreme Court.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers may require police officers to wear body cameras under a bill discussed by a state Senate panel.

The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee heard testimony Thursday on a measure that would require police officers to wear body cameras and continually record their activities and interactions.

Portions of video relevant to investigations, official complaints or the use of force would be stored for three years.

Community activists argued that the move would ensure greater transparency and public safety. However, some committee members expressed worry that smaller police departments would be unable to afford the cameras and manage the footage.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas police officers would be required to wear body cameras under a bill being considered by a state Senate panel.

The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee will hear a bill Thursday that would require police officers to wear body cameras and continually record their activities and interactions.

Any portions of video that led to an arrest or showed the use of force would be required to be stored for three years. Police also would be required to save video showing incidents that were the subject of official complaints.

Several public figures have called for such legislation to be introduced following the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August.