WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — No agreement has been reached yet on the settlement of remaining claims in lawsuits over the May 2013 discovery of genetically engineered Monsanto wheat in an Oregon field.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil on Tuesday set a status conference for Jan. 29 in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.

A joint status report filed Monday says the parties have been exchanging settlement offers. The report also said the last offer from non-soft white wheat plaintiffs is under consideration by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. The lawsuits from across the country have been consolidated in Kansas.

The filing says the parties will discuss an amicable resolution but urges the court to vacate its earlier order staying proceedings.

The parties want the court to address Monsanto’s motions seeking to dismiss the cases.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — No agreement has been reached yet on the settlement of remaining claims in lawsuits over the May 2013 discovery of genetically engineered Monsanto wheat in an Oregon field.

A joint status report filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas says the parties have been exchanging settlement offers and that the last offer from non-soft white wheat plaintiffs is under consideration by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. The lawsuits from across the country have been consolidated in Kansas.

The filing says the parties will continue to discuss an amicable resolution, but again urges the court to vacate its earlier order staying court proceedings.

The parties want the court to address the motions filed by Monsanto seeking to dismiss the cases.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas expert on the Monarch butterflies says he is leery of a federal agency’s consideration of listing the butterfly on the Endangered Species list.

Chip Taylor, an insect ecologist, says he’s concerned about the public reaction if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service begins telling property owners they need to conserve certain vegetation to provide critical habitat for the butterflies.

Taylor is found of the Monarch Watch, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the monarch, its habitat and its fall migration to Mexico.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Taylor would prefer a grassroots plan with large-scale public participation to help the butterfly.

The Wildlife Service said it would review the butterfly’s status after receiving a petition in August from several groups seeking the designation.

Amtrak passengers on the Missouri River Runner save 20 percent on adult fares for travel through March 31. Book your seat using discount code V419 effective now through March 30th. Reservations are required at least one day in advance of travel on the route between Kansas City and St. Louis.

Savings are possible by booking through the “Deals” tab at Amtrak.com or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. You can also purchase tickets using Amtrak eTicketing and simply print your boarding documents from any printer or present them on board electronically via your smartphone.

The offer is valid for coach seats and is dependent upon availability.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say a 17-year-old died after he was shot by a passenger in his car as he drove, causing the car to crash into a home.

The victim, Colton Chad Christenson, was unresponsive when officers found him in the car early Monday and died later at a hospital.

Police say in a news release that they are looking for a 21-year-old man as a person of interest in the shooting. They have not released possible reasons for the shooting.

No one inside the home hit by the car was injured.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita State University economists expect Kansas to add more than 24,000 jobs in 2015, most of them in service positions such as professional or business services, health care or education.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the university’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research predicts slightly more than 1.4 million people will be employed in nonfarm sectors this year. The expected new jobs represent a 1.8 percent increase over 2014.

Employment growth in Kansas is close to the nationwide average. Last year employment increased by 1.5 percent across the U.S. and 1 percent in Kansas.

The International Monetary Fund predicted in October that the U.S. will have growth of between 1 percent and 1.5 percent this year.

SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Weather Service is about to boost its computing power by more than tenfold, which officials hope will translate to better forecasts.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s two supercomputers will more than triple in computational ability this month and more than triple again by October. Computers will go from now being able to handle 426 trillion operations a second to 5,000 trillion calculations in the fall.

The upgrade costs $44.5 million.

NOAA chief Kathryn Sullivan said it will lead to more reliable, accurate and timely forecasts. The weather service’s main computer forecast model this month will double its resolution for forecasts of less than 10 days.

Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private company Weather Underground, said this should help U.S. forecasting models catch up with the Europeans.

Snopes.com has compiled a list of the 25 most persistent urban legends of 2014.

It’s a good chance most of these hit your email inbox or Facebook news feed at some point during the year.

Click HERE for the complete list.