TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Health officials say a new virus has been discovered following the death of a southeast Kansas resident this summer and they believe it is carried by ticks or other insects.

The state Department of Health and Environment said Monday that testing by the federal Centers for Disease Control confirmed the presence of what’s now called the Bourbon virus. It’s named for Bourbon County, where the victim lived.

KDHE spokeswoman Aimee Rosenow said it’s the only confirmed case of the virus.

Rosenow said it’s not clear exactly how the virus contributed to the patient’s death. The department declined to identify the Kansas resident who died, saying it wanted to protect the patient and family members.

The department said the patient’s symptoms resembled those from other tick-carried diseases.

LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl now rests with a top U.S. general in North Carolina who will decide if the soldier should be charged with desertion after he left his Afghanistan post in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban.

The charge of desertion during wartime carries a maximum penalty of death. The Army says the case was forwarded to Army Gen. Mark Milley, head of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Milley will determine the appropriate action, which could range from no charges to convening a court martial.

Senior Army and Pentagon leaders were briefed on the investigation last week. Bergdahl reportedly walked away from his post on June 30, 2009. He was held by the Taliban for five years.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback wants state legislators to rewrite an obscure law that required him to fill two newly created seats on the Saline County Commission and have voters fill similar vacancies in the future.

A local lawmaker promised Monday to pursue the issue.

The Republican governor faced criticism over the Saline County appointments because his office refused to release candidates’ names before announcing his choices last week.

The dispute also highlighted how the governor fills the vacancies when local voters expand their county governing boards. Saline County enlarged its commission in November from three to five members.

Brownback said local voters should fill the new seats. State Rep. and Salina Republican J.R. Claeys said he will work with Brownback on a bill during the legislative session opening Jan. 12.

ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korea is experiencing widespread Internet outages. One expert says the country’s online access is “totally down.”

It’s not immediately clear if the Internet connectivity problems were an act of retribution for a major intrusion at Sony Pictures Entertainment that the FBI last week linked to North Korea.

President Barack Obama on Friday said the U.S. government would respond but didn’t say how.

The White House declined to comment Monday. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters that of the federal government responses, “some will be seen, some may not be seen.”

Doug Madory director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said the Internet connectivity problems were discovered in the last 24 hours and have gotten progressively worse to the point that “North Korea’s totally down.”

JOSH FUNK, Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When American freight trains delivered cargo after World War II, they commonly had seven people aboard — an engineer, a conductor, up to four brakemen and a fireman.

Since then, trains have grown much longer. And crews have been reduced in size — to five people in the 1970s and two in 1991. Now U.S. railroads want to put a single person in charge of today’s huge locomotives.

For now, freight trains generally have two people aboard — an engineer who drives the train and a conductor who oversees the long line of cars. Railroad executives want to reduce that to a lone engineer, saying advances in safety systems could keep the risks to a minimum.

Labor groups, some federal agencies and people who live near rail lines are skeptical.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has issued a blistering critique of the Vatican bureaucracy that serves him. He has denounced how some lust for power at the expense of others, live hypocritical double lives and suffer from “spiritual Alzheimer’s” that has made them forget they’re supposed to be joyful men of God.

Francis’ Christmas greeting Monday to the cardinals, bishops and priests who run the Holy See was less a joyful exchange of holiday good wishes than a sobering catalog of what Francis called the “ailments of the Curia” that he hoped would be atoned for and cured.

Francis has not shied from complaining about the gossiping, careerism and power intrigues that afflict the Vatican. But as his reform agenda gathers steam, he seems even more emboldened to highlight what ails the institution.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a train has struck and killed a pedestrian in the northern part of Lawrence.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that police responded Sunday afternoon after receiving multiple reports about the collision. The train tracks and the intersection remained closed much of Sunday while police investigated.

Police Sgt. Mark Unruh the cause of the accident wasn’t immediately known. He said the coroner was attempting to identify the victim who died at the scene.