NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. must remain vigilant in the Ebola fight even though there have been no recent domestic transmissions.

Obama says as long as the disease is spreading in West Africa, it’s likely to come back to the United States. He said, “This is not a problem that’s going to go away any time soon.”

Obama made the remarks at the White House as he met with his national security and public health teams to receive an update on the Ebola response.

Obama praised doctors and nurses fighting the spread in Africa. He says he was very pleased earlier this week to see Time Magazine make those health workers its Person of the Year. He says the courage, skill and professionalism they display makes him proud.

DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

For years, backers of same-sex marriage have said more voters would support it if only they could hear directly from gay people with a personal stake in the issue. A new academic study bears out that hunch.

In an article released this month by Science magazine, researchers from Columbia University and the University of California-Los Angeles detail a study which found that openly gay canvassers were far more effective than straight canvassers in shifting voters’ views toward support for same-sex marriage.

According to the study, opinion changes produced by the straight canvassers tended to fade within a few weeks and those voters reverted to their previous views. Changes produced by the gay canvassers persisted nine months later, and the attitude changes often spread to other members of the voters’ households.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old man is dead after being shot by police who repeatedly ordered him to drop a pistol he was pointing at others.

The Topeka Capital-Journal  reports the shooting happened about 11:35 a.m. Saturday in Topeka after several crime reports earlier in the day.

City spokeswoman Suzie Gilbert says police responded at 9 a.m. to a domestic disturbance where a man reportedly strangled a woman. A witness saw the man flee the home with a knife and gun.

Officers responded to an attempted carjacking at 11:15 a.m. and found a woman who had been cut on her face with a knife.

Gilbert says police found the armed man at 11:30 a.m. as he was pointing the weapon at bystanders and police.

His name hasn’t been released.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says privatization of the state’s child support collection system has been a good move because it made collecting the money more cost-effective.

But while the governor says Kansas collected $5.89 for every $1 spent collecting it in fiscal year 2014, other data indicate the state collected the lowest percentage of child support in the past 14 years.

The Topeka Capital Journal  reports the state collected 54 percent of current support that was due, the lowest percentage since the state had a 48 percent collection rate in 2000.

The state also collected less in total dollars for parents in 2014 than in the previous year, while the percentage of payments in arrears that was collected hit a 13-year low.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — City workers, residents and volunteers in Kansas City, Kansas, all agree the city must find a way to deal with several packs of stray dogs.

The Kansas City Star reports that Animal Control Director Michelle Angell acknowledged the city has a “huge” problem with dog packs. She says residents fear jogging downtown and children going to school are sometimes frightened by the animals.

Part of the problem is that animal control has six officers and a supervisor. A national animal control group says a city the size of Kansas City, Kansas, should have 20 officers.

The city said 271 dogs were captured in July, August and September, although the animal control division can house only 39 at a time.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Vatican plans soon to release a long-awaited report on its review of women’s religious orders throughout the United States.

The Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, told the Detroit Free Press that a Rome news conference is planned for Dec. 16 to issue the findings.

The study began in 2008 and ended about three years later. The Vatican said the review would assess the quality of life for U.S. nuns. The number of religious sisters has dropped dramatically in recent years.

The study is separate from the contentious Vatican-ordered overhaul of the largest umbrella organization for U.S. nuns, called the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Rosica did not reveal any findings Wednesday, but said the report’s release will be a “hopeful and encouraging” moment for religious sisters.

AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press

A new federally funded cellphone app allows people who may have had one too many to get an idea just how drunk they are.

On the Maryland app, users enter their sex, height, and weight, and number of drinks consumed to figure out their blood-alcohol content. Two interactive games test reaction time and cognitive agility. And it uses GPS technology to call cabs and preload phone numbers for potential designated drivers.

The app is called ENDUI, or “End DUI.” Government and state officials announced its launch Thursday.

The app is funded by federal money reserved for drunken-driving education efforts. It’s among several in a handful of states to tackle drunken driving. Maryland’s is one of the most elaborate.

The app was developed by the Maryland Highway Safety Office for about $50,000. It’s available for free on Android and iPhone.

ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — First, objections by House Democrats stood in the way of passage of a $1.1 trillion catchall spending bill. Now it’s the Senate Republicans’ turn, specifically Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah.

The two lawmakers demanded a vote Friday night on a proposal to cut funds from the bill that could be used to implement President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy, ending any chance the measure could clear the Senate and be sent to the White House with a minimum of fuss.

Officials in both parties said the bill remains on track for clearance early next week. But the move led Majority Leader Harry Reid to abandon plans to adjourn the Senate for the weekend, and pointed toward a test vote shortly after midnight on Saturday.

By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — A spokesperson for the Kansas Department for Children and Families says the agency plans to heed Gov. Sam Brownback’s call for cutting $3.9 million from its fiscal year 2015 budget by delaying a planned upgrade of its computer system.

The savings should cover “almost all of our anticipated FY 2015 reduction,” DCF spokesperson Theresa Freed wrote in an email KHI News Service, referring to the state’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2015.

Delaying the upgrade, she said, will have “no impact” on the department’s services for at-risk children and low-income families.

Freed said more information about the agency’s budget cuts would be available in a few weeks.

Earlier this week, Brownback announced that he was using his allotment powers to cut state agency spending and to sweep fee funds in an effort to plug a $280 million hole in this year’s budget.

The governor’s plan included taking $3.9 million from DCF’s $623 million budget and $6 million from the $1.5 billion Department for Aging and Disability Services budget.

Most of the reduction in KDADS spending will be achieved by delaying for a year the planned January 2015 opening of Meyer Hall, a nearly renovated building on the campus of Larned State Hospital, one of the state’s two hospitals for people with mental health issues.

The building is designed to house medically fragile patients in the state’s Sexual Predator Treatment Program.

“We believe we can delay occupancy of Meyer until January 2016 and still provide appropriate treatment to the medically infirm,” said KDADS spokesperson Angela de Rocha. The other new unit for the Sexual Predator Treatment Program at Larned is in operation, she said.

The governor’s proposed cuts and sweeps are needed to balance the state’s current fiscal year budget. An even larger gap — $436 million — looms in fiscal year 2016.

The gaps are driven by revenue shortfalls caused by cuts in income tax rates that have wiped out the state’s reserve funds.

Legislators will begin the process for rejecting, upholding or modifying the governor’s proposed sweeps and for crafting the next fiscal year’s budget when they reconvene in January.

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