TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has two substitutes participating in its discussions about allowing gay marriage in the state.

Court spokeswoman Lisa Taylor said Monday that retired Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone and retiring Linn County District Judge Richard Smith are sitting with the court.

The court is reviewing a petition from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt seeking to block counties from issuing gay marriage licenses until a final U.S. Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of state gay-marriage bans.

The Kansas Supreme Court has seven members, but one spot is vacant because the new Justice Caleb Stegall doesn’t take his seat until Dec. 5. Malone is taking his spot.

Justice Lee Johnson removed himself from the case, without stating a reason. Smith is filling in for him.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Douglas County judge has ruled that a University of Kansas student who was expelled over tweets to an ex-girlfriend must be allowed to re-enroll.

But Judge Robert Fairchild issued a stay of his ruling Monday to allow the university to appeal.

The university says it expelled Navid Yeasin last November because he violated an order not to contact the ex-girlfriend by sending the tweets.

Fairchild ruled in September that the university had not followed its own rules of student conduct because it did not show that Yeasin posted the tweets while he was on campus.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Yeasin, a senior in petroleum engineering, said no other school in the state offers the program he needs to graduate and he does not want to pay out-of-state tuition.

Office of Sen. Jerry Moran

MANHATTAN – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has received the Kansas Home Care Association’s 2014 Legislator of the Year Award for his long record of leadership on initiatives that support and improve Kansans’ access to home care and hospice services. Sen. Moran is the sole recipient of KHCA’s Legislator of the Year for 2014.

“Access to quality, affordable health care determines whether Kansans can remain in their homes and communities as they grow older,” Sen. Moran said. “The special way of life we live in Kansas would not be possible without home care and hospice services in our communities. I am honored to receive this award and proud to support home care and hospice services in Kansas. I will continue working to see that federal policies reflect the value of this care in Kansas communities, and I am grateful to have KHCA as a partner in this effort.”

“It was our privilege this year to honor Senator Jerry Moran as our Legislator of the Year, at our annual meeting,” Kansas Home Care Association Executive Director Jane Kelly said. “Senator Moran has consistently supported home care and hospice in Kansas. He has been on visits where he has witnessed first-hand the care our providers give and the time it takes them just to fulfill the requirements CMS makes in order for them to provide the care and be reimbursed for it. We are proud that he showcased Kansas Home Care when he hosted CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner in Kansas to tour healthcare facilities and providers. We believe the Senator understands that home care is an economical way to care for vulnerable and elderly patients, and understands it is where people want to be when receiving that care. We appreciate his support and look forward to our continuing relationship with Senator Moran and his staff in working for the home care and hospice community.”

Sen. Moran’s efforts to preserve access to home care and hospice services in Kansas include sponsorship of legislation to improve federal regulations to better reflect the realities of rural health care by enabling qualified health care providers to certify patients for home care and hospice services under Medicare. Additionally, he sponsored legislation to provide incentives for home health agencies to use remote patient monitoring to improve care of seniors and reduce Medicare costs.

Sen. Moran has urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider proposals that would cut Medicare reimbursement for home health services and potentially jeopardize home health care access for patients in Kansas. In 2012, he hosted the current CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner on a tour of Kansas health care facilities to visit with a variety of providers across the state. During this tour, Senator Moran and Administrator Tavenner observed a home health care visit to witness firsthand how home care professionals provide care and support to patients in their homes to aid their recoveries and avoid costly inpatient hospital stays.

KHCA is a member organization of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and was established in 1973 to provide leadership, support, and services to the home care industry in Kansas.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Washburn University’s capital improvement plans now include a new $30 million residence hall and dining area.

The hall will offer 350 beds in apartment-like settings on the Topeka campus. It will also include a dining area for about 300 people.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports 9 percent of undergraduate and graduate students live on campus and the university wants to increase that number.

The residence hall is expected to be ready for students in the 2016-17 academic year.

It is the latest in several capital improvement projects included in a new master plan, such as law school, recital hall, Welcome Center and indoor sports facility.

And a new Kansas Bureau of Investigation lab on the campus is expected to open next year.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas and Kansas State University will allow some field sites to be used for a national study on climate change.

The two universities said in news release Monday that the National Science Foundation will use the sites to study climate change, land use and invasive species.

The biological field stations could be used for the study for up to 30 years, one of the most long-term initiatives in the history of the National Science Foundation.

The research will include building monitoring towers, soil studies and studies of animals, insects and temperatures. The foundation funds the National Ecological Observatory Network, which studies climate’s impact on a continental scale.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A same-sex couple from Michigan is putting the question of the right to marry nationwide squarely before the Supreme Court.

The couple’s plea to be allowed to marry was being filed Monday. It asks the justices to hold that state laws prohibiting same-sex couples from getting married violate “our nation’s most cherished and essential guarantees.”

The appeal filed by hospital nurses April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse calls on the court to overturn an appeals court ruling that upheld anti-gay marriage laws in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

Michigan officials have said they would not oppose Supreme Court review, but would vigorously defend a provision of the state constitution that prohibits same-sex marriage.

The justices also will consider appeals from gay and lesbian plaintiffs in the other three states.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state agency acknowledges it sent out a news release shortly before November’s election that incorrectly claimed poverty in Kansas had declined under Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that when the Kansas Department of Children and Families was made aware of the inaccurate information, it did not issue a revised statement to the media.

The news release issued Oct. 20 said the state’s poverty rate fell 2.3 percent between 2011 and 2013. When the Kansas Health Institute notified the agency the rate was not accurate, the state issued a correction to the KHI but not to any other media.

DCF spokeswoman Theresa Freed says the agency misread a report on poverty. She says there has been only a slight decrease in poverty during the Brownback administration.