NEW YORK (AP) — Wireless carrier Sprint says it is eliminating 2,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its staff, as part of an effort to cut $1.5 billion in annual spending.

The company had announced a round of job cuts in early October, and did not say how many jobs were eliminated at that time. Sprint said Monday that job cuts would reduce its labor costs by $400 million per year.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint Corp. is the third-largest cellphone carrier in the U.S. and is trying to compete better with AT&T and Verizon.

Japan’s Softbank bought a majority stake in Sprint in 2013 and the company has eliminated thousands of jobs since then. It had 38,000 employees at the end of 2013.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The sentencing hearing for a Topeka man convicted of murder has been interrupted after a juror fainted while viewing graphic autopsy photos.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the male juror passed out about 45 minutes into Monday’s hearing on the sentencing for 25-year-old Troy Allen Robinson. Shawnee County prosecutors are seeking the so-called “Hard 50” — 50 years behind bars before the possibility of parole — for the December 2012 stabbing death of 43-year-old Oma Bennett.

District Judge Nancy Parrish released the juror and ordered what’s expected to be a three-day hearing to resume Tuesday morning. An expert witness is expected to testify about Robinson’s mental health history.

A former coroner who had been testifying about the autopsy photos helped the stricken juror, who then drove home.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment

TOPEKA, Kan. -The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is reporting the first confirmed influenza (flu) case of the 2014-2015 season. The case was reported in Northeast Kansas. The case was identified through the ILINet, a system of clinics that KDHE uses to monitor outpatients who exhibit influenza-like illness.

“The arrival of our first confirmed influenza case of the season serves as an important reminder for everyone to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones and the community,” said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “Influenza is a preventable illness. Normally, the number of cases increases during the holidays before peaking around February.”

Health officials are reminding Kansans that it’s not too late to get vaccinated against influenza. Influenza vaccine is recommended for nearly everyone six months of age and older. Infants less than six months of age are too young to be vaccinated and are more vulnerable to the complications from influenza.

“Getting an influenza vaccination helps protect you and those around you from becoming ill,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. “Vaccination also helps to minimize the number of people going to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. Symptoms of influenza are similar to the symptoms of Ebola.”

Being vaccinated against influenza is especially important for anyone at high risk of complications and for anyone who is caring for children younger than five years of age. It is also important for persons caring for those with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications.

Symptoms of influenza include fever, dry cough, extreme tiredness and muscle aches. Complications can include pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, and dehydration; influenza may also worsen other chronic conditions.

Depending on the severity of the influenza season, five percent to 20 percent of the population may get influenza each year. During the peak of the 2013-2014 influenza season in Kansas, approximately six percent of all health care visits in ILINet clinics were due to influenza-like illness. Influenza or pneumonia contributed to or was the direct cause of 1,373 deaths among Kansas residents during the 2013-2014 influenza season. Influenza and pneumonia was the seventh leading cause of death in 2013 in Kansas.

Additional ways to avoid spreading influenza include covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands and staying home when sick.

For information on receiving the influenza vaccine, please contact your health care provider or the local health department. Visit www.kdheks.gov/flu for influenza facts.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Investigators are recovering the remaining aircraft wreckage off the roof of a flight safety training facility in Kansas.

Wichita Battalion Chief Stuart Bevis said Monday crews are using a crane to remove the fuselage and other large aircraft pieces from the roof of the building where a small plane crashed on Thursday at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, killing four people.

Bevis says that the National Transportation Safety Board wants to finish its work at the site on Monday.

The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air drifted left of the runway after taking off, then made a steep left bank before plunging into the Flight Safety International Learning Center at the airport.

The pilot and three people inside flight simulators in the building were killed. Five others were injured.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwestern and Plains has dropped again.

A survey report issued early Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index fell in October to 51.8 from 54.3 in September. The figure was from 57.2 in August.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says sharp declines in grain and crude oil prices drove down the overall index for the month. He says the index figure points to slow economic gains ahead.

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

THOMAS BEAUMONT, The Associated Press

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and independent challenger Greg Orman are traversing eastern Kansas to rally moderates, a demographic that’s suddenly the key to the election in this typically Republican state.

Roberts met with veterans Sunday in Johnson County, the most populous and politically diverse.

Former Sen. Bob Dole was with him again and urged voters in Overland Park to look carefully at Orman’s background. The wealthy Olathe businessman has voted for and contributed to both Republicans and Democrats.

Orman, who state polls show holds a slight lead, was rallied voters in Wichita and planned a final gathering at a park in Prairie Village in the Kansas City suburbs.

JETMORE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials say hunters contributed more than $600 million to the state’s economy last year, and they’re hoping to increase that figure with a campaign aimed at hunters from other states.

The Pratt Tribune reports the value of outdoor recreation was in the spotlight recently as the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism held its annual Kansas Hunting Showcase.

The event took place in southwest Kansas at HorseThief Reservoir near Jetmore, one of the state’s newest venues for hunting and fishing.

Assistant Wildlife and Parks Secretary Linda Craighead says out-of-state hunters and fishermen account for 60 percent of the money going to the state from those activities. The agency plans to use national print, television and digital media to promote Kansas as a primary spot for hunting and fishing.

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Inauguration of Baker University’s new president has been postponed so the school can deal with the death of a student.

President Lynne Murray was supposed to celebrate her inauguration at 11 a.m. Thursday, but that and related events were canceled after she learned of the death of sophomore Sione Maumau.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports Murray gave brief remarks at an all-university prayer service Thursday morning, stressing that classmates and teammates didn’t have to deal with their grief alone.

Maumau came to Baker from Boulder, Colorado, to play football. He was a member of the university’s speech choir and a resident assistant in the school’s dorm system.

Baker spokesman Steve Rottinghaus says no decision has been made about when or if Murray’s inauguration would be rescheduled.