WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider whether retailer Abercrombie & Fitch’s refusal to hire a woman wearing a Muslim headscarf was religious discrimination.

A lower court said the New Albany, Ohio-based company didn’t discriminate against the job applicant because she didn’t’ say she needed a religious accommodation.

But the Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear the Obama administration’s appeal.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had sued on behalf of Samantha Elauf. The agency contended that Elauf wasn’t hired at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, store because her hijab violated Abercrombie’s dress code.

The company later changed its dress rules.

A federal judge initially sided with the government.

But an appeals court reversed that decision, saying Elauf never specifically requested a religious accommodation even though she was wearing the headscarf during her interview.

HARPER, Kan. (AP) — At least eight earthquakes have shaken southern Kansas this week, with the largest cracking walls.

The earthquakes occurred the same week that a panel commissioned by Gov. Sam Brownback announced there isn’t enough evidence to link recent quakes to oil and gas exploration in the region. The group recommended more monitoring.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that this week’s largest earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 when it struck just after 1 p.m. Thursday about seven miles southeast of Harper. Another quake that struck nearby about 30 minutes later had a preliminary magnitude of 3.4.

Interim Kansas Geological Survey director Rex Buchanan says four other earthquakes rocked the state Tuesday and that at least two were recorded Wednesday. All but one of them occurred in Harper County.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas legislator says he was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year about state government under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Ex-Republican state Sen. Dick Kelsey confirmed Thursday that he had multiple conversations with the FBI, ending in July. During a news conference, he and Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley called on Brownback to cut any ties with former chief of staff David Kensinger.

Kensinger left as Brownback’s chief of staff in April 2012 to form a lobbying firm. He remains an unpaid adviser to Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Kelsey said the FBI identified Kensinger as a subject of its inquiry. Kensinger did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Brownback’s campaign was preparing a response.

Federal authorities would not confirm or deny an investigation.

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. says that a data breach affected 76 million households and 7 million small businesses.

The New York-based bank says there is no evidence that the account information for the affected customers, such as account numbers, passwords or Social Security numbers, was stolen. The bank says it has not seen any unusual customer fraud related to the hack.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling more than 117,000 vehicles from the 2013 and 2014 model years for a defect that could cause them to stall.

The recall involves the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Traverse, Express and Silverado; the Cadillac CTS, Escalade and Escalade ESV; the GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Acadia, Savana and Sierra; and the Buick Enclave.

GM says metal slivers in the chassis control module could cause an electrical short. If that happens, the vehicle could stall.

GM knows of no accidents or injuries related to the defect. It believes only 1 percent of the vehicles being recalled are affected.

The recall includes 97,540 vehicles sold in the U.S. and 20,201 exported elsewhere. Around 4,500 vehicles haven’t yet been sold.

GM will notify owners. Dealers will replace the module for free.

KANSAS CITY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 12-noon on Thursday in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chevy Impala driven by Hafizu U. Cheema, 29, Overland Park, was eastbound on Interstate 70 at 18th street.

The vehicle hydroplaned and struck the barrier wall.

Cheema was transported to KU Medical Center.

The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gun control groups say they plan to spend tens of millions of dollars this fall to help congressional candidates backing firearms curbs.

That means their campaign spending could finally match the National Rifle Association’s after years of being drubbed by the gun lobby.

Yet gun control groups’ long awaited parity with the NRA comes at a time when firearms violence is not a top public concern. That’s a turnabout from the months following the December 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders plus six elementary school aides in Newtown, Conn.

Both sides in the gun debate plan heavy campaign spending over the next few weeks anyway. That’s because there are many close races where a few votes could matter — especially in the Senate, which each party hopes to control next year.

A severe thunderstorm pounded portions of Mitchell and other counties in North central Kansas early Thursday morning.

According to information from the National Weather Service in Hastings, golf ball size hail broke windows on the south side of homes 3 to 8 miles south of Beloit about 6:35 a.m. Thursday morning.

Officials also report crops destroyed due to a combination of hail and wind southeast of Beloit.

The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office estimated winds of 90-mph caused significant damage to a home, and destroyed a farm Quonset about a mile south of Asherville around 6:40 a.m.

As the storm moved east and northeast, it dropped ping pong ball size hail south of Concordia, and hail covered the ground in portions of Washington and Marshall counties, and wide spread tree damage was also reported in Frankfort due to high winds.