WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider the free speech rights of people who use violent or threatening language on Facebook and other electronic formats where the speaker’s intent is not always clear.

The court on Monday agreed to take up the case of an eastern Pennsylvania man sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for posting violent online rants against his estranged wife, law enforcement officials and former co-workers.

A federal appeals court rejected Anthony Elonis’ claim that the comments were protected speech under the First Amendment. Elonis says he never intended to harm anyone.

The high court will hear the case when its new term begins in the fall.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Same-sex couples who marry in other states won’t find many places in Kansas to divorce if the relationship fails.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Douglas County is currently the only county in Kansas that has issued divorces for same-sex couples.

Gay rights advocates say many same-sex couples in Kansas get married in Iowa, where the marriages are legal. Iowa requires same-sex couples to live in the state for at least a year before they can divorce.

Attorney David Brown says he knows of only three same-sex divorces that have been granted in Kansas, and those all occurred in Douglas County.

Brown says at least two other counties, Shawnee and Johnson, will grant an annulment to end the marriages. Other counties find the marriage is invalid and dismiss the divorce petitions.

 

LANSING, Kan. (AP) — A state employees union says attacks are increasing on guards at the Lansing Correctional Facility.

The Kansas Organization of State Employees says it has received reports that 10 guards were injured in five separate attacks between June 5 -9. The union blames the increased violence on a lack of staff at the prison.

Jeremy Barclay, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections, says inmates did attack guards on three consecutive days. But he says the incidents are unrelated and none of the guards were seriously hurt.

The Hutchinson News reports the union disputes that contention. It says it received reports guards suffered broken teeth, a torn rotator cuff and fingers bitten down to the bone.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say two men who were arrested while burglarizing a house tied to an unsolved quadruple homicide didn’t have anything to do with the slayings.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports police found a woman and two men shot to death inside a Topeka home on Dec. 1, and found a fourth victim behind a business hours later.

Police received a call around 4 a.m. Dec. 4 indicating someone was inside the home where the killings had occurred four hours after it had been released as a crime scene. Officers found two men in the backyard with items from inside the house.

Both pleaded guilty to burglary and were sentenced earlier this year. Police say the burglary was not related to the homicides in the same home.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Washburn University plans to build a 350-bed residence hall on the east side of its Topeka campus to end waiting lists for housing and ease congestion in its student union dining hall.

The university’s Board of Regents approved the hiring of an architectural firm last week. Officials say construction is expected to begin next March, with the hall expected to be ready in August 2016.

The new hall will have its own dining space and cost about $30 million to build.

Washburn vice president Rick Anderson said some prospective students are bypassing the university because of housing issues. Washburn has had waiting lists for housing for four years.

The additional dining hall will also relieve lunchtime congestion in the Memorial Union.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police reversed course on whether a suspect in a homicide late last week has been taken into custody.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Sunday that a watch commander had confirmed an arrest had been made in connection with a homicide that happened Friday. But a news release sent out Sunday evening said the arrest in Independence, Missouri, was only on a narcotics warrant.

Police spokesman Brian Desch says there has been no arrest in the killing and the case continues to be investigated.

A man was shot and killed at a Topeka home Friday afternoon following a verbal exchange with another man driving a silver Dodge Magnum station wagon. Witnesses told police the car’s driver fired eight to 10 shots in rapid fashion at the victim before driving away.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Even with tea party challenger Milton Wolf’s feisty rhetoric and daily attacks, many Kansas Republicans saw U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts coasting to a comfortable victory in the state’s Aug. 5 Republican primary.

But that assessment was less certain after U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning loss last week to an underfinanced and largely unknown primary challenger in his Virginia congressional district.

Cantor’s fate raised new questions about how much anti-incumbent sentiment on the right could hurt Roberts.

The three-term Republican incumbent’s supporters contend there are significant differences between him and Cantor, particularly on immigration issues that played a role in Cantor’s race.

Still, Wolf’s backers are buoyed by the results in Virginia and believe Kansas is part of a larger political trend.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Stable farm income and a relatively small number of farms on the market left farmland prices in Kansas largely unchanged, contrary to concerns that an agriculture bubble could be deflated.

Land auctioneer Farmers National Company says irrigated farm land sold at auction this month cost about the same as comparable land a year ago.

With rainfall easing drought conditions in much of the state, company officials say they don’t see land values tapering off anytime soon.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports irrigated Kansas farmland sold at auction for up to $6,000 an acre in June, while non-irrigated land went for $2,000 to $4,000.

January farmland prices dropped 10 percent compared with January 2013, but it isn’t clear if that decline was just a blip reflecting a small number of farms.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Interest in flying remote-controlled drones is growing in Kansas, where enthusiasts say it’s time for the Federal Aviation Administration to update its policies to accommodate what they believe is a revolutionary and profitable technology.

The Wichita Eagle  reports personal drones mounted with cameras for recording aerial video footage can cost as little as $1,000, and their use is rising exponentially.

FAA guidelines limit use of unmanned aircraft systems such as drones for hobby or recreational purposes, while the rules for commercial operations are much more complicated.

FAA spokesman Les Dorr says the primary concern about drones is that they could potentially interfere with an already-crowded airspace if not regulated properly.