ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis is denouncing what he calls the “ideological colonization” of families and the developing world, where he says Western ideas about birth control and gay rights are increasingly being imposed, often as a condition for development aid.

Speaking to reporters on his flight back to Rome from the Philippines, Francis said no outside institution should impose its views on families.

On the Asian trip, Francis reiterated the church’s opposition to artificial birth control, insisting that “openness to life is a condition of the sacrament of matrimony.” He said there are plenty of church-approved ways to regulate births.

He also warned against “insidious attacks” against the family — a reference to gay marriage proposals.

During the Vatican’s recent meeting on the family, African bishops denounced how aid groups and lending institutions often condition their assistance on a country’s compliance with their ideals: allowing health care workers to distribute condoms, or withdrawing assistance if legislation discriminating against gays is passed.

KANSAS CITY- A Missouri woman was injured in an accident just before 9 a.m. on Monday in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica driven by Roshae D Johnson, 36, Kansas City, Mo., was westbound on Interstate 670 just west of the state line.

The driver fell asleep and the vehicle struck a concrete rail.

Johnson was transported to KU Medical Center. The KHP reported she was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback is trying to reorganize the licensing of foster care homes and the state workers who determine whether people are eligible for Medicaid.

Brownback issued an executive order last week to move foster home licensing to the state Department for Children and Families from the Department of Health and Environment, as of July.

DCF already oversees child welfare services.

The order also moves the Medicaid eligibility workers from DCF to KDHE in January 2016.

The health department oversees the Medicaid program that provides health coverage to the poor and disabled.

The governor must allow legislators to consider the order, but if neither the House nor the Senate rejects it by mid-March, it will take effect.

Brownback says the reorganization will streamline the administration of both programs.

JOPLIN (AP) – A foundation has distributed more than $5.5 million in donations that poured into Joplin after a May 2011 tornado.

The Joplin Tornado Fund administered by the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri received just over $6 million in donations from sources as diverse as children’s lemonade stands to $500,000 from celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Stephanie Howard, president of the foundation board, says about 54 percent of the funds went to organizations that rebuilt or repaired the homes of owners who didn’t have insurance or enough insurance, or to federal allocations to re-establish a house or repair all the damage.

The Joplin Globe report groups that helped with mental health and counseling, and those that cared for children while parents dealt with the tornado’s aftermath, also received foundation grants.

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau says he is “deeply concerned” about a decision from a Catholic-based hospital group to extend benefits to same-sex spouses of employees.

The Mercy Health System, which has about 9,000 employees in Springfield, said last week that it plans to offer benefits to legally married same-sex spouses beginning this spring. The hospital said it made the decision because of recent changes in government regulations for same-sex couples.

Bishop James Johnston said in a statement to the Springfield News-Leader that the hospital didn’t cite what regulations required the change. And he accused the hospital system of ignoring the church’s stand against same-sex relationships because of “regulations, government funds, and fear of public ridicule.”

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A state group says a steep increase in earthquakes in south-central Kansas likely is caused by the disposal of waste water from an oil and gas extraction process often called fracking.

The state recorded more than 120 earthquakes last year, up from zero in 2012. State officials have hesitated to link the earthquakes to fracking, or hydraulic fracturing.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kansas Geological Survey officials said last week there is a strong correlation between the earthquakes and the waste disposal. But they stressed the link is with the waste disposal, not with the extraction process itself.

Joe Spease, of the Kansas Sierra Club, says that’s just semantics. His group supports a moratorium on fracking until the oil and gas industry develops a plan for disposing of the wastewater.

————–

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in Kansas City are negotiating with a man who they say is suspected in a rape and has barricaded himself inside a home.
Police Officer Darin Snapp said in a statement that officers responding around 9:30 p.m. Sunday to a reported rape encountered a woman who said she was assaulted by her neighbor at his home.
Officers went to that man’s home and saw the suspect inside, but he refused to surrender.
Snapp says negotiators are on the scene. No further details were immediately available.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has a new high-flying perk for some of its officials.

The university is using a new airplane purchased by a gift from the Kansas Endowment.

University spokeswoman Errin Barcomb-Peterson says the seven-passenger Cessna Citation CJ4 was delivered Dec. 23 and has already been used on some trips.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports ((http://bit.ly/1AsRf0t ) the exact purchase price was not disclosed but the KU Endowment agreed to provide a grant not to exceed $8.1 million for the plane.

It’s the university’s second business jet. The planes are used for the University of Kansas Medical Center’s medical outreach program for rural Kansas, administrators’ travel and athletic recruiting trips.

BY ANDY MARSO

TOPEKA -About 50 supporters of medical marijuana rallied last Thursday at the Statehouse amid news that a Senate committee will have informational hearings on the issue. Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, and Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat, have introduced bills that would allow marijuana use to treat a range of illnesses and symptoms.

The last hearing on a medical marijuana bill in Kansas was in 2012. The briefings scheduled on Wednesday in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee are not formal bill hearings, but Finney remains encouraged. “An informational hearing is different than a hearing, but we’re not going to turn that down,” she said. “We’re going to keep coming back every year.”

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. But nearly half the states have legalized some sort of medicinal use, and a handful, including Colorado, now allow recreational use. Finney told those at Thursday’s rally that the Kansas budget crisis, combined with legalization in other states and mounting public pressure within Kansas, gives medical marijuana the chance to advance this year.

“I think the time is now,” she said. “I have more legislators that are becoming more receptive to it, and I also have more bipartisan support for it.” Thursday’s rally was organized by Kansas for Change Inc. and Bleeding Kansas. Esau Freeman, president of Kansas for Change, said his group will be back for the hearings Wednesday and Jan. 22. He said the state is doing itself a disservice by incarcerating people for use of marijuana, which Freeman said is “safer than Tylenol.” “It’s time for the

Legislature to pass this bill,” he said.

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

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Hunters in Missouri killed 8,000 more deer during the 2014-15 season than the previous season.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says 260,552 deer were killed in the season that ended Thursday, outpacing last season’s totals.

Hunters killed 51,755 deer just during the current archery season. The most deer were killed in Jefferson, St. Louis and Franklin counties during the archery season.

The archery season for turkey also ended Thursday and 2,587 birds were killed. Last season tallied 2,546. The 2014 spring and fall turkey totals were 55,878.

The department says there were four hunting-related deaths during the deer season. The deaths involved a fall from a tree stand, a heater explosion inside a deer blind, a heart attack and a shooting wound from another hunter.