DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating engine compartment smoke or fire complaints in two Jeep Cherokees, and air bags that didn’t inflate properly in two Nissan Rogues.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the Cherokee probe covers 50,000 of the SUVs from the 2015 model year.

A consumer complained of white smoke from under the hood after turning off the ignition, followed by 20-foot-high flames. Another complained about smoke from under the hood while driving.

The agency opened the Rogue probe after two complaints that the air bags on 2013 models deployed up to a minute after crashes and either inflated slowly or didn’t fully inflate. The investigation covers about 195,000 vehicles.

Nissan and Fiat Chrysler, which owns Jeep, say they are working with the agency.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man is charged after his 4-year-old son found a gun and shot his 3-year-old sister.
Jackson County prosecutors charged 26-year-old Jessie Ross III on Wednesday with second-degree child endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Court documents say the boy climbed a chair on Jan. 7 to get the .38-caliber revolver from behind a mirror above a fireplace mantel. He told investigators he pulled the “button” and “fire came out.” His sister underwent surgery but has been released from the hospital.
The children’s mother said she had gone to sleep after putting the children down for a nap and was awakened by the gunshot.
Ross is a convicted felon and cannot legally own a weapon.
It was not immediately clear if Ross has an attorney.

FULTON, Mo. (AP) – Westminster College is planning events next week to note the 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death.

Churchill’s great-grandson, Duncan Sandys; British ambassador Peter Westmacott and Gov. Jay Nixon are scheduled to attend the “America’s Service of Remembrance” ceremony at the college in Fulton on Jan. 24.

The event, which is free to the public, will be at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, on Westminster’s campus.

On the same day, a new exhibit will open at the Winston Churchill Museum, called “Churchill through the Lens.” It features photos from Churchill’s private and professional life.

Westminster has been connected to Churchill since he gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton in 1946.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 30-year-old Lawrence man charged with first-degree murder rejected a plea deal and will go on trial next month.

Dustin Walker is accused of shooting 39-year-old Patrick Roberts to death on March 8 at Roberts’ apartment. Walker rejected a plea deal on Thursday and chose to face a jury trial starting Feb. 9.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Walker was acquitted in 2011 of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting during a party in Lawrence. Prosecutors said witnesses would not cooperate in the case.

And In 2008, prosecutors dismissed charges against Walker in another shooting and robbery at a Lawrence apartment after the victim and a witness said they couldn’t remember the shooting.

Walker remains in jail on a $1 million bond.

WASHINGTON D.C. – As Congress debates funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) reintroduced the Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law (ENFORCE the Law) Act to ensure the president upholds his constitutional obligation to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

The ENFORCE the Law Act puts a procedure in place to permit Congress to authorize a lawsuit against the executive branch for failure to faithfully execute the laws. The legislation also provides for expedited consideration of any such lawsuit, first through a three-judge panel at the federal district court level and then by providing for direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“At least 22 times, President Obama said he didn’t have the authority to take this action on immigration. He was right. I’ll continue to fight President Obama’s executive amnesty, and this bill will help ensure the president cannot continue blatantly disregarding the nation’s laws and the Constitution,” said Blunt.

The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (N.H), John Boozman (Ark.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), John Cornyn (Texas), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Deb Fischer (Neb.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Jim Inhofe (Okla.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), James Lankford (Okla.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), Pat Roberts (Kan.), and Tim Scott (S.C.).

Last week, Blunt co-sponsored a bill introduced by Johnson to block funding for President Obama’s executive action on immigration. Blunt also applauded U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt’s (Ala.) House companion version of the bill, which has also been introduced as an amendment to the House-passed DHS funding bill.

In December 2014, Blunt joined an amicus brief led by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) and co-signed by Cornyn in support of a lawsuit brought by the State of Texas against President Obama’s illegal amnesty. Blunt also voted in favor of a constitutional point of order offered by Cruz and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (Utah) against the president’s executive amnesty.

SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma has put to death its first inmate since a botched execution last year prompted the state to rewrite its lethal injection protocols.

Charles Frederick Warner showed no obvious signs of distress Thursday night after the lethal drugs were administered. He was pronounced dead after 18 minutes.

His punishment came just after another inmate was executed in Florida.

Warner’s execution was the second time Oklahoma used the sedative midazolam as part of a three-drug method that had been challenged in appeals as presenting an unconstitutional risk of pain and suffering.

It was first used in the execution of Clayton Lockett, who began writhing on the gurney and trying to lift his head after he’d been declared unconscious.

Among other changes since then, Oklahoma has increased the dose of midazolam.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Catherine Hanaway says her campaign for the 2016 Missouri governor’s race raised an additional $71,354 in the fourth quarter of 2014.
She ended the year with $1.3 million in cash according to Thursday campaign filings.
Hanaway is the only Republican candidate who’s officially declared for the state’s highest executive office.
Republican Auditor Tom Schweich has said he will announce whether he’s running for governor in the coming weeks.
Schweich’s campaign says he raised $140,000 in the fourth quarter and ended with about $1 million on hand.
Democrat Attorney General Chris Koster is also running for governor. A primary on the Democratic side is unlikely after Sen. Claire McCaskill said Monday she would not run in 2016.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An 18-year-old has been arrested in Mississippi in the killing of a Lawrence woman.

6News Lawrence reports that the arrest happened Thursday morning in Greenville, Mississippi. Lawrence police Sgt. Trent McKinley says the suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of Justina Mosso.

Police found her body Nov. 9 at the Cedarwood Apartments while conducting a welfare check. Court documents also show that the suspected is accused of committing aggravated burglary on Nov. 7 by entering Mosso’s apartment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of bankers suggests the economy will remain weak in rural parts of 10 Midwestern and Western states because of low grain and oil prices.

The region’s overall economic index improved slightly to 50.9 in January from December’s neutral score of 50. The index ranges from 0 to 100. Any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says growth is being restrained in rural areas because of low corn and fuel prices. But bankers say ethanol plants haven’t slowed production much.

Despite the concerns, rural businesses have adding some jobs. The January hiring index was 52.8, down from December’s 55.2.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.