ST. LOUIS (AP) – Agriculture business giant Monsanto Co. said Thursday it received approval from the Department of Agriculture for new cotton and soybean seeds designed to be used with a new herbicide formula.

Monsanto’s business is built on genetically modified seeds and herbicide. The company’s seeds are designed to increase yield, deter pests and tolerate weed-killing chemicals, particularly the company’s Roundup, a staple for farmers worldwide.

But many weeds have grown resistant to traditional Roundup, so the St. Louis company has developed a new version.

The Environmental Protection Agency is still reviewing that new herbicide, which adds an additional ingredient called dicamba. The single active ingredient in traditional Roundup is glyphosate, a chemical patented in the 1970s.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — David Steelman has been confirmed as a new member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.
Missouri senators on Thursday confirmed Steelman and a dozen other appointments by Gov. Jay Nixon to various state boards and commissions.
Steelman is a Republican attorney from Rolla who served for six years in the Missouri House starting in 1979, including as the minority party leader. He ran unsuccessfully for attorney general against Nixon in 1992.
Steelman works as a trial attorney in Rolla and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Senators also confirmed Paul Kincaid to the State Lottery Commission. The independent from Springfield retired in October 2014 as chief of staff and assistant to the president for university relations at Missouri State University.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s Administration’s release of five Yemeni terrorist detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp late last night:

“The release of five Guantanamo detainees this week is outrageous when this Administration cannot be bothered to show up in Paris to stand with the world against terrorism. The Obama Administration is also simultaneously attempting to rewrite history by refusing to use the term ‘extreme Islam,’” Roberts said. “We have an extreme and murderous ideology on our hands, especially in Yemen and until this President is willing to be the leader we need against this global threat, our nation is at risk.

“That is why I was proud to cosponsor a bill yesterday to stop this Administration from further detainee transfers to ensure Al Qaeda, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and other extremist groups are impeded, where possible, from recruiting more fighters. We face recidivism rates at over 30 percent. Now is the time to put national security above politics.

“Just yesterday the FBI thwarted an ISIL inspired terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol. This act of terror, coupled with the terrorist attacks in Paris should be convincing arguments to halt the transfer of detainees.”

Senator Roberts cosponsored S. 165, The Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act introduced by U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) John McCain (R-Ariz.) Richard Burr (R-NC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that prohibits for two years the transfer to the United States of detainees designated medium- or high-risk. It would also ban transfers to Yemen, where dozens of the 127 remaining Guantánamo detainees are from.

Senator Roberts has long fought the transfer of detainees to the mainland. He fought the Obama Administration and stopped a plan to consider housing detainees at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A 22-year-old Kansas City man has been sentenced to life in prison for the shooting deaths of two men.

The Jackson County prosecutor’s office said 22-year-old Bronson Joyce was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts each of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. He also was sentenced to 15 years in prison on assault and armed criminal action charges for wounding another person, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Prosecutors allege he killed 42-year-old Alphonso Nicholson and 61-year-old Claude L. Carson Jr. in November 2011 in Kansas City. A witness said Joyce fatally shot Nicholson and wounded another person after selling drugs to them.

The probable cause statement said that Joyce told authorities that he shot Carson because he was a witness and couldn’t be trusted.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters have battled a blaze at restaurant on Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports that fire crews responded to the fire at Jefferson’s restaurant before 11 a.m. Thursday. Dispatchers reported the fire was under control around 12:10 p.m., but downtown traffic was blocked.

MISSION- One person was injured in an accident just before 7:30 a.m. in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported 2007 Chevy Cobalt driven by Jocelyn P. Medrano, Eudora, was northbound on Interstate 35 just north of Interstate 635 in Mission.

The vehicle had a mechanical problem and the driver maneuvered it from lane three to lane two where it struck a 2007 Toyota Prius driven by Tang, Man P. Tang, 42, Olathe.

A 2008 Honda CRV driven by Stephen A. Elliot, Lenexa, then collided with the rear of the Prius.

The Prius turned sideways and a 2007 Jeep Wrangler driven by Bradley H. Swanson, 57, Olathe, and a 2003 Subaru Impreza driven by Derrick Williams, 33, Merriam, collided with it.

Tang was transported to Shawnee Mission Medical Center. No other injuries were reported.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the collision.

CARTHAGE, Mo. (AP) – The long-running cleanup of contaminated mining wastes in a southwest Missouri county has moved to another site but much work still needs to be done.

Since the cleanup began in 2007 in Carterville, about $100 million has been spent scraping mining byproduct and contaminated soil from about 2,000 acres in eastern Jasper County. The operation has recently shifted to western sections of the county.

Mark Doolan, manager of the cleanup for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says about one-third of the acreage but more than half of the volume has been cleaned. He says the work will be faster now but it could take another 10 years.

The Joplin Globe reports between 6,000 and 7,000 acres still must be reclaimed.

BENEDICT- Three people were injured in an accident just before 10:30 a.m. on Thursday in Wilson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Mack semi driven by Fred L. Smith, 63, Fredonia, was west bound on Kansas 39 when the truck was hit by the train.

Smith, and two on the train Michael W. Hayworth, 47, Kansas City, and Joshua L. Willard, 33, Greeley, were transported to the Fredonia Hospital.

The accident remains under investigation.

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BENEDICT, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say three people were hurt and taken to a hospital after a train hit a truck hauling gravel in southeast Kansas.

Wilson County officials said in a news release that the collision Thursday near Benedict also caused the train to derail, shutting down Kansas 39.

Wilson County Emergency Manager Terry Lyons says eight empty train cars and two engines jumped the tracks. The condition of the injured people wasn’t immediately known.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced in a media release  that a Crawford, Ark., man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to leading a bank fraud conspiracy that used stolen mail and fake identifications to cash nearly $160,000 in fraudulent checks in Webster County, Mo., and elsewhere.

Phillip Daren Shockey, 49, of Crawford, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charge contained in an Aug. 27, 2014, federal indictment. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Shockey must pay a money judgment of $159,842, which represents the proceeds of the conspiracy and for which he is jointly and severally liable to pay with co-defendants.

By pleading guilty today, Shockey admitted that he was the leader of the conspiracy to defraud more than a dozen banks from July 31, 2013, to Feb. 28, 2014, by passing counterfeited and forged checks with fake identification documents. At least 12 co-conspirators stole mail, printed counterfeit checks, passed counterfeit checks with fake identification and opened at least five fictitious businesses for the sole purpose of concealing the deposit and subsequent withdrawal of counterfeit checks.

Shockey recruited co-conspirators to steal mail and act as “check runners” who used false identity documents in order to cash fraudulent checks drawn upon the accounts of bank customers. Shockey possessed computers, printers, scanners, cell phones, thumb drives, stolen mail and software in order to produce fraudulent identification and checks for his co-conspirators. Shockey also used false identifications of the banks’ customers and others in order to pass and attempt to pass fraudulent checks.

Shockey and those working at his direction passed and attempted to pass approximately 51 checks for a loss of at least $159,842.

Under federal statutes, Shockey is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Postal Service – Criminal Investigations, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Tulsa, Okla., Police Department, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Webster County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department, the Monett, Mo., Police Department, the Pierce City, Mo., Police Department, the St. Clair County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Rolla, Mo., Police Department and the Catoosa, Okla., Police Department.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

MCPHERSON — Kansas Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense office, announced that Jess Parks with Jomax was honored with a Patriot Award December 23 in recognition of extraordinary support of Spc. Ryan Dryer, his employee and a member of 1438th Multi-Role Bridge Company, Army National Guard located in Macon, Missouri.

According to ESGR State Chairman Walt Frederick , “the Patriot Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize individuals who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees.”

Dryer said “Jess hired me August 20th not knowing I had to drive to Missouri for Drill the 23rd and the 24th of the same month. I had told him that I had to leave for the weekend after he hired me and he was more than happy to let me off. Two weeks later on the 13th and 14th of September I had to report back to drill. Once again he was fine with it. He understands that drill is supposed to only be once a month. The weekend of the 27th and 28th my unit advised that October drill was not only the following weekend (Oct. 3-5) but it would be a two and a half day event. I was stressed to the point I thought I was going to lose my job because of the inconvenience the military was creating for my employer. At Jomax we work on the pipeline in Kansas Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The company is under stress when employees do not show up, yet Jess Parks was always understanding and supportive of my time off, even with short notice. I recommend Jess Parks for a higher award than the ‘My Boss is a Patriot’ award for the following reasons:

“He discusses my military duties with my immediate supervisor (Gary Stigall) and was more than happy to let me off for military training. Mr. Parks has paid me for the time off for military duty,” said Dryer.

Jess Parks accepted the award from Dennis Hansen, Kansas ESGR Area Chairman. Afterward, Jess Parks signed a Statement of Support recognizing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) on behalf of Jomax.

For more information about ESGR Outreach Programs, or ESGR volunteer opportunities, call 1-800-336-4590 or visit www.ESGR.mil.