KANSAS CITY (AP) – Kansas City police are investigating what they say is an apparent accidental shooting of a toddler, who is expected to survive.

Police say the 3-year-old girl was shot in the torso on Wednesday afternoon and has had surgery at a hospital.

They said that initial signs point to the girl either shooting herself or being shot by her 4-year-old sibling.

Authorities say several adults were in the residence at the time of the shooting and are being questioned by detectives.

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A judge has sentenced a southwest Missouri teenager convicted in his younger stepsister’s death to 30 years in prison.

Levi Elliott was 15 when he was accused of fatally shooting 12-year-old Sierra Elliott at their Polk County home west of Bolivar in March 2012 while his father and stepmother were away.

Elliott was brought to trial as an adult. In addition to the second-degree murder charge, a jury also found him guilty of armed criminal action and tampering with a vehicle in October.

The Springfield News-Leader reports a Polk County circuit judge sentenced the now 17-year-old Elliott on Wednesday. A prosecutor says Elliott must serve 20 years in prison before he’ll be eligible for parole.

LENEXA – A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Impala driven by Peter A. Harris, 72, Olathe, was southbound on Interstate 35 at 95th Street in Lenexa.

The vehicle sideswiped a 2014 GMC Acadia driven by Amy L. Murray, 41, Olathe, and it went into the ditch.

Murray was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
Harris was not injured.

The KHP reported both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TOPEKA  – The State of Kansas next week will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve state authority to protect consumers from antitrust violations that increase the retail price of natural gas, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said today in a media release.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted Kansas’ request to participate in oral argument in the case, even though the state is not a party, because the outcome could determine whether Kansas and other states’ consumer protection laws are preempted by a federal law on the transportation and sale of natural gas. Solicitor General Stephen McAllister will argue on behalf of Kansas and the amici states in the case to be heard January 12 at the Court.

“We’re making sure Kansas consumers have a voice in the courtroom,” Schmidt said. “I’m encouraged that the Supreme Court granted us time for oral argument, and we will vigorously defend Kansas consumer-protection laws from the federal administration’s power-grab. We think 75 years of state authority to protect consumers from natural gas price-fixing at the retail level should be left intact.”

In November, Schmidt led a bipartisan group of 21 state attorneys general in filing an amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to allow continued enforcement of state anti-price fixing laws against retail sellers of natural gas who illegally rig prices. The federal government, which is opposite Kansas in this lawsuit, is arguing that state antitrust laws are preempted by the federal Natural Gas Act. The defendants and the federal government argue the preemption extends to the retail market when the challenged practice is engaged in by a federally regulated seller and affects a federally regulated wholesale rate.

The underlying lawsuit involves accusations by the plaintiffs, which include both Kansas-based Learjet, Inc., and Topeka Unified School District No. 501, that the defendants illegally drove up the retail price of natural gas, costing gas purchasers millions of dollars. Similar cases from around the country were consolidated into multi-district litigation in Nevada, and the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals eventually allowed the plaintiffs to proceed with their state-law claims. The defendants have asked the Supreme Court to reject the lawsuit by concluding that federal law preempts state laws that combat price-fixing in the natural gas retail market when the challenged industry practices also affect the wholesale gas market.

The case is ONEOK, Inc. v. Learjet, Inc. Oral argument will be at 10 a.m. EST on Monday, January 12.

By Bryan Thompson, KPR

TOPEKA — Already this season, influenza and pneumonia have been a factor in 516 deaths in Kansas, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including one child.

The CDC reports that adults 65 years and older have had the highest rate of hospitalizations due to influenza or complications arising from influenza, with a rate of 51.8 per 100,000 population. The group with the second highest hospitalization rate is children age 4 or younger, with a rate of 16.5 per 100,000 population.
The CDC advises people with chronic conditions, pregnant women, senior citizens and young children to take antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, if they become infected with the flu.

Dr. Mike Munger, at St. Luke’s South Primary Care in Overland Park, said the drugs can minimize the severity of the flu, especially when taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms.

“If you are developing fever, headache, a diffuse muscle ache, that should alert you it’s probably more than a cold,” he said. “Best to err on the side of caution, and contact your physician.”

Munger said many clinics are offering same-day appointments for those with flu symptoms.

“Especially at this time of year, many primary care physicians are increasing access for same-day visits because of the need to start the antivirals quickly,” he said. “Most of us, especially as we have relationships and know our patients, absolutely, if we identify someone who is at potential high risk, they get priority to be seen.”

Flu season in Kansas typically peaks in February. However, flu activity in Kansas is widespread, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman Sara Belfry.

As of the week ending Dec. 27, Kansas clinics were reporting about 8.7 percent of visits were for influenza-like illness, she said.

It’s still not too late to get a flu shot, according to the CDC. Even though the vaccine is not a good match for one of the strains causing much of the illness this year, the CDC said vaccination may still prevent influenza illness from being as severe as it might be without the vaccine.

 

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

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon says he doesn’t support ending the grand jury system in Missouri.
Nixon said before the start of the 2015 annual legislative session Wednesday that he’s against a proposal to end grand juries, a measure prompted after a grand jury failed to indict a white Ferguson police officer who fatally shot a black 18-year-old Aug. 9.
Democratic state Rep. Brandon Ellington of Kansas City filed a joint resolution to repeal that measure in the Missouri Constitution.
The resolution was one of many pieces of legislation filed to address Michael Brown’s shooting, which sparked protests nationwide.
Proposals with the best chance of passing appear to be ones that would curb the revenue cities can receive from traffic fines, which protesters say can unfairly lead to arrests of low-income residents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — First-time homebuyers whose home loans are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration would benefit from an Obama administration move to lower mortgage insurance premiums.

Under the plan, the housing administration will reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage points, to 0.85 percent. The White House said Wednesday the reduction means new home buyers would pay $900 less a year than they would without the change.

The rate drop announcement will be a centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s trip to Phoenix Thursday.

Current homeowners who refinance into an FHA mortgage would also benefit from the change.

Even with the reduction, the new 0.85 percent premium is higher than historic norms. The rate was initially increased to raise FHA capital reserves which took a hit during the housing crisis.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Lawmakers in the Missouri House have unanimously chosen Rep. John Diehl as the next House speaker, while senators unanimously re-elected Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey.

Wednesday’s decisions came after the 2015 annual legislative session started around noon.

Diehl, a Republican from Town and Country, will lead the largest number of Republicans ever in Missouri’s House. Republicans outnumber Democrats 117-45, with one vacancy.

House members also unanimously elected Republican Rep. Denny Hoskins, of Warrensburg, as speaker pro tem.

Dempsey, a Republican from St. Charles, will continue to lead the Senate, where the GOP has a 25-9 majority over Democrats.

The Republican majorities in both chambers exceed the two-thirds threshold needed to override gubernatorial vetoes.