JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri National Guard and State Highway Patrol have racked up nearly $12 million of costs while providing security stemming from protests in Ferguson and the St. Louis area.

Gov. Jay Nixon’s budget office released cost estimates Friday in response to a request from The Associated Press.

Nixon activated the Guard and increased the Highway Patrol’s presence in the St. Louis area as a grand jury decided on Nov. 24 not to indict a white police officer for the fatal shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown.

State figures show the Guard had $6.9 million of costs for such things as salaries, meals, fuel and supplies as of Wednesday. The Patrol had $4.8 million of expenses for salaries, lodging, meals and transportation as of Monday.

Those costs are expected to rise.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This afternoon, President Barack Obama signed Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins’ (KS-02) and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran’s (R-Kan.) legislation, H.R. 4067, into law. This law will delay Medicare’s enforcement of unreasonable and inflexible direct supervision rules for outpatient therapy services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other small, rural hospitals in 2014.

“This law has been a long time in the making and it would not have been possible without the hard work and leadership of Senator Moran and the number of folks who helped advocate for access to rural healthcare,” said Congresswoman Jenkins. “I am pleased Republicans and Democrats put their differences aside and put people in rural communities before political wrangling. There is still more work to be done, and access to quality healthcare in rural communities will continue to be one of my top priorities. Next Congress, I will work to ensure this law is made permanent so folks living in rural areas continue to have timely access to care and the certainty needed that they can receive these basic health services close to home.”

“Making certain Kansans have access to quality health care remains one of my top priorities in Congress,” Sen. Moran said. “Today, a commonsense bill was signed into law that helps preserve patients’ access to important therapy services in Kansas communities and across the country. Passage of this law is a positive development, and I plan to reintroduce legislation in the new Congress to address this issue on a permanent basis. Thanks to Congresswoman Jenkins for her extraordinary efforts on this legislation in the House of Representatives.”

Examples of direct supervision rules for outpatient therapy services:

– Application of cast to a finger
– Blood transfusions
– Application of a splint to a finger
– Demonstration and/or evaluation of a patient utilizing a nebulizer or metered dose inhaler
– Alcohol and/or substance abuse (other than tobacco) structured assessment and brief intervention (such as advising of health risks and counseling for 15-30 mins)
– Pulmonary rehabilitation, including exercise of one hour per session – up to two sessions per day

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An SUV driver accused of deliberately running down a Muslim teenager in Kansas City has been charged with murder in a case that’s being investigated by federal authorities to determine whether it was a hate crime.

Thirty-four-year-old Ahmed H. Aden was charged Friday in Jackson County in the crash outside a Somali community center that killed 15-year-old Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein. Prosecutors are requesting a $250,000 bond. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

A probable cause statement says Aden was driving the sport utility vehicle night that hit the teen as he got into a car Thursday evening.

Aden is accused of backing up and running over the teen, whose legs were nearly severed. The teen died in a hospital of his wounds.

——-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The FBI is investigating the death of a Kansas City teenager who died when he was intentionally struck by an SUV outside a Somali community center as a potential hate crime.

Police say the driver rammed the teenager Thursday as he was getting into a car outside the Somali Center of Kansas City, nearly severing his legs. The teen died in a hospital.

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Friday that the agency is working with Kansas City police and “have opened this matter as a federal civil rights investigation as a potential hate crimes violation.”

A 30-year-old suspect was arrested after he tried to flee on foot.

Two Muslim organizations issued separate news releases Friday calling for investigations.

The names of the victim and suspect have not been released.

 

———-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Muslim groups are asking for federal and state investigations into the death of a teenager who police say was intentionally struck by an SUV driver outside a Kansas City community center.

Police say the driver rammed the teenager Thursday as he was getting into a car outside the Somali Center of Kansas City, nearly severing his legs. The teen died in a hospital.

Police said Friday the death is being investigated as a homicide.

A 30-year-old suspect was arrested after he tried to flee on foot.

The Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a locally based Heartland Muslim Council issued separate news releases Friday morning calling for investigations.

The identities of the victim and the suspect have not been released.

—————

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say a 15-year-old boy whose legs were severed after an SUV driver intentionally hit him has died.

Sgt. Bill Mahoney told local news outlets the boy was struck Thursday evening as he was getting into a car outside of the Somali Center of Kansas City. He says another person was hit but has injuries that aren’t life threatening.

Mahoney says the suspect tried to leave but the SUV was disabled in the crash. He says the man in his mid-30s fled on foot and was arrested. Officers say he had a machete and other unspecified weapons.

The boy was taken to an area hospital where he later died. His identity hasn’t been released.

The man’s identity hasn’t been released. No charges have been reported.

ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Caleb Stegall is now a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court after serving as a lower-court judge and as a top aide to Gov. Sam Brownback.

The Supreme Court had a special session Friday for Stegall’s swearing in. Brownback and dozens of other people attended the ceremony.

Brownback elevated the 43-year-old Stegall to state’s highest court in August after naming him to the Kansas Court of Appeals last year.

Previously, Stegall served as Brownback’s chief counsel. Before joining the administration in January 2011, Stegall was Jefferson County’s elected prosecutor for two years.

It is the Republican governor’s first appointment to the seven-member Supreme Court.

Stegall replaced former Justice Nancy Moritz. She left to for a seat on the federal appeals court for Kansas and five other western and Plains states.

LENEXA- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4 a.m. on Friday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Mitsubishi passenger car driven by Arnulfo V. Ramirez, 32, Bonner Springs, was westbound on the ramp from Interstate 435 westbound to Kansas 10 westbound in Lenexa.

The driver lost control in the rain. The vehicle spun to the right, left the roadway and struck a bridge pillar.

Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call Morgue.
The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Scores of people protesting the police shooting of Michael Brown have arrived at the Missouri Capitol after a 130-mile march from the shooting site in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

About 100 protesters marched down a street Friday past the Missouri Governor’s Mansion to the Capitol, where they gathered with others for a rally.

The march began Saturday and was organized by the NAACP. Along the way, protesters were opposed by some people in the rural town of Rosebud who yelled obscenities and displayed a Confederate flag.

As they reached the Capitol, marchers chanted that they were “justice warriors.”

A grand jury decided last week not to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of the black 18-year-old. Wilson has since resigned.

——————

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — About 50 people protesting the police shooting of Michael Brown are expected to arrive at the Missouri Capitol after a 130-mile march from the shooting site in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

Protesters plan to arrive at Jefferson City around noon Friday and gather at a garden near the governor’s mansion. Later, they plan to walk up a short hill for a rally at the Capitol.

The march has been organized by the NAACP and the walk began Saturday. On Wednesday as the march passed through the rural town of Rosebud, some people yelled obscenities and displayed a Confederate flag.

A grand jury decided last week not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of the black 18-year-old.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — After more than 30 years of waiting, Pittsburg State University plans to officially open its new performing arts center.

The Bicknell Family Center for the Arts will open Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the building.

The Joplin Globe reports the center will be the university’s first specific performance venue since 1978, when Carney Hall was closed and razed because of deterioration.

The $33 million performing arts center will include a 1,100-seat performance hall and a 2,000-square-foot art gallery. It also will offer a grand lobby, reception hall, multi-use rehearsal space and a 250-seat theater.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) praised the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage last night of the “United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014,” bipartisan legislation they introduced in July 2014 to help strengthen economic and security cooperation between the two countries. The Boxer-Blunt bill was co-sponsored by a total of 81 Senators, and now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. Blunt spoke on the U.S. Senate floor in July in support of the bill.

“This bipartisan bill demonstrates Congress’s commitment to supporting our nation’s longstanding ally, Israel,” Blunt said. “I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for their support in passing this important legislation, and I look forward to the president signing it into law.”

“I am proud that the House and Senate spoke with one voice to pass this bill that reaffirms and strengthens the relationship between the United States and Israel,” Boxer said. “I look forward to the President signing this critical legislation.”

The legislation reaffirms the United States’ unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and the strong, historic U.S.-Israel relationship. It supports efforts to deepen U.S.-Israeli cooperation on defense, and reaffirms that the U.S. will continue to provide robust security assistance to Israel, including for the Iron Dome Missile Defense System. The bill also reiterates U.S. support for a negotiated political settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians that results in two states living side-by-side in peace and security.

Specifically, the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014:

Expresses the sense of Congress that Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States.
Authorizes an increase of $200 million in the value of U.S. weapons held in Israel, to a total of $1.8 billion. This stockpile is intended for use by U.S. forces in the event of a crisis, but it can also be used by Israel in the event of an emergency with Israel reimbursing the U.S. for any weapons used.
Requires the Administration to take steps toward allowing Israel to be included in the top-tier category for license-free exports of certain U.S. technologies and products.
Authorizes the President to carry out cooperation between the U.S. and Israel on a range of policy areas including energy, water, homeland security, and alternative fuel technologies. And it requires the President to study the feasibility of expanding U.S.-Israel cooperation on cyber security.
States that it shall be the policy of the United States to include Israel in the list of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program when Israel satisfies, and as long as Israel continues to satisfy, the requirements for inclusion in the program.
Requires the Administration to provide more frequent and more detailed assessments on the status of Israel’s qualitative military edge over its neighbors.
Strengthens collaboration between the U.S. and Israel on energy development and encourages increased cooperation between the two countries’ academic, business and governmental sectors.