WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has temporarily blocked an appeals court ruling that declared gay marriage legal in Idaho and Nevada.

The order came minutes after Idaho on Wednesday filed an emergency request for an immediate stay. The state’s request said that without a stay, state and county officials would have been required to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples at 10 a.m. EDT.

Kennedy’s order requested a response from the plaintiffs involved in Idaho’s gay marriage lawsuit by the end of day Thursday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared gay marriage legal in Idaho and Nevada on Tuesday, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in 30 other states.

The FBI is seeking information on persons who are planning to travel or have traveled to a foreign country for armed combat and/or are being recruited for such activities. The FBI web site is https://tips.fbi.gov/digitalmedia/ISILtips

The FBI is also seeking information about the identity of an English-speaking individual seen in a propaganda video released last month by the group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

DENVER (AP) — Supporters of same-sex marriage in Colorado are celebrating their legal victory but also trying to help advance their cause elsewhere.

Elected officials, clergy, and others including Tim Gill and representatives of the ACLU and NAACP say they’ll rally at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday at 5:30 p.m.

The gathering is sponsored by Why Marriage Matters Colorado. Director Wendy Howell says they not only want to celebrate marriage equality here but they also want to see same-sex marriage legalized across the country.

Gay marriage is legal in Colorado following 10th Circuit rulings against gay marriage bans in Oklahoma and Utah and a federal court’s ruling against Colorado’s ban.

Kansas and Wyoming, also covered by the 10th Circuit, are so far refusing to marry gay couples.

DETROIT (AP) — A company that makes after-market floor mats for General Motors full-size pickup trucks and SUVs is recalling more than 45,000 of them because they can interfere with the gas pedal.

Omix Ada of Suwannee, Georgia, says the recall covers Cabela’s Custom Fit, Line-X Truck Gear, Rugged Ridge All-Terrain and Tread Lightly mats. They can move forward unintentionally and stop the gas pedal from returning to the idle position. That can increase the risk of a crash.

The mats fit Chevrolet and GMC trucks and SUVs from 1999 through 2014. The mats were made from Nov. 1, 2009 to Aug. 27, 2014. Most were sold at O’Reilly Auto Parts stores.

The company will furnish an anchor and hook system to fix the problem. People with questions can call (844) 642-7625.

 

Kansas Attorney General

TOPEKA – A long-simmering water dispute between Kansas and Nebraska will reach the U. S. Supreme Court next week, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Schmidt said the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, October 14, in Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado. The case addresses remedies to which Kansas is entitled for Nebraska’s overuse of water in the Republican River basin in 2005 and 2006 and also addresses whether the compact accounting procedures should be reformed to account in the future for groundwater originating in the Platte River basin that migrates into the Republican River basin.

“We are seeking strong incentives for our neighbor to the north to consistently comply with its obligations under the interstate compact governing water use in the Republican River basin,” Schmidt said.

Kansas sought permission from the Supreme Court in 2010 to bring the lawsuit and filed its case in 2011. After a trial, a Special Master appointed by the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Nebraska had overused water in 2005 and 2006 by 70,000 acre-feet and recommended Kansas be awarded $3.7 million in actual damages and another $1.8 million in partial disgorgement of Nebraska’s unjust gains. The Special Master also recommended future changes in the formula that accounts for groundwater migrating into the Republican River basin from the Platte River basin.

Schmidt will lead the legal team representing Kansas to the Supreme Court, and the state’s argument will be delivered by Solicitor General Stephen R. McAllister.

The case is State of Kansas v. State of Nebraska and State of Colorado, No. 126, Original.

FAIR GROVE (AP) – Southwestern Missouri school district officials and police are investigating reports that female band students were filmed while changing clothes at school.

Fair Grove Police Chief Adam Mallory tells the Springfield News-Leader that the complaint was filed Saturday and authorities met with school officials on Monday. Mallory says police have requested to search male students’ electronic devices and up to 10 girls might have been filmed.

It’s unclear how old the girls are and which school they attend.

Fair Grove Superintendent John Link says the district attorney recommended he contact police after students reported the filming. He says fewer than 10 male students could be involved.

Link says the district officials called the parents of all students believed to be involved.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A former executive officer of a Manhattan builders association has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing from the organization.

The Manhattan Mercury reports  45-year-old Tracy Roberts of Wamego was sentenced on Monday on 30 charges of felony theft.

Authorities say Roberts wrote business checks from the Flint Hills Area Builders Association for personal use between 2008 and 2013. It’s unclear how much money they believe she stole.

Roberts had asked the judge for probation.

The association president says he is pleased with the decision and the organization is seeking nearly $137,000 from Roberts in a civil lawsuit.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) called on Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Chuck Hagel to define the campaign and authorization of military force in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) as 500 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division headquarters – The Big Red One – of Fort Riley, Kan., prepare to deploy to Iraq.

Sen. Moran expressed concern about DoD’s plan to ensure the safety and security of Big Red One soldiers and other U.S. military forces when the roles, missions and objectives of the United States in Iraq are still being determined. In the absence of a defined operational campaign, U.S. military forces may not be appropriately recognized for their participation and service in these ongoing operations.

“When sending soldiers into harm’s way, a clear path and plan should be defined,” Sen. Moran said in the letter. “Their desire to serve should be matched by the Administration’s desire to define their roles and missions against a legal framework that authorizes their service in defense of our country.”

On Sept. 25, 2014, DoD announced that 500 Big Red One soldiers will deploy to Iraq in late October. According to the division, the soldiers will increase the United States’ capacity to target the Islamic State and coordinate activities of the U.S. military across Iraq as part of a one-year mission.

By Jim McLean
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — State officials are intensifying their efforts to help Kansans with disabilities get jobs.
But advocates in the disability community are skeptical that an initiative announced Monday will be enough to reverse a recent trend that has seen a steady decline in the number of Kansans with disabilities placed in jobs.

The initiative, dubbed “End-Dependence Kansas,” will provide $25 million in mostly federal funds over the next five years to organizations that operate programs that help people with disabilities find employment.

“Work is an essential component of self-sufficiency, greater self-esteem, a healthy lifestyle and being fully included in society,” said Phyllis Gilmore, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

State officials say their goal is to help 2,000 Kansans with disabilities find “integrated employment,” meaning competitive jobs rather than so-called “sheltered employment.”

Rocky Nichols, a former Democratic legislator from Topeka who now heads the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, welcomed the initiative but said he’s concerned that it won’t be enough to reverse several years of underperformance by the state’s vocational rehabilitation program.

“On the one hand, I don’t want to be too critical because it’s providing enhanced funding. But, man, this is a big challenge, and I think it’s going to take something more than a hopefully well-intentioned news release a month before the election to turn this thing around,” Nichols said.
Michael Donnelly, director of rehabilitation services at DCF, agreed that finding meaningful employment for people with disabilities is challenging.

“The (U.S.) Department of Labor reports that only 18 percent of Kansans with disabilities are involved at all in the workforce,” Donnelly said. “So that’s 80 percent who are not. That’s a lot of people.”

Even so, Donnelly said he believes the new effort will pay dividends because it’s being coordinated among five state agencies.

“We believe that we can put Kansas on a path to have the highest employment rates of people with disabilities,” he said.

Annual reports issued by the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston show that Kansas has work to do in achieving that goal. The most recent report shows that the number of Kansans with disabilities placed in integrated employment declined from 79,141 in 2010 – the year Gov. Sam Brownback was elected – to 77,454 in 2012.

The numbers reveal other concerns. While the number of people with disabilities getting competitive, regular jobs has declined, the number having to settle for non-competitive, sheltered-workshop jobs has increased substantially. In addition, more working-age Kansans with disabilities are living in poverty – increasing from 12.3 percent in 2010 to 13.3 percent in 2012. The poverty rate among all Kansans with disabilities increased from 23.3 percent in 2010 to 28.5 percent in 2012.

“Those (numbers) are huge red flags and huge warning signs to our state that we’ve got to do a lot more,” Nichols said.