LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A body found in a Lawrence creek last month has been identified as that of a 57-year-old man.

Two people walking in Burcham Park discovered the decomposed remains Aug. 31, in a small creek near a bridge over the Kansas River.

Police said Wednesday the Douglas County coroner has identified the man as Lawrence resident Mark Kemberling. Officers said there was no sign of foul play, but the cause of death may not be known for several weeks.

Investigators also don’t know how long Kemberling had been dead. They’re asking to hear from anyone with information about the case.

ROB MAADDI, AP Pro Football Writer

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A law enforcement official says he sent a video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee to an NFL executive three months ago, while league officers have insisted they didn’t see the violent images until this week.

The person played The Associated Press a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived. A female voice expresses thanks and says: “You’re right. It’s terrible.”

The official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, says the NFL never followed up. The person can’t confirm if anyone at the NFL watched the video.

The person said he shared the video — which he was unauthorized to release — because he wanted the NFL to have it before deciding on Rice’s punishment.

TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback today ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sun-up to sundown on Thursday in observance of Patriot Day.

Congress designated Sept. 11 of each year as Patriot Day, and by Public Law 111-13, approved April 21, 2009, requested the observance of Sept. 11 as an annually recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“This is a day of remembrance and unity across our nation, and the lowering of the flags is one of the many ways we can honor those who lost their lives on that terrible day 13 years ago,” Gov. Jay Nixon said.

In accordance with state law, the United States and Missouri flags at all government buildings statewide will be flown at half-staff on Thursday (Sept. 11) to honor those who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic nominee Chad Taylor is refusing to answer questions about his petition to the Kansas Supreme Court to have his name removed from the ballot as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Taylor told reporters Wednesday that he wouldn’t discuss the case for now.

Taylor ended his campaign last week. Some fellow Democrats nudged him out of the race in an attempt to give independent Greg Orman a better chance of defeating three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in the Nov. 4 election.

The Democrat sent a letter of withdrawal to Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

But Kobach said Taylor didn’t comply with state election laws and has kept his name on the ballot.

Taylor filed a petition Tuesday with the state Supreme Court to force Kobach to relent.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators have voted to repeal a law that places big businesses on defense in tax disputes with the state.

At issue is Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill that will shift the burden of proof to the Department of Revenue in those tax disputes.

Current law already places the burden of proof on the Revenue Department in tax disputes with individuals and most businesses. But businesses worth more than $7 million that employ more than 500 people currently bear the burden of proof in tax disputes.

Business groups say Missouri’s current law presumes big businesses are guilty until proven innocent.

Nixon vetoed the bill while citing concerns that it could be a drain on state revenues.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A woman who tried to hire a hit man to kill her estranged husband and a man who threatened on Facebook to cause “a blood bath” at a high school have agreed to give up their teaching certifications.

The agreements with Annette Burnia and Daniel Reed are among several the Missouri Board of Education is set to consider next week.

Reed pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat. He was arrested in August 2011 after an investigation into the threat against East Newton High School.

Burnia has a substitute teacher certification, and Reed is certified to teach social studies to 7th- to 12th graders.

United States Attorney’s Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, and Barry R. Grissom, United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, announced that law enforcement officers and victim service providers from throughout a multi-state region are in Kansas City, Mo., this week to attend the 11th annual Protect Our Children Conference at the Airport Hilton in Kansas City, Mo., through Friday.

The Protect Our Children provides training for those who are in the trenches combating Internet crimes against children, child exploitation, child sexual assault, and child abduction. Dickinson, Grissom and Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte welcomed conference attendees this morning.

The three-day conference, which is hosted by United States Attorneys in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, and Indiana, rotates among cities each year. The event provides a multi-disciplinary approach for law enforcement, medical and mental health and victim service providers. Experts and practitioners present a comprehensive strategy to protect children and seek justice on their behalf.

The overall goal of the 11th Annual Protect Our Children Conference is to increase community awareness, improve investigative and prosecutorial practices, and provide resources to all participants. This year’s conference showcases presenters from across the country specializing in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children and the treatment of child victims.

A special keynote address will be presented by Christopher Baughman, host of MSNBC’s new series on human trafficking, at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, 10, 2014.

Prior to Baughman’s retirement, he headed up the Pandering Investigation Team (PIT) and Human Trafficking Task Force for the Las Vegas Police Department, where his team arrested and convicted several of the city’s wealthiest and most violent criminals. He teaches pandering investigations to other departments across the nation, including members of the FBI, IRS, and Federal Parole and Probation Agencies. He is also author of the best-selling true crime human trafficking series, “Off The Street.”

At 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, closing keynote speaker Derek Clark will share his compelling personal testimony of the childhood trauma he endured and overcame, which has inspired thousands of people to overcome their own adversity. A published author and well-known expert in working with troubled children and youth, he will also share insight and training to equip us for dealing with young victims.

Plenary speakers will address such topics as “Trauma and Recovery,” “Neurobiology of Trauma,” and “Cyberbullying.” Sixteen workshops feature separate tracks with experts and topics that are specifically relevant to law enforcement, health care/medical, or victim providers. Special elective workshops will also be offered on a diverse range of topics.

WASHINGTON –More than one-third of “excess” military equipment supplied to local police departments through federal programs was either never used by the U.S. military or in new condition—a finding revealed in a Senate hearing today led by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill examining the militarization of state and local police departments, following the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Mo. police officer, and subsequent clashes between local police and protestors.

Among the hearing’s most shocking findings were that 36 percent of the equipment sent to local police departments through Department of Defense (DOD) was either never or little used by the military, due to a lack of coordination and accountability within the department. There have been more than 450 guns lost by state and local police departments that were sent as part of the DOD programs. Local police departments in 49 of 50 states have more Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) than their state’s National Guard units.

“I first approached Chairman Carper to hold this hearing because of the shock I felt as I saw events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, in the weeks following the death of Michael Brown,” said McCaskill, a former county prosecutor, who led today’s hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “I heard reports from my constituents about aggressive police actions being used against protesters, well before any violence occurred. Like many of you, I saw armored vehicles with a sniper pointing a rifle at unarmed protesters in the middle of the day. I was shocked to see the way that the police were deploying this military equipment against residents of Missouri who were exercising their First Amendment rights.”

“One of the key lessons learned throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was the idea that we had to win hearts and minds, and one of the ways the military tried to do that was by acting more like a police force—working with communities, helping to repair broken windows and damaged property and trying to appear less militaristic with their presence in the communities,” McCaskill added. “It is ironic that the Defense Department’s policies are now fostering the opposite mentality at home.”

McCaskill and her colleagues examined the federal programs that enable local police departments to acquire military equipment, including DOD’s 1033 program for surplus property, administered by the Defense Logistics Agency, the Departments of Justice’s (DOJ) Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) for local law enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Grant Program.

The amount of funding flowing to local police departments is so great that, according to testimony at the hearing, local law enforcement agencies are using grants from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for the transportation costs of the military-grade equipment they’re getting for free from DOD.

In questioning federal officials charged with administering these programs—Alan F. Estevez, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the DOD; Brian E. Kamoie, Assistant Administrator for Grant Programs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency at DHS; and Karol Mason, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs at DOJ—McCaskill highlighted their failure to coordinate and communicate, asking, “Before Ferguson, had the three of you ever met?”

The officials testified that they had never met previous to the events in Ferguson—to which McCaskill replied, “Not good.”

McCaskill also explored the possibility of requiring local police departments to use federal funding to purchase body-cameras for officers before securing other military-grade equipment, as part of an effort to ensure proper use of such equipment—and underscored the lack of training provided to local law enforcement when military equipment is provided. She pressed federal officials to work with Congress on policy changes to strengthen transparency and accountability throughout these federal programs.

Other witnesses at Tuesday’s hearing included:

• Chief Jim Bueermann, President of the Police Foundation
• Dr. Peter B. Kraska, Professor, School of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University
• Mark Lomax, Executive Director at the National Tactical Officers Association, accompanied by Major Ed Allen, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
• Wiley Price, Photojournalist with the St. Louis American Newspaper
• Hilary O. Shelton, Washington Bureau Director and Senior Vice President for Advocacy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)