KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two people have died after being beaten in their Kansas City home during an attack in which three others were fatally shot.

Kansas City police say Ann and George Taylor, both in their 80s, died Tuesday after spending a week on life support.

Prosecutors allege that Brandon Howell attacked the couple in the basement of their home on Sept. 2, then fatally shot three neighbors before fleeing in the Taylors’ SUV.

He’s charged with several felonies, including three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of 88-year-old Alice Hurst, her son, 63-year-old Darrel Hurst, and 69-year-old Susan Choucroun.

Howell, a convicted felon with a history of violence, was arrested shortly after the killings. Police found him walking along Interstate 29 with a loaded shotgun in his pants.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say an argument between parents and a coach at a junior football league practice in Kansas escalated into a fight involving gunfire.

Police say one man complained that his son was not getting enough playing time during Monday evening’s practice at Linwood Park in Wichita. Then six men surrounded the coach and started punching him.

Police say one of the parents was armed with brass knuckles and another indicated he had a gun.

Then the coach’s wife pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the air. Police say the coach subsequently went to his car where he retrieved a second gun and threatened the men with it.

His assailants fled before officers arrived and confiscated both guns.

No one was seriously hurt and no arrests were made.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The parents and supporters of the 18-year-old killed in a fatal police shooting in suburban St. Louis are renewing their calls for the officer’s immediate arrest.

Michael Brown’s parents joined about 20 supporters Tuesday morning at a news conference outside the Ferguson police station.

A St. Louis County grand jury is reviewing the case for possible criminal charges against officer Darren Wilson.

But family supporters said there is sufficient evidence to arrest and charge Wilson now.

“You do not need an indictment in order to arrest someone,” said pastor Carlton Lee of Flood Christian Church. “Probable cause is sufficient enough to arrest civilians. So it must be enough to arrest police.”

Tuesday marks one month since Brown’s death.

ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress says it’s considering doing more to monitor and hold accountable police departments across the United States that obtain sophisticated military equipment from the federal government.

Senior officials from the Homeland Security, Justice and Defense departments testified Tuesday at a Senate oversight hearing. It was prompted by weeks of violent conflicts between police in Ferguson, Missouri, and protesters upset about the fatal police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old.

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Democrat Tom Carper of Delaware, said the government gives military equipment to police for good reasons. But the senator said Congress is considering whether the types of equipment police are getting is “truly needed” to uphold local laws.

The White House had previously announced its own review of the police equipment program.

WASHINGTON – Aiming to rein in special interest money pouring into campaigns across the country, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today voted to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to restore reasonable limits on money in politics.

The Constitutional Amendment would overturn the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in the case Citizens United v. FEC—a ruling that struck down large parts of federal campaign finance law and opened the door to large donations to political campaigns by American and foreign-owned corporations, among others.

“Our election campaigns should be fought based on candidates and their ideas—not on how much special interest money is bankrolling one side or the other,” McCaskill said. “The Supreme Court made a bad call when it overturned decades of precedent and opened the door to limitless dark money in our campaigns. It’s time to rein in this wild west of special interest spending, and strengthen the integrity of our elections.”

McCaskill is also a strong supporter of the DISCLOSE Act—legislation to strengthen transparency in U.S. elections, in part by requiring secretive organizations spending huge sums on campaigns to disclose their donations.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a national gun control group against a state law that challenges federal authority to regulate firearms.

The state contended in a court filing Monday in U.S. District Court that the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has no legal standing to challenge its law. The statute declares the federal government has no authority to regulate guns made, sold and kept only in Kansas, and allows felony charges against any federal employee who tries to enforce federal regulations for Kansas firearms and ammunition.

The attorney general’s office argues Kansas is enforcing the Second Amendment by punishing violations of the established rights of Kansans.

The Brady Center contends the law ignores regulations that protect public safety and help law enforcement.

Hays Post

Hays, Kan.- It has been a week since four men were stopped in rural Ellis County after allegedly shooting over 269 doves in one day. The legal limit is 15 doves per hunter.

The length of the case and release of details will hinge upon whether the hunters are charged in district court or will face more serious charges of violating federal laws regarding migratory birds.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is in contact with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about possibly filing charges in federal court.

“If federal charges are filed, it will take considerable time,” said Capt. Dan Melson of KDPWT in Hays. “If it is decided to just charge them in Ellis County, it won’t take much time at all.

The state is not releasing the names and ages of the hunters until a decision on charges is made.

“The officer who had contact with the hunters that day will make the decision,” said Melson.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Press Association is searching for pictures of Kansas residents who died in Vietnam.

The pictures will become part of a national project called “Faces Never Forgotten.” They will be added to the Wall of Faces in a new education center at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  the KPA began searching for the photos several months ago. KPA executive director Doug Anstaett said this week that of 265 photographs of Kansans sought in the project, 42 have been submitted to the KPA as of last Wednesday.

A total of 627 Kansas service members were killed in the Vietnam War. When the project began, photographs for 362 Kansas servicemen already were in hand.

Deadline for submitting photos is Nov. 11.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Springfield city officials say the city will remove its long-dormant red-light cameras.

The city stopped using the cameras four years ago after a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that the city was mishandling tickets issued after red light violations.

Camera equipment will be removed from 11 city intersections in mid- to late-September. The process is expected to take no more than one business week.

The equipment to be removed includes cameras, lasers, poles and pole bases.

WASHINGTON, DC – Taking to the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Pat Roberts on Monday night defended the First Amendment against Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid’s attempts to silence opposition. Senator Roberts is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration which has jurisdiction over federal election law.

“Our founding fathers knew that those in power would be inclined to retain it and, unless constrained, would use their power to punish those who would seek to challenge them or remove them from office,” Roberts said. “The First Amendment denies us that power. It explicitly prohibits this Congress from passing laws that restrict the speech of the American people. With this amendment, the majority wants to try to remove that prohibition. They want to grant themselves the power to control speech – to silence their opposition.”

The Senator made the remarks during the floor debate on S. J. Res. 19, which would amend the Constitution of the United States to allow the Congress to regulate free speech and activity in federal elections.