WILLARD, Mo. (AP) — A police chief says the deaths of a man and woman in the southwest Missouri town of Willard were a murder-suicide.
Willard Police Chief Tom McClain said Wednesday investigators determined that 54-year-old Edward Rollins shot his wife, 43-year-old Sherry Rollins, three times before shooting himself. Their bodies were found at their home Feb. 12.
The Springfield News-Leader reports police recovered a pistol, ammunition and more than 200 prescription pills at the couple’s home.
McClain says authorities responded to the home at least six times since 2000 for domestic disturbances and similar calls.

DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 26,000 midsize cars in North America to fix automatic transmissions that might not shift into park.

The recall covers the Chrysler 200 with V-6 engines from the 2015 model year. The company says manufacturing problems at a parts supplier’s factory can cause the nine-speed transmissions to malfunction. Cars could roll away unexpectedly if the cars won’t shift into park.

The company says owners should activate the parking brake before shutting off the engine, until repairs can be made.

Chrysler says it has five customer complaints about the problem, but it knows of no crashes or injuries.

Dealers will inspect and replace transmissions if needed. Customers will be told when they can bring the cars in for service.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A woman from Missouri’s Jefferson City has been indicted on federal charges that she embezzled $410,000 from the bank where she worked.
A federal grand jury in Jefferson City returned the indictment accusing 28-year-old Katherine Nicholle Brown of one count of felony embezzlement.

Authorities allege that Brown worked as the lead teller at Hawthorn Bank in Jefferson City when she pilfered the money from the bank vault from December 2012 to September of last year.

Online court records do not show whether Brown has an attorney reachable for comment.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri House Speaker John Diehl says the state will strip $4.5 million in funding for membership to a group that makes tests for the national Common Core education standards.

Diehl said Wednesday that cutting the money will ensure Missouri’s partnership with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium ends.

Common Core guidelines for educating children in K-12 schools have attracted critics, who say they were adopted without enough local input.

Supporters say they create consistent, rigorous standards across state lines.

Diehl’s proposal follows a Tuesday ruling by a Cole County circuit judge that Missouri’s partnership with the Common Core testing group is unconstitutional. But the education department says that doesn’t prevent them from buying the tests.

A spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office, which represents Missouri, says they’re reviewing the ruling.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say a United Airlines flight has landed safely after being diverted to a Wichita airport because of landing gear issues.

Airport Police and Fire Capt. Randy Currie says the plane that took off Wednesday night from Denver International Airport had experienced landing gear issues, prompting a request to land at Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.

The Bombardier Q-400 aircraft was operated by Republic Airlines and was headed to the Kansas City International Airport in Missouri.

A Republic Airlines representative says 67 passengers and a four-member crew were onboard Flight 4912. He says a maintenance crew is investigating the issue.

Currie says United Airlines offered to put the passengers in a hotel overnight. He also says the airline service used two buses to shuttle about 30 passengers to Kansas City.

LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) – A California man has pleaded not guilty to Missouri charges that he planned to deal 400 pounds of edible marijuana chocolate bars allegedly found in his car during a traffic stop.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 42-year-old Jeffrey Woo of Ladera Ranch, California, was arrested Tuesday for possession of a controlled substance with plans to distribute it.

Woo was arraigned Wednesday in Lafayette County just east of Kansas City, and he pleaded not guilty. Bond was set at $100,000.

The patrol says Woo was eastbound on Interstate 70 when he was stopped for an unspecified traffic infraction. The patrol says a search turned up the marijuana chocolates in boxes in the car.

Online court records don’t show whether he has an attorney to comment on his behalf.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s top public safety official, who was appointed amid the fallout from the Ferguson police shooting, says he’s resigning.

Department of Public Safety Director Daniel Isom II said in a statement Wednesday that he was stepping down to take a teaching position at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The former St. Louis police chief and university instructor says he’s eager to return to his “true passion.”

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Isom, who is black, following the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August. Brown, who was black, was unarmed when he was shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb.

Nixon, whose office released the statement, has faced criticism for lack of diversity in his Cabinet.

Isom’s last day will be March 2.

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SUMMER BALLENTINE, Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state senator who sponsored Missouri’s new public safety director when he was appointed amid the fallout from the Ferguson police shooting says the director has decided to resign.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed tells The Associated Press that Department of Public Safety Director Dan Isom told her Wednesday that he would step down. Nasheed represents part of St. Louis. Isom is the city’s former police chief.

The department and the governor’s office didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Isom, who is black, in August following the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Brown, who was black, was unarmed when he was shot by a white officer in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb.

Nixon has faced criticism for lack of diversity in his Cabinet.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Community colleges and K-12 education would get larger funding boosts under a House Budget Committee proposal than those recommended by Gov. Jay Nixon.

An increase of $70 million for basic aid to school districts over last year and $6 million for community colleges are part of a proposal discussed Wednesday by the Missouri House Budget Committee.

The additional $20 million for school districts over Nixon’s recommendation is enough to make sure no district gets less than last year, according to the state’s education department.

The budget committee still may change the proposal before it goes to the House and then Senate.

The budget committee’s plan includes no increase for state universities, but officials at some institutions said they are hopeful that legislators will add that as the budget process continues.