CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A small group of protesters has gathered outside a suburban St. Louis building where a grand jury is expected to convene to consider possible charges against the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The roughly two dozen protesters chanted, prayed and held signs outside the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, Missouri, on Wednesday. They called for county prosecutor Bob McCulloch to relinquish control of the case to a special prosecutor, among other things.

About 20 police officers stood outside the building’s front entrance, which was also blocked off by yellow police tape.

It could be weeks before the grand jury decides whether Officer Darren Wilson should stand trial for Brown’s Aug. 9 death.

HAYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas lawmaker who lost his re-election primary battle earlier this month has died.

Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick of Stillwell announced Wednesday that Rep. Joe Edwards of Haysville died late Tuesday of a suspected heart attack. Smith Mortuary in Haysville confirmed his death.

The 60-year-old Republican legislator served one term before losing the primary election to John Whitmer in the 93rd District.

Clay Barker, the executive director for the Kansas Republican Party, said Wednesday that Edwards was well liked by his fellow representatives.

Barker said Edwards was on the conservative side, but had a populist streak and was always looking out for the common man.

Smith Mortuary says funeral arrangements are pending.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The funeral for 18-year-old Michael Brown is scheduled for Monday at a church in St. Louis.

The Austin A. Layne Mortuary, which is handling arrangements, says the funeral is set for 10 a.m. Monday at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church. Brown’s uncle, the Rev. Charles Ewing, will deliver the eulogy, and the Rev. Al Sharpton will also speak.

Brown will be buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in St. Louis County.

Brown, who was black, was killed Aug. 9 by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked protests and more than a week of unrest in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb.

 

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A federal judge has found that a Missouri-based trucking company had a pattern of discrimination against its female drivers.

The judge ruled Monday that Springfield-based New Prime Inc. violated federal law by requiring female drivers to be trained only by other female drivers.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the New Prime over the practice in 2011, alleging the policy limited women’s access to jobs or delayed their hiring.

Prime sought to have the case dismissed. It suspended the women-train-women policy in March 2013.

The Kansas City Star reported Prime started the women training policy in 2003 after an earlier EEOC lawsuit focused on sexual harassment of a female driver trainee.

The commission said damages and remedies for the women involved in the case will be determined later.

By Alex Smith, KCUR

OVERLAND PARK — A forum Tuesday in Overland Park drew attention to the importance of National Institutes of Health funding.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, NIH official Christopher Austin and University of Kansas officials spoke before an audience of about 150 at KU’s Edwards Campus. Yoder, a Kansas Republican who represents the 3rd District, said that while he’s concerned with the federal deficit and overspending, he supports NIH funding.

“Spending money on federal research helps prevent disease,” Yoder said afterward. “It helps create jobs. It helps grow our economy. But maybe more than anything, it is an investment in the future.”

Last year, KU and the University of Kansas Medical Center received more than $75 million in NIH funding.

In the 2012 fiscal year, KU’s School of Pharmacy ranked secondamong pharmacy schools in the nation in NIH funding, receiving more than $25 million.

In 2011, the NIH named KU Medical Center one of 29 Alzheimer’s Disease Centers, a designation that included a $6 million, five-year grant.

Also in 2011, the NIH awarded KU Medical Center nearly $20 million over five years to expand clinical research with the goal of getting new drugs and treatments onto the market faster.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A state auditor says the Missouri education department used a biased bidding process when it contracted with a consultant to study an overhaul of the Kansas City school district.

The review released Tuesday criticized the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s contract with Indianapolis-based Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust.

The Kansas City Star reported in December that Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro talked with CEE-Trust consultants long before the $385,000 contract was approved, and the contract cost three times more than a bid from a Massachusetts company. The money came from the Kauffman and the Hall Family Foundations, which support charter schools.
The education department said in a statement Tuesday that it would take steps to implement some of the auditor’s recommendations in the future.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri utilities are looking to Kansas companies to help meet carbon dioxide emission targets proposed by a federal agency.

In June, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal that offered specific emission targets for each state, the first of which would kick in by 2020. The rule is expected to be finalized next year.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Empire District Electric Co. and Kansas City Power and Light are utility companies that serve customers in Missouri and Kansas.

Both utilities say Kansas wind turbines could play a major role in helping Missouri meet its EPA-proposed targets. But one of the utilities says that assumes both states are willing to work together.

NEW YORK (AP) — Peanut and almond butters sold at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and other grocers are being recalled because of possible salmonella contamination.

A unit of Hain Celestial Group Inc. says there have been reports of four illnesses that may be related to the nut butters. They were sold under the brand names Arrowhead Mills Peanut Butters, MaraNatha Almond Butters and Peanut Butters, and private label brands for Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Kroger and Safeway.

They were sold in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as well as the U.S.

The company says it learned of the contamination risk after routine FDA testing.

The Food and Drug Administration says it does not know how many jars of nut butters were recalled. The company would not comment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man whose wife was killed when he crashed their car into a sign post has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The collision happened May 23 in the southern part of the city.

Prosecutors said in court documents Monday that 44-year-old Terrence Lee Aaron was speeding when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a pole in the center of a divided highway. His 43-year-old wife, Veronica Aaron, died of her injuries.

Police said a test conducted after the crash showed Aaron with a blood-alcohol level of .097.
Aaron’s license was revoked in 2003. He’s also charged with driving while revoked.
Jackson County court records did not list an attorney for Aaron on Wednesday.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas man who was discovered by a child to be hiding under a bed will be sentenced next month for criminal trespass and other charges.

The Leavenworth Times reports a jury took about an hour this week to convict 35-year-old Earl Brockington Jr.

Authorities said Brockington entered the Leavenworth home of the mother of his children on April 21 and hid under a bed for several hours while spying on the family.

The mother testified during the one-day trial that she thought her son was imagining things when he told her someone was under the bed. The two adults struggled before the woman and children got out of the house.

Brockington will be sentenced Sept. 24 for charges that also include robbery, domestic battery and witness intimidation.