JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A Joplin woman whose husband and two children were killed in the May 2011 tornado that destroyed much of the community is suing the big-box store where they died.

Edie Howard Housel’s federal wrongful death suit claims her husband, Russell Howard, and their two children were directed to the Home Depot’s training room by an employee as the EF-5 bore down on the business.

The Joplin Globe  reports Home Depot’s lawyers contend the tornado packing 200 mph winds was an act of God and that the defendants were not liable for the deaths.

ROELAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Roeland Park has become the second city in Kansas to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The city’s mayor on Monday night broke the council’s 4-4 tie. It was the second time the council had considered the anti-discrimination issue this summer.

Residents demanded a revote after a councilwoman was absent from the original vote in July. The law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public service.

Lawrence is the only other city in Kansas that includes sexual orientation and gender identity in its anti-discrimination ordinance. Kansas City, Missouri, has a similar ordinance.

Opponents of the ordinance say they will petition the city to put the issue to a citywide vote in November.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say a young child was in a car that led authorities on a high-speed chase after an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant.

Police say they arrested two people following the robbery at Wendy’s in Topeka on Monday night. They say a male robber got into the back seat of a car carrying a second passenger and a child before fleeing.

Police say the robber was dropped off during the chase. He was later located by a Shawnee County K-9 unit. They say the driver and passenger were caught and arrested.

Police haven’t released any names. It’s unclear if charges have been filed. They haven’t released how fast the car was going or how old the child is.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Former University of Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton is joining a select group of well-known Missourians honored for their contributions to the state.

Deaton is the 2014 recipient of the Missourian Award, which recognizes civic, business, political and artistic leaders. Nominees must have been either born in Missouri or made their marks while living in the state.

Deaton retired last year after nearly a decade of leadership at Missouri marked by sizable enrollment growth, a campus building boom and the school’s move to the Southeastern Conference.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita attorney has withdrawn her application for the Kansas Supreme Court because she’s running for the Republican nomination for a Sedgwick County District Court judgeship.

Linda Kirby said Monday she didn’t want to leave Republicans without a candidate if she wins Tuesday’s primary election against Seth Rundle of Wichita. The winner will face Democrat and incumbent Judge Gregory Waller.

Kirby was one of 14 judges and attorneys to apply for the vacancy created by the departure of former Justice Nancy Moritz to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kirby said that when she applied for the Supreme Court, she didn’t know when a judicial nominating commission would pick finalists. The panel plans to do so Tuesday after interviewing the 13 other candidates.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is attempting to cut down on thousands of foodborne illnesses linked to chicken and turkey each year with an overhaul of poultry plant inspection rules that are more than 50 years old.

Final rules announced Thursday would reduce the number of government poultry inspectors. Those who remain will focus more on food safety than on quality, requiring them to pull more birds off the line for closer inspections and encouraging more testing for pathogens. More inspectors would check facilities to make sure they are clean.

The Agriculture Department says the move could cut down on 5,000 foodborne illnesses annually. The changes would be voluntary, but many of the country’s largest poultry companies are expected to opt in. The chicken and turkey industries swiftly praised the new rules.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Tea party and conservative groups have been sustaining challenger Milton Wolf in the final days of his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts in the Kansas Republican primary.

And Roberts told a radio interviewer Monday that Wolf can’t win the November general election.

The election is Tuesday, and both Roberts and Wolf had campaign events Monday in the Kansas City suburbs of Johnson County. It is the state’s most populous county and a GOP stronghold.

Finance reports show that over the past week, three conservative groups have spent $219,000 on mailings and television ads to boost Wolf’s campaign.

But Roberts said told Topeka radio’s WIBW “NewsNow at Noon” that voting for Wolf is voting to elect a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in November.

Wolf’s campaign dismissed the claim.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A former western Missouri mayor who admitted setting up a phony charity is going to prison for using $35,000 in donations for his own expenses.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 51-year-old Stephen Dennis, of Grandview, was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in federal prison without parole. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in February, a month after he resigned as Grandview’s mayor.

Dennis created a corporation called Matters of the Heart, which he described as a nonprofit charitable organization to serve poor people. He admitted in his plea that he solicited donations and accepted two checks totaling $35,000 from International House of Prayer, also based in Grandview.

Prosecutors said Dennis used the donations for his own benefit, including his family’s living expenses, rather than for any charitable purpose.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A police affidavit says a child crying on the television show “Game of Thrones” jogged a foster parent’s memory that he had left a 10-month-old girl inside a sweltering car.

More details of the Kansas case surfaced in the affidavit made public Monday. The document also says Seth Jackson and his partner were smoking marijuana while the child was inside the car in Wichita, where it was around 90 degrees outside.

Jackson is charged with first-degree murder in the July 24 death. No charges have been filed against his partner.

Jackson’s partner told police the girl was hot and stiff when he grabbed her and took her into the house. He called 911, while Jackson attempted CPR.

Police say the girl was inside the car for more than two hours.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas man has admitted taking part in a fraud scheme that prosecutors say cost a bank more than $877,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 56-year-old Timothy P. Fitzgerald, of Leawood, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He faces maximum penalties of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.

Fitzgerald was the chief financial officer of KC United LLC, a holding company for five construction services companies in Kansas City, Kansas. He admitted conspiring to doctor KC United’s financial statements to falsely show a profit, then submitted them to Bank of Blue Valley.

Three of KC United’s companies later filed for bankruptcy. The bank then sustained the loss when it sold its position in a remaining outstanding loan to KC United.