SPRINGFIELD (AP) – One of two Saudi Arabian men accused of kidnapping a woman from a Springfield bar and sexually assaulting her has been found not guilty.
The Springfield News-Leader reports Judge Calvin Holden on Monday ruled there was no evidence of sexual intercourse between the alleged victim and anyone else.
Holden tried Ahmed Alanazi last month after the 27-year-old waived his right to a jury trial. Afterward, the judge reviewed hours of surveillance video before making his ruling.
The woman had claimed Alanazi and 22-year-old Rayan Alqabbaa took her from a club on June 1, 2013, went to an apartment and sexually assaulted her.
The woman admitted in court that she drank against her doctor’s orders and took the painkiller Percocet on the night of the alleged attack.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican candidates for Kansas secretary of state are embroiled in a bitter campaign in which the incumbent is questioning his challenger’s GOP credentials while himself being called a partisan hack.
The Kansas City Star reports incumbent Kris Kobach has gained prominence for his fight against illegal immigration and his challenge of the federal government over gun regulations.
Challenger Scott Morgan says Kobach has turned the secretary of state’s office into a circus in pursuit of his own political agenda while drumming up media attention.
Morgan concedes he’s not as far to the right as Kobach, but adds that none of Kobach’s pet issues should relate to the secretary of state’s office.
The winner of the Aug. 5 primary will face Democrat Jean Schodorf in the general election.
TOPEKA, Kan. – State Treasurer Ron Estes warns Kansans of suspicious postcards labeled as an “Unclaimed Property Notification.”
“These postcards should be ignored as they are not being sent from our Unclaimed Property Division or any other state agency,” said Ron Estes, Kansas State Treasurer. “I urge all Kansans who have received these postcards to avoid responding in any manner.”
A series of postcards varying in color are instructing individuals to call a toll-free number and enter personal identification information. A recorded message then directs callers to search for unclaimed property at a website that is not the state treasurer’s official webpage.
The postcards, which are postmarked from Denver, have led to consumer complaints received by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and unclaimed property administrators in multiple states.
Estes reminds Kansans that the state will never request individuals to provide personal information to a call-in number or charge a fee to return unclaimed property—both common indicators of scams related to unclaimed property.
“If you’re ever uncertain of any correspondence or phone calls regarding unclaimed property, please don’t hesitate to contact my office for verification or assistance,” said Estes. “We take great pride in the integrity of our program, and are dedicated to helping Kansans safeguard their personal information and hard earned money.”
Kansans who believe they may have unclaimed property available to claim at the State Treasurer’s Office should search the state’s official website, www.kansascash.com, or call the Unclaimed Property Division at 1-800-432-0386 (toll free).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) today introduced the “U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014,”an updated version of the bipartisan legislation they introduced in March 2013 that would help strengthen economic and security cooperation between the two countries. In addition to Blunt and Boxer, the measure is supported by 76 Senators.
The legislation reaffirms the United States’ unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and the strong, historic U.S.-Israel relationship. It supports efforts to deepen U.S.-Israeli cooperation on defense, including continued U.S. assistance to Israel for the Iron Dome Missile Defense System, while also reiterating U.S. support for a negotiated political settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians that results in two states living side-by-side in peace and security.
“I’m pleased to help lead this bipartisan effort to reassert Congress’ commitment to Israel’s security and deepen our country’s defense relationship with our ally during this extremely critical moment in the Middle East region,” Blunt said. “America’s long-standing relationship and strong cooperation with Israel dates back to the presidency of fellow Missourian Harry S. Truman, and this bill will reaffirm and broaden the important U.S.-Israel alliance through security, energy, and trade.”
“While we work toward a just peace in the Middle East and an end to the tragedy of war, it is critical that we reaffirm our enduring commitment to Israel’s security and the historic ties between our two nations,” Senator Boxer said. “This legislation sends a clear message that America’s bond with Israel remains unbreakable, and I am proud that it has the support of more than three-quarters of the Senate.”
Specifically, the “U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014”:
Authorizes an increase of $200 million in the value of U.S. weapons held in Israel, to a total of $1.8 billion. This stockpile is intended for use by U.S. forces in the event of a crisis, but it can also be used by Israel in the event of an emergency with Israel reimbursing the U.S. for any weapons used.
Requires the Administration to take steps toward allowing Israel to be included in the top-tier category for license-free exports of certain U.S. technologies and products.
Authorizes the President to carry out cooperation between the U.S. and Israel on a range of policy areas including energy, water, homeland security, and alternative fuel technologies. And it requires the President to study the feasibility of expanding U.S.-Israel cooperation on cyber security.
Includes new language that encourages the Administration to work with Israel to help the country gain entry into the Visa Waiver Program, which would make it easier for Israeli citizens to travel to the United States without first having to obtain a visa.
Requires the Administration to provide more frequent and more detailed assessments on the status of Israel’s qualitative military edge over its neighbors.
Strengthens collaboration between the U.S. and Israel on energy development and encourages increased cooperation between the two countries’ academic, business and governmental sectors.
The new legislation amends previous language in the bill related to Israel’s eligibility to join the Visa Waiver Program. The new language expresses the Sense of Congress that Israel should be designated as a program country under the Visa Waiver Program, and clarifies that it is up to the Administration to determine if Israel has met the requirements to gain entry to the program.
The bill urges U.S. engagement with Israel to help it meet the requirements of the Visa Waiver Program. It would authorize – but not require – the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to waive the nonimmigrant refusal rate requirement for Israel only if Israel meets all the other program requirements and as long as the nonimmigrant visitor visa refusal rate for Israelis traveling to the United States does not exceed 10 percent.
The measure also clearly states that Israel must extend “reciprocal privileges…without regard to race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity” to all Americans in order to be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program.
Currently, there are 38 countries in the Visa Waiver Program. The provision allows travelers to enter the United States for business or leisure as visitors for up to 90 days without first getting a visa.
TOPEKA — Five candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Kansas insurance commissioner, an office that has been dominated by Republicans since its creation in 1871. In the 20th century, only one Democrat has held the office, Kathleen Sebelius, who used it as a springboard to become Kansas governor in 2003 and, in 2009, Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration. It was Sebelius who oversaw the rollout of the signature legislative achievement of the administration’s first term, the Affordable Care Act, or, as it has become known, Obamacare.
Not surprisingly in one of the reddest of red states, all five Republicans oppose the health reform law, although only one, Ken Selzer, explicitly favors its repeal.
The five are vying to succeed Sandy Praeger, who was elected in 2003 and is stepping down. Praeger, a moderate Republican, supports Obamacare, which has put her at odds with the state’s conservative governor, Sam Brownback.
While it may appear surprising that so many people are seeking the office, the insurance commissioner wields considerable power. The office regulates insurance companies, examines them for financial solvency, ensures compliance with insurance regulations, licenses insurance agents, and educates and assists consumers. Since the passage of Obamacare, it has assumed even greater importance as the state agency responsible for overseeing the law’s implementation in Kansas.
We profile four of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination on Aug. 5. The fifth, John Toplikar, a former Kansas House member who now serves as county commissioner for Johnson County’s 6th District, did not respond to numerous requests for an interview.
The Republican selected in the primary will face off in the fall against the lone Democrat in the race, Dennis Anderson.
Beverly Gossage stands out as the only woman among the five Republican candidates for Kansas insurance commissioner.
But she’s in lockstep with her male counterparts when it comes to the highest-profile issue in the race: the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare — the health reform measure that was the signature accomplishment of the Obama administration’s first term — and how she sees it affecting health insurance.
“People have fewer policies to choose from; people are losing their policies,” Gossage says. “There’s less competition. Premiums are increasing. I see this every day with my clients.”
David Powell didn’t choose insurance sales as his original career path. He was a mathematics teacher and coach in El Dorado when the Texas-based American Amicable Life Insurance Company contacted him in 1977.
The company had a recruiting program aimed at coaches. Powell says it was based on the notion that the preparation required for coaching would be useful for selling life insurance.
“Your success, of course, depends on your ability to prepare for the next interview in this case, and that’s what I did. I was very successful,” says Powell. “When I found that I made more money that summer part-time than I made as a teacher coaching five sports, I decided the following year that I would go full-time.”
Ken Selzer points to another farm state in laying out his vision for a Kansas insurance industry that best serves consumers.
Iowa, he says, has attracted insurance corporations with its streamlined regulations and colleges and universities that produce qualified workers.
“We could do that here in Kansas,” Selzer says. “We need to have a business-minded, business-focused head of the department who can work with companies so that they are competing every day for consumers’ dollars. That will improve affordability, coverage and availability in the state of Kansas.”
Clark Shultz is the most seasoned politician among the five Republicans running for Kansas insurance commissioner.
In this era of the political outsider, that’s not the advantage that it used to be. But in a down-ballot race, Shultz is counting on the experience factor to give him an edge over his competitors for the GOP nomination.
“The strength that I have is an 18-year legislative history and 10 years of being insurance chairman in the House,” Shultz says. “I’ve really dealt with every conceivable issue.”
John Toplikar, a former Kansas House member who now serves as county commissioner for Johnson County’s 6th District, did not respond to numerous requests for an interview.
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Two years after Muslims in Joplin suffered the traumatic loss of their place of worship at the hands of an arsonist, a new $2 million mosque is now open.
Families gathered Monday for the first time at the new mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday that marks the end of the holy month.
Navid Zaidi, a pulmonologist originally from Pakistan, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the mosque means a lot to the small Muslim community in the southwest Missouri town.
A man awaiting trial for two arson fires at a Planned Parenthood clinic is also suspected of burning down the mosque in 2012, just a year after the tornado that devastated Joplin. The man has not been charged in connection with the mosque fire.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Proceeds from sales of Missouri Lottery tickets have gone exclusively toward education since 1992. A ballot measure next month would allow veterans to share in some of the take.
The proposal on the Aug. 5 ballot calls for establishment of a veterans lottery scratch-off ticket. Net proceeds would go toward improving veterans homes and cemeteries in Missouri.
Three states that neighbor Missouri — Kansas, Iowa and Illinois — are already allocating some of their lottery revenue for veterans. Texas and West Virginia are as well.
Rep. Sheila Solon, a Blue Springs Republican, sponsored the measure. She says it could help fund a new veterans home. Opponents say lottery revenue is unpredictable and funding for veterans should come from general revenues.
CHICAGO (AP) — The NCAA has agreed to settle a class-action head injury lawsuit.
A federal court filing obtained by The Associated Press says the NCAA will create a $70 million fund to test current and former college athletes for brain injuries. Players can use the results later as grounds for suing for damages.
The NCAA also agreed to implement a single return-to-play policy spelling out how all teams must treat players who receive blows to the head.
The settlement applies to multiple sports, including football, hockey, soccer, basketball, wrestling, field hockey and lacrosse. It covers both men and women.
The filing Tuesday in Chicago notifies a judge that the parties have struck a deal after nearly a year of talks. Ten similar suits filed nationwide were consolidated into this lawsuit.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A study by the Urban Institute shows that more than 35 percent of Americans have debts and unpaid bills that have been reported to collection agencies.
These consumers fall behind on credit cards or hospital bills. Their mortgages, auto loans or student debt pile up, unpaid. Even past-due gym membership fees or cellphone contracts can end up with a collection agency, potentially hurting credit scores and job prospects.
The study by the Washington-based think tank released Tuesday points to a disturbing trend: The share of Americans in collections has remained relatively constant, even as the country as a whole has whittled down the size of its credit card debt since the official end of the Great Recession in the middle of 2009.
St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., pictured here, and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs, Mo., are slated to be sold to Prime Healthcare Services Inc. of Ontario, Calif.
By Mike Sherry
KHI News Service
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A West Coast hospital company has agreed to acquire two hospitals and other related facilities as part of a deal with Kansas City, Mo.-based Carondelet Health, the parties announced Monday.
The buyer is Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services, which has signed a letter of intent that includes the acquisition of St. Joseph Medical Center in south Kansas City and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs.
Carondelet Health is part of Ascension, of St. Louis, the nation’s largest nonprofit Catholic health system.
A news release said that three Carondelet Health long-term care facilities – Carondelet Manor, Villa Saint Joseph and St. Mary’s Manor – would remain part of Ascension along with the two hospitals’ charitable foundations.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to a news release, St. Joseph and St. Mary’s have 450 beds and 900 physicians on staff combined.
Ascension had previously announced a deal to sell the two hospitals and related facilities to HCA Midwest Health System, but the deal fell through earlier this year because of federal regulatory concerns.
Prime Healthcare acquired Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth and Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., last year from SCL Health System, a nonprofit, faith-based health system in Denver.
Only a few months after the deal, SCL sued Prime Healthcare for alleged breach of contract and infringement of intellectual property. The case involved billing practices.
In January, a federal judge remanded the case to the District Court of Leavenworth County, Kan.
The deal with SCL required the approval of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who reviewed the transaction because it involved the transfer of nonprofit medical facilities to a for-profit company.
Ascension spokesman Nick Ragone referred questions about any such review of Carondelet deal to the office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. His media relations office did not have an immediate answer.
Prime Healthcare came under scrutiny by a nonprofit investigative news organization in 2011 for allegedly questionable Medicare billing practices.
Prime Healthcare has put an emphasis on acquiring struggling hospitals. According to the news release announcing the deal, the company’s motto is “Saving Hospitals, Saving Jobs and Saving Lives.”
“Our goal in working with the Board of Carondelet Health during this process has been to strengthen the ministry so its associates, physicians and volunteers are able to continue to provide exceptional, caring health services to the community for years to come,” Robert J. Henkel, executive vice president of Ascension and CEO of Ascension Health, said in the release.
“We believe this is a positive step for the greater Kansas City community as well as our colleagues at Carondelet Health,” Henkel said. “Meanwhile, Ascension will continue to serve the community by helping to meet the growing need for senior services.”
