ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Should your emails, Web albums and other online accounts die when you do? Or should you be able to pass them down to a family member much as you would a house or a box of letters?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — American Royal leaders say they raised more than $10 million toward the organization’s goal of building a new structure to replace Kemper Arena in Kansas City.

The organization also said Wednesday that it had a verbal agreement with Sporting Kansas City’s investment group to use the new facility for youth sports.

The announcements came as a Kansas City Council committee was scheduled to hold the first of several hearings to determine the future of Kemper, which has seen its usefulness drop dramatically after the Sprint Center opened.

The Kansas City Star reports the city’s planning and zoning committee is considering American Royal’s proposal to demolish and replace the arena, or another plan to renovate Kemper into a regional youth sports complex.

 

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft says it will eliminate up to 18,000 jobs over the next year as it works on integrating the Nokia devices business it bought in April.

With the Nokia deal, Microsoft’s employee headcount rose from about 99,000 last year to 127,000 as of last month.

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that of the up to 18,000 jobs, about 12,500 professional and factory jobs will be cut. It anticipates charges of $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion over the next four quarters, which includes $750 million to $800 million for severance and related benefit costs.

Microsoft’s stock rose slightly in Thursday premarket trading.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas tax consultant told his clients that he worked with Gov. Sam Brownback’s office to rid the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals of employees who weren’t “taxpayer friendly,” but after the governor’s office denied the claim, the consultant recanted.

In a July 14 letter obtained by the Topeka Capital-Journal,  Jerry Chatam, president of Overland Park-based J.W. Chatam & Associates, told clients that an agreement with the governor’s office meant remaining board members wouldn’t “present any more problems.”

Brownback’s chief of staff, Landon Fulmer, says he has had only one conversation with Chatam and doesn’t know what he’s talking about in the letter.

On Wednesday, Chatam said he hadn’t worked with anyone in the governor’s office, and some points in the letter were only his opinion.

 

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — A suspect is in jail after being arrested in the shooting deaths of a man and his stepson in a suburban Kansas City home.

Police say the man was arrested Wednesday and was booked into jail on two counts of first-degree murder.

Officers found the bodies of 47-year-old Brian Baskind and 79-year-old Clifford Preston at the home in Lenexa on July 9.

A third man who was wounded was found in front of the house.

Other details about the shooting have not been released.

 

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) today introduced a bill to enhance customer protections for farmers and ranchers by preventing regulations from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from being overly laborious and making it significantly more difficult for farmers and ranchers to make economical trades on commodities.

Following the collapses of MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group, the CFTC proposed and finalized customer protection rules to help regulators better recognize trouble in firms before they occur. While some changes to the regulations are beneficial, the rules enacted by the CFTC could overly burden those who rely on futures markets to hedge risks, such as local farmers and ranchers, grain merchants, and futures brokers.

The residual interest rule from the CFTC will eventually require futures customers to fully cover the margin of their futures contracts by the morning of the day following a trade. In order to comply with the new rule, brokers would be more likely to demand drastically increased initial payments from farmers, hurting the availability of funds that support the agriculture industry. The end result may drive some farmers out of futures markets due to increased costs or restrict capital that could otherwise be used to hire, make capital improvements, and make other critical investments.

The Senators’ bill, S. 2601, the Risk Hedging Protection Act simply provides futures customers with an additional day to get their needed payments to brokers to meet the margin call, while still protecting customers and the financial markets.

“As the Senate Agriculture committee works to reauthorize the Commodity Exchange Act, one of my biggest priorities is protecting end users like farmers, ranchers and grain elevators from over-burdensome or unrealistic regulations,” Roberts said. “This legislation ensures that the CFTC rules work in the countryside as well as on paper.”

“The reckless behavior by firms like MF Global put the livelihoods of hardworking North Dakotans at risk, and the CFTC is right to make changes that help identify bad practices. However, the rules need to be workable, so farmers can continue to make investments in grain, corn, wheat, and other products in the futures markets, and get their high-quality products to customers. This bipartisan bill is a commonsense fix to strike that right balance,” said Heitkamp.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas ethics commission has fined a Congressional candidate for a campaign finance violation.

The Kansas City Star reports  that Kelly Kultala, a Wyandotte County Democrat, was fined $100 for transferring $1,000 from her state Senate fund into her congressional campaign account. Kansas law bars from candidates using money raised for state races for federal campaigns.

Kultala, a member of the Kansas senate from 2009 to 2012, is seeking the nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder in the Third Congressional District. She faces Reginald Marselus of Lenexa in the primary.

The Kultala campaign said it returned the money as soon as it learned it was transferred from her Senate account.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act (H.R. 1528) – originally introduced by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Angus King (I-Maine) – which would allow veterinarians to carry and dispense controlled substances to protect the health and welfare of the nation’s animals, ensure public safety, and safeguard the nation’s food supply. The legislation – introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) – passed the House last week.

The bipartisan legislation is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.).

“The passage of this legislation is important for the veterinarians who help ensure public safety and care for animals in Kansas and across the country,” Sen. Moran said. “By legalizing the transportation and dispensation of controlled substances, licensed practitioners will be equipped with the tools they need. It is particularly important for practitioners who work in rural areas, conduct research or respond to emergency situations.”

“The passage of this bill is a victory for rural farmers and veterinarians across the country – from the small dairy farms of central Maine, to the expansive ranches of California, and everywhere in between,” Sen. King said. “This bill’s success is also a powerful reminder that when we work across the aisle to find common ground, we can actually accomplish common goals in Washington.”

“The Veterinary Mobility Act is a big win for animal health, public health, and rural communities across the country. By ensuring that veterinarians can travel to their patients to administer safe, humane care, we can better serve animals and protect our nation’s food supply,” saidSen. Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“I am pleased that the full House and Senate could agree to help our veterinarians,” Sen. Roberts said. “This commonsense legislation allows registered veterinarians to better practice veterinary medicine, which often requires traveling to farms and fields away from their office location.”

“This legislation eliminates an unnecessary bureaucratic rule that clearly didn’t recognize that veterinary care, by its very nature, is not limited to clinics,” Sen. Thad Cochran said.  “Removing this requirement for licensed, registered veterinarians will give them the freedom to do the work we count on to ensure public safety, our food supply and animal welfare.”

“A ‘house call’ is likely just what the doctor ordered.  Forcing a farmer to load a sick animal into a trailer for a possibly long trip to the vet’s office is simply not a practical solution,” Sen. Grassley said.  “The burden of this particular interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act is nonsensical and may put the animal and the farmer at risk by having to transport the animal.”

“Wyoming veterinarians will be soon be able to provide better care to livestock thanks to legislation the Senate passed overwhelmingly today. Allowing vets to carry and dispense the medicine their patients need into the field will have an immediate impact in rural and remote areas where transporting livestock to the nearest town just isn’t practical or possible,” Sen. Enzi said.

“It simply makes sense to clarify federal law to ensure that licensed veterinarians have the ability to travel with the medicines that they need to treat their animal patients,” said Sen. Collins.

The 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA) stipulates that controlled substances must be stored and dispensed at the specific address veterinarians have on file with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA enforces the CSA and has informed organized veterinary medicine that without a statutory change, veterinarians are in violation and cannot legally provide complete veterinary care.

The practice of veterinary medicine requires veterinarians to treat patients in a variety of settings; farm calls, mobile clinics, shelters, research and disease control activities, emergency response situations, and removal or transfer of dangerous wildlife.

The legislation is endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association and now awaits President Obama’s signature before becoming law.