FREEBURG, Mo. (AP) — Two central Missouri residents have died after two boats collided on the Gasconade River over the July Fourth weekend.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a 1999 Gator jet boat driven by 28-year-old Daniel Berhorst of Freeburg collided head-on with a 1991 Alumaweld jet boat driven by 44-year-old Norbert Eisterhold, also of Freeburg, at 6:28 p.m. Saturday.

Two passengers in Eisterhold’s boat, 48-year-old Larry Hennier of Rich Fountain and 25-year-old Mary Talken of Jefferson City, were killed

Four others, including the two drivers, also were injured in the collision.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A photo of Wichita police officers rescuing a 6-month-old German shepherd from an overpass helped reunite the frightened animal with his owners.
The Wichita Eagle reports an officer was writing a ticket near the overpass at Kellogg and Tyler Road on Friday night when he saw the dog, named Harley, on the overpass ledge.

Police say the dog had been frightened by fireworks being shot off near its home and somehow got on the ledge, 32 feet above a highway where people sometimes drive 70 or 80 mph.

Four officers managed to get the dog off the ledge, but the spooked animal ran off and had to be corralled by several police cars.

A photo of the rescue was posted online, which is how its owners tracked it down.

2 p.m. update  NEVADA (AP) – A southwest Missouri sheriff says three bodies found in a rural Nevada home were family members who were killed in a murder-suicide.

KOAM-TV reports Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher says all three people found Friday night died of gunshot wounds.

The Sheriff’s Office says two of the bodies found were of people between 40 and 50 years old, while the third person was older.

Mosher credited the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad for the quick determination of a murder-suicide.

His office is continuing the investigation and communicating with family members.

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NEVADA (AP) – Three people have been found dead in a rural southwest Missouri home, where authorities believe they were shot to death.

Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher says the bodies were found Friday inside a rural residence south of Nevada, and that preliminary evidence indicates they died from gunshot wounds.

Mosher says investigators do not believe there are any other suspects involved in the deaths.

He says more than 30 officers and investigators responded Friday when the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad was called to the scene.

The sheriff hasn’t provided any other information about the identities or circumstances of their deaths, but said more details could be available Monday.

KANSAS CITY – Two men are dead and four others were seriously injured when their SUV overturned on a county road in southwest Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 20-year-old Mark Harken of Prairie Village, Kansas, was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer in Benton County at 2:15 p.m. Saturday when he lost control of the vehicle and drove off the left side of the road and struck a group of trees. One passenger Evan C. Westoff, 20, Fairway, was ejected.

Harken and 18-year-old Clayton Miller of Kansas City, Missouri, were killed in the crash.

The other young men, Evan C. Westoff, 20, Fairway, Gage, M. Hamilton, 20, Overland Park, David M. Draxler, 19, and Lukas J. Fleming, 20, both from Prairie Village were flown to three regional hospitals in serious condition.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Improperly disposed of fireworks are blamed for at least three fires in Emporia, including one that destroyed an assisted living facility.

KVOE reports smoldering fireworks were stored in a plastic trash can that was rolled up against Sterling House on Friday night. The resulting fire destroyed most of the assisted living residence and displaced 21 residents

Firefighters were called to a house fire around 6 p.m. Saturday where fireworks put into a plastic trash can smoldered overnight and ignited some siding and a window sill.

That fire came at the heels of a similar fire elsewhere in the city where smoldering materials were not properly handled before damaging siding of a home and forcing firefighters to tear down a ceiling to make sure the fire was put out.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Several Kansas groups are seeking a new level of dental provider they say could ease a shortage of dentists across the state.

A proposed bill was introduced in the last legislative session to create registered dental practitioners who would be somewhere between a hygienist and a dentist, but it didn’t get a hearing.

Advocates like the Kansas Dental Project say the mid-level positions would improve access to dental services like nurse practitioners and physician’s assistance do in the medical community.

The Wichita Eagle reports 86 of the state’s 105 counties qualify as dental health professional shortage areas, including 13 counties that have no dentist at all.

The Kansas Dental Association opposes dental practitioners and says they would face the same barriers preventing some dentists from practicing in rural areas.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A float critical of President Barack Obama in Norfolk’s July 4th parade is generating plenty of discussion.

The float featured a wooden outhouse labeled “Obama Presidential Library” and a figure in overalls standing outside.

Glory Kathurima says she was deeply offended by the float. She is an immigrant from Kenya who is raising her 9-year-old daughter in the northeast Nebraska community of roughly 24,000.

Parade organizers with the local Odd Fellows organization say the float was the most popular one in the event and received an honorable mention award.

Parade committee member Rick Konopasek says he didn’t think the float was any more offensive than a political cartoon, and organizers didn’t want to limit what they considered a political viewpoint.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators will face renewed pressure next year to provide additional legal protections to gay marriage opponents who want to avoid accommodating same-sex couples for religious reasons.

A “religious freedom” measure failed in the Legislature earlier this year, even though conservative Republicans control both chambers and top GOP leaders strongly support the state constitution’s gay marriage ban.

A federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over Kansas struck down Utah’s gay marriage ban last month.

Gay marriage opponents believe Kansas’ ban is now in jeopardy, though Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff King noted the ruling is on hold, leaving the state’s ban intact.

A prominent Southern Baptist minister in Wichita and other pastors and church organizations are determined to see legislators take up the “religious freedom” issue again.

LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press
PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press

Amid calls for expanding the nation’s temporary skilled worker program, some Americans are pushing back. They argue the so-called H-1B program has been hijacked by staffing companies that import cheaper, lower-level workers to replace more expensive U.S. employees.

Lawsuits have cropped up around the country. And some tech worker groups are calling for a boycott of firms that they say are ignoring qualified U.S. workers.

The H-1B program allows employers to temporarily hire workers in specialty occupations. Experts say at least 600,000 are here at any one time. An immigration bill passed in the U.S. Senate last year would have increased the number of annually available H-1B visas to 180,000 and responded to some criticisms. The House never acted on the measure.