BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Army projects that bases and surrounding communities nationwide would lose up to 80 percent of their military and civilian workforces if maximum budget cuts and force reductions take effect at the end of the decade.

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has ruled that the confession of a suspect in the death of a 52-year-old Lawrence businessman was given voluntarily and can be used in her trial.

Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin said Thursday that 19-year-old Sarah Gonzales McLinn’s statements about the death of Harold Sasko were the “product of a free and independent will.”

6News Lawrence  reports McLinn’s attorney said the defense would not contest that the statement was voluntary.

Sasko’s body was found on the living room floor of his home, where McLinn also was living, on Jan. 17. His wrists and ankles were bound with zip ties, and his throat had been cut with a large hunting knife.

McLinn told investigators she killed Sasko because she wanted to see what it felt like.

 

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court will hear a challenge to an Aug. 5 ballot measure that would enhance the state’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

The court scheduled arguments for July 14 in a case that tests whether it is too late for a judge to order changes to the measure’s ballot summary.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem had dismissed the legal challenge as moot, citing a state law that says courts have no authority to order issues to be placed on the ballot less than six weeks before an election.

An attorney representing those who challenged the measure contends that law should not apply, because the gun measure already is on the ballot.

The lawsuit contends the summary fails to note several substantive parts of the measure.

MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of U.S. drivers are expected to hit the highways this holiday weekend — and some of them may be nodding off behind the wheel.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall for the Big Sword fireworks device. The mock sword is a handheld fountain that is intended to emit sparks from the tip of the sword. The blue and yellow sword has the Big Fireworks logo and the words “Big Sword” printed on the front. A yellow cardboard tag attached to the handle of the device has “Big Sword” and a caution statement printed on it.

The sword measures 30 inches and has model number 3609 printed above the product’s barcode.

There are two reports of the fountain exploding while in use. No injuries have been reported.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks devices and return them to the place of purchase to receive a full refund.
It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Google’s removal of some search results in Europe is drawing accusations of censorship.

The U.S. firm has to comply with a strict privacy ruling made in May by the European Union’s top court that enables citizens to ask for the removal of embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names.

At least three British media, including the Guardian newspaper and public broadcaster BBC, say they have been notified by Google that links to some of their articles were removed from search results in Europe.

The Guardian says six articles have been removed in what the newspaper calls a “challenge to press freedom.” The BBC says one blog entry was removed, while the Mail Online saw four articles removed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, was recently alerted to plans by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to instruct all Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot program sites – including the site in Pratt, Kansas – to send letters to veterans notifying them that their medical services through ARCH would be ending this fall. Sen. Moran immediately reached out to acting Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sloan Gibson and requested these letters be halted given the VA’s continued public statements to Congress that the future of the successful ARCH program has not been decided. Hours later, Sen. Moran received word that VHA Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Health for Administrative Operations Philip Matkovsky put a hold on sending letters to veterans regarding the future of their medical services through ARCH.

In light of VHA’s unpredictable decisions about the future of ARCH, Sen. Moran spoke personally with acting Secretary Gibson last Friday, June 27, 2014, to make certain he was personally involved in assuring that veterans currently receiving medical services through ARCH will continue to receive those medical services. Today, Sen. Moran sent a follow up letter to acting Secretary Gibson calling for his commitment to providing medical services through ARCH as he expressed during their phone conversation.

“I am pleased you understand that access to quality care is vital for the health and well-being of all veterans; particularly those who are underserved and struggle to receive the care they deserve in rural areas,” Sen. Moran wrote to acting Sec. Gibson. “As we continue to work together to make certain rural veterans have access to quality care, I’d like to confirm the assurance you offered during our conversation that veterans currently receiving medical services through ARCH will continue to receive those medical services. Veterans from the five ARCH pilot sites are overwhelmingly satisfied with the care they receive through ARCH, and are counting on you to make certain they continue to receive quality care closer to home.”

Since 2011, the ARCH pilot program has been operating in five rural sites across the country including Pratt, Kansas. ARCH serves rural veterans by giving them access to health care from a community provider close to home instead of traveling hundreds of miles to seek care at a VA facility. Independent analysis shows that more than 90 percent of veterans who received primary care services through ARCH are “completely satisfied,” and cite significantly shortened travel times to receive care. Sen. Moran has repeatedly asked VA officials – including Sec. Shinseki directly at a March 2014 SVAC hearing – about the future of the successful ARCH program which is set to expire in September 2014. Instead of the straightforward analysis promised by Sec. Shinseki, Sen. Moran has only received empty promises and non-answers from the VA. Sources outside the VA now tell the Senator that the national program director for ARCH directed the five pilot sites several months ago to begin contacting veterans who participate in ARCH to let them know the program would be ending. The VHA has consistently given Congress the impression they were waiting on analysis about the success of the program to inform their decision about extending the program and all along that has been a misleading storyline. At a time when the VA says it is looking for ways to “accelerate access to care” for veterans, the VHA made an intentional decision not to inform Congress about their plans to discontinue this successful program.

By KHI News Service
July 3, 2014