MARTHA BELLISLE, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A judge says a Washington state man who posted threatening comments on Facebook against a former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer can avoid prison but must stay off from social media sites.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik on Thursday told Jaleel Abdul-Jabbaar that he’ll be on supervised release for three years. Lasnik says the two months Abdul-Jabbaar already spent in jail were an adequate term behind bars.

Abdul-Jabbar’s case is part of a broader legal debate over the point at which social media rants go beyond hyperbole and become criminal acts.

The judge says the case was difficult. But he says he accepted the argument that Abdul-Jabbar’s comments were simply a strong reaction to events in Ferguson, and he didn’t intend to follow through on a threat to shoot Darren Wilson.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A measure supporters say will protect religious student groups at Missouri universities is headed to the Senate after a House vote.

The Missouri House on Thursday approved a measure prohibiting public colleges from penalizing religious student groups for requiring members or leaders to adhere to the group’s religious beliefs and conduct.

Supporters say universities in other states have targeted religious groups under policies that require organizations to accept any student who wants to join, which sometimes prompts organizations to disband.

The bill would not allow universities to defund religious groups for activities or policies that are part of a sincerely held religious belief.

Opponents say that has not happened and that the measure would allow religious groups to discriminate against people based on gender, race and sexual orientation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of bankers suggests a weakening economy lies ahead for rural parts of 10 Midwestern and Western states.

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index for March sank to 43.6, its lowest level since February 2010. Last month’s figure was 46.4.

Creighton University economics Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says “the stronger U.S. dollar is undermining the farm and energy sectors by weakening agricultural exports, crop prices, livestock prices and energy prices.”

The index ranges from 0 to 100. Any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — An American Indian tribe based in Oklahoma is pulling out of a partnership seeking to build a casino in southeast Kansas.

John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw Tribe, announced Wednesday that the tribe will not partners with developer Phil Ruffin to build a casino north of Pittsburg. The proposal is one of three plans being considered for a state-owned casino in southeast Kansas.

Berrey said the decision came after a lawsuit filed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt sought to block the tribe from expanding its Downstream Casino, which is in Oklahoma, across the state border into Kansas.

Berrey says the tribe believes Kansas leaders are hostile to its participation in the proposal.

Ruffin told The Joplin Globe (http://bit.ly/1ExKPSq ) that he will proceed with licensing efforts for the proposed casino.

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is adding nearly 105,000 vehicles to its U.S. recall of driver’s side air bag inflators that can explode with too much force.

The added vehicles include nearly 89,000 Pilot SUVs from the 2008 model year, as well as about 11,000 Civics from 2004 and another 5,000 Accords from the 2001 model year.

Honda says it’s the first recall of Pilots for potential problems with driver’s air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan. The inflators can blow a part a metal canister and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least six people have died worldwide due to the problem.

Dealers will replace the driver air bag inflators for free. With the added vehicles, Honda has now recalled 5.5 million cars and SUVs nationwide to fix driver’s air bags.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A southwestern Missouri man has been ordered to spend nearly 24 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a 4-year-old girl to produce child pornography.

Thirty-three-year-old Tony Lasiter of Duenweg also was sentenced Wednesday in Springfield to a life term of post-prison supervised release.

Lasiter pleaded guilty last September to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.

Authorities say he used his cell phone to take nude photos of the 4-year-old girl in August 2013 while she was being molested in a bathtub.

Investigators say the sexual misconduct came to light when the victim’s father found the pictures of his daughter on Lasiter’s computer.

HARRISONVILLE – A Missouri teen was injured in an accident just before 11p.m. on Wednesday in Cass County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevy Cavalier driven by Ashley N. Gilmore, 17, Harrisonville, was southbound on Mo. 291 at East 231St Street. The vehicle ran off the right side of the road, struck a ditch, crossed over 231st Street and into a ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Gilmore was transported to Cass County Regional Medical Center.
The MSHP reported she was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A former director of a domestic violence shelter in her north-central Missouri hometown has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for on-the-job embezzlement and fudging grant requests.

Fifty-one-year-old Deborah Wallace of Marshall also was ordered Wednesday to repay $115,219 to the Lighthouse Shelter and $268,468 to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Wallace pleaded guilty last June to charges of stealing government property and making false claims for reimbursement under a federal grant.

Prosecutors say that over a five-year period into 2013, Wallace used Lighthouse credit cards and bank account to pay personal expenses. She also admitted she submitted fraudulent monthly invoices in support of grant applications and spending.

Wallace was Lighthouse’s executive director from early 1999 to April 2013.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A 62-year-old Kansas City-area man described by authorities as homeless is accused of sexually attacking a woman in 2006.

Jackson County prosecutors have charged 62-year-old Samuel Flores with counts of forcible rape and sexual assault.

Authorities allege that a 29-year-old woman reported that when she left a restaurant intoxicated in October 2006, she awakened to being sexually assaulted by an unknown man in a car in Kansas City, Missouri. She said the suspect fled after she struggled with him.

Investigators say lab testing in January matched genetic evidence in the case to Flores.

There was no telephone listing for Flores on Wednesday, and court records to not show whether he has an attorney to speak on his behalf.