JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge has upheld a Missouri law barring protests within 300 feet of a funeral.

The Missouri law creates a buffer zone around funeral sites from one hour before until one hour after a funeral.

Attorney General Chris Koster said Tuesday that the law is now in effect as a result of a federal court ruling a day earlier.

But an attorney for the Kansas woman who challenged the law said it has been enforced since last April, when a federal appeals court rejected a free-speech challenge to the buffer zone.

The latest ruling by U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. dismissed a claim that the time restriction was unconstitutionally vague.

The lawsuit was brought by a member of a Topeka-based church that denounces homosexuality and frequently protests at funerals.

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The number of Missouri residents using a federal website to enroll in health insurance is growing, but not as fast as had been projected.

Figures released Tuesday show nearly 75,000 people had enrolled in health policies by March 1. That’s up by more than one-third from the Feb. 1.

Yet Missouri remains behind the enrollment targets originally set for federal health care law. The March 1 number is about where Missouri was expected to be on Feb. 1.

Missouri was projected to enroll 118,000 people by March 31.

Missouri is one of 36 states where the online insurance marketplace is being run by the federal government.

Health care advocates intensified their efforts over this past weekend to persuade people to sign up for the insurance policie

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a 1-year-old girl who was thrown from the vehicle he was driving when he fell asleep and crashed.

Jackson County prosecutors say 23-year-old Eric Gahagans also was charged Tuesday with possession of a controlled substance and driving without a valid license in connection with the July 28, 2013, incident.

Gahagans told police he fell asleep while driving his girlfriend and her children and ran off the road, becoming airborne and crashing at 7:08 a.m.

The girlfriend and her infant daughter were found outside the vehicle. Police said the child had not been properly restrained in a car seat.

Prosecutors say Gahagan’s blood tested positive for marijuana usage. They have requested a bond of $75,000.

WASHINGTON – Former sex crimes prosecutor and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after the Senate voted 97-0 to approve legislation she introduced with Senators Kelly Ayotte and Deb Fischer to further bolster the already historic reforms recently enacted to curb sexual assault in the military:

“Unanimous agreement in the U.S. Senate is pretty rare-but rarer still is the kind of sweeping, historic change we’ve achieved over the past year in the military justice system. Today the Senate voted to strengthen even further what is now one of the most victim-friendly justice systems in the world, in which every victim will get their own lawyer, commanders will be held accountable, and more perpetrators will see the inside of a brig. I’ll continue fighting alongside Senators Ayotte and Fischer to get this bill across the finish line, and continue overseeing the aggressive implementation of these many historic reforms.”

Under the Victims Protection Act, the “good soldier” defense for servicemembers accused of assault would be been banned under most circumstances, and victims will be allowed formal input in whether their case is tried in military or civilian court. Other provisions include: allowing sexual assault survivors to challenge their discharge or separation from service, strengthening the role of the prosecutor in advising commanders on going to court-martial, boosting accountability of commanders for addressing sexual assault & setting appropriate command climate, and extending protections to the Military Service Academies .

McCaskill helped shape and pass historic legislation to curb sexual assault in the military as part of last year’s annual defense bill, which resulted in a host of reforms already being implemented, including:

Stripping commanders of the ability to overturn jury convictions,
Requiring civilian review if a commander declines to prosecute a case,
Assigning victims their own independent legal counsel to protect their rights and fight for their interests,
Mandating dishonorable discharge for anyone convicted of sexual assault,
Criminalizing retaliation against victims who report a sexual assault,
Eliminating the statute of limitations in rape and sexual assault cases,
And reforming the pre-trial “Article 32” process to better protect victims.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Kansas City police are investigating after a man’s body was found in a pile of trash at a recycling center.

The body was found early Tuesday by workers at the recycling center in east Kansas City.

The Kansas City Star reports the recycling center is a private company that has contracts to pick up trash from some businesses.

Investigators are trying to determine where the load containing the body was picked up.

The man’s identity hasn’t been determined. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit claims a downtown Kansas City entertainment district actively harassed black customers in order to persuade them to leave the district.

The federal lawsuit filed Monday against the Power & Light District seeks class action status for black patrons of the district. It is the second lawsuit in the last week alleging the district’s owners, The Cordish Co., worked to reduce the number of black patrons in the district’s bars and restaurants.

The Kansas City Star reports the lawsuit’s lead plaintiffs are Dante A.R. Combs and Adam Williams, who say they were harassed three times and denied admission to a nightclub.

Cordish officials deny the allegations, calling the latest lawsuit a “trumped-up and meritless claim.” It notes both lawsuits were filed by the same attorney.

SPRINGFIELD, MO (AP) – A Springfield man was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing his former girlfriend’s 2-year-old son.

Twenty-three-year-old Austin M. Pelley agreed to a plea agreement Monday. He was scheduled to go to court this week for second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

Court documents indicate the child’s mother, Chelsea Garrison, left her son with Pelley in June 2012 to take a test at Everest College. Garrison says Pelley later told her the boy was injured when he ran into a bathroom and fell, and then went into a catatonic state.

Garrison rushed her son to the hospital but he died two days later.

An autopsy revealed the boy died of abusive head trauma.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – For much of the past three decades, pit bulls have been widely regarded as America’s most dangerous dog – the favorite breed of thugs, drug dealers and dog-fighting rings, with a fearsome reputation for unprovoked, sometimes deadly attacks.

Hostility toward “pits” grew so intense that some cities began treating them as the canine equivalent of assault rifles and prohibited residents from owning them.

But attitudes have softened considerably since then as animal activists and even television shows cast the dogs in a more positive light.

Seventeen states now have laws that prohibit communities from adopting breed-specific bans. Lawmakers in six more states are considering similar measures.

The dogs’ foes complain that their message is being drowned out by a well-funded, well-organized lobbying effort by pit bull advocates.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A Missouri appeals court panel has upheld the financial estimate for a potential ballot initiative seeking to reinstate campaign contribution limits.

The ruling Tuesday by the Western District appellate court overturns a decision made last year by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem.

The proposed initiative would limit contributions to $2,600 per election for candidates for governor, judgeships, the Legislature and other offices. It would ban contributions by corporations and labor unions to candidates or political parties.

The financial summary prepared by the auditor’s office says the impact on state and local revenues is unknown. The appeals court said that’s sufficient.

Beetem had ordered that to be revised to incorporate an opponent’s estimate that the contribution limits could reduce tax revenues by millions of dollars.