(AP) — A Michigan man claims he tipped federal investigators to the location of Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan years before his killing and is seeking the $25 million reward.

A letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press from a Chicago-based law firm representing Grand Rapids resident Tom Lee says the 63-year-old gem merchant reported the location of bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad in 2003. The letter sent by the Loevy & Loevy law firm to FBI Director James Comey in August says a Pakistani intelligence agent told Lee that he escorted bin Laden and his family from Peshawar to Abbottabad.

A request to speak with Lee was made to the law firm. The FBI didn’t immediately comment.

Bin Laden was killed in May 2011 during a Navy SEAL raid.

(AP) – A Kansas City man has been charged in the September deaths of a man and woman whose burned bodies were found in Kansas in an abandoned van.

Twenty-nine-year-old Christopher A. Canagan was charged Friday in Jackson County with two counts of first-degree murder and other charges. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Canagan is accused of shooting 24-year-old Dennis Smith as he sat in the driver’s seat. Williams and another person jumped out of the van, but Canagan is accused of forcing 22-year-old Linda Williams back into the vehicle and driving away. Court records say Canagan told police that he had sex with Williams before shooting her.

Canagan then is accused of setting the van on fire in Kansas City, Kan.

(AP) Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said Friday that he won’t challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Jason Smith for a southeast Missouri congressional seat next year, relieving Republicans of a potentially costly primary.

Kinder issued a written statement announcing his decision about a month after he first publicly said he was considering a bid for the 8th Congressional District. He said Friday that he had wanted to explore the opportunity to serve in Congress, but he also noted that he already has been through three grueling statewide campaigns.

“Politics isn’t everything,” Kinder added. “In the midst of its sometimes frenzied demands, one feels the tug of Holy Scripture: `Be still and know that I am God.’ Sometimes this injunction is flatly incompatible with the pitiless imperatives of the political calendar.”

Kinder, of Cape Girardeau, won election last year to a third term as lieutenant governor. He said Friday that he plans to serve the remainder of that term, which runs until January 2017.

 (AP) — A northeast Kansas prosecutor says he’s considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year as a Democrat.

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor confirmed Friday to The Associated Press that he plans to form a committee to explore a bid for the seat held by veteran Republican Pat Roberts.

Taylor said he’ll make a formal announcement on his 40th birthday Monday. He declined to discuss details until then.

Taylor is the first Democrat to publicly announce an interest in the race. He’s been district attorney of the county that includes Topeka since 2009.

Roberts has held the Senate seat since 1997. He faces Republican primary opposition from Leawood radiologist Milton Wolf.

(AP) — A microburst is being blamed for storm damage in Cape Girardeau.

The storm struck Thursday night, making for a treacherous Halloween, but there were no reports of injuries.

Winds of up to 95 mph were reported on the city’s south side.

The National Weather Service concluded the storm was the result of a microburst, though officials with the service say a weak tornado struck East Cape Girardeau, Ill. The twister had winds peaking at 80 mph.

Rain was heavy during the storm, and winds knocked over trees and downed power lines in Cape Girardeau. At one point, more than 2,000 customers of the utility Ameren Missouri were without power. Most electricity was restored by Friday afternoon.

 (AP) – The former police chief in the southeast Missouri town of Perryville is facing charges of felony theft, forgery and misdemeanor making a false report.

Charges were filed Thursday against Keith Tarrillion by the Missouri Attorney General’s office, which had been investigating Tarrillion on allegations made by city employees earlier this year.

Tarrillion does not have a listed attorney.

He resigned as chief in March, but remains on the city payroll as part of a resignation agreement.

In the wake of Tarrillion’s resignation, Perryville city officials decided to ask voters whether the police chief position should be elected or appointed. A vote on the issue is Tuesday.

3:30 p.m.  Law enforcement officials identify LAX shooting suspect as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia.

2:18 p.m. (AP) Police say 3 have been shot, including a TSA agent, by a gunman with a semi-automatic weapon at LAX. A Union official is reporting the TSA agent was killed in Friday’s shooting.

2:07 p.m. (AP) — Authorities say a suspect is in custody after opening fire at the Los Angeles International Airport and injuring multiple people.

Los Angeles police Officer Norma Eisenman says officers responded to the incident Friday which occurred at 9:30 a.m. in terminal 3. Multiple people were hit by gunfire, she says but their condition is unknown.

She says the suspect exchanged fire with airport police and was taken into custody. The airport is being swept for precautionary measures and the bomb unit is on scene.

Airport staff evacuated travelers and flights were disrupted nationwide.

1:00p.m.  A suspect has reportedly been shot and is in custody following the shooting at LAX.  A number of individual have reportedly been injured including a TSA agent.

12;20 p.m. Police surrounded a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport where a mass shooting has reportedly taken place. There are reports of multiple injuries.

The shooting occurred just after 9:30 PDT. The airport is being evacuated. and security has been increased at airports across the west coast.

Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and check St. Joseph Post for details as they become available.

Friday 11 a.m. (AP) Missouri’s Republican House leader wants a legislative hearing on allegations of a hostile workplace in parts of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration.

House Speaker Tim Jones said Friday that he has asked the chairman of the House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee to convene a hearing on the issue. That comes after former employees in the departments of agriculture and labor recently went public with assertions of intimidation and discrimination by former department directors.

Thursday (AP) – Officials at the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association say the state’s former agriculture director made threats toward them after he was displeased with a magazine article.

Jon Hagler was replaced earlier this month as head of the Agriculture Department with little explanation from Gov. Jay Nixon. The move came one day after another high-ranking employee, Beth Ewers, resigned while distributing a letter saying Hagler created a work environment of “hostility, disrespect, intimidation and fear.”

Now the cattlemen’s group says Hagler also acted with hostility toward its CEO, Mike Deering.

Cattlemen’s president Chuck Massengill and other group leaders say that Hagler threatened to beat up Deering earlier this year after Deering wrote an article critical of Hagler.

Hagler did not return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

 (AP) – A Nixa man faces up to 12 years in prison after entering an Alford plea to rape charges.

Authorities accused Marquart of attacking three women in 2007 at his home. He was charged with three counts of rape and two counts of sodomy.

In the plea deal with Greene County prosecutors, 28-year-old Jamison S. Marquart will face a prison term of between five and 12 years. Under an Alford plea, a defendant maintains his innocence but agrees a jury could find him guilty based on the state’s evidence.

Marquart remains free on bond until sentencing, which is Jan. 10.

The terms of the agreement also called for Marquart to register as a sex offender and submit to GPS monitoring for the rest of his life.