(AP) — An industry report shows the sales of combines across the United States plunged nearly 24 percent in September compared to the same month a year ago, but still remain strong so far this year.

The reported Thursday that 1,028 combines were sold last month, down from 1,350 sold for the same month last year.

So far this year farm equipment dealers have sold 7,696 combines. That is up more than 16 percent more during the first nine months of 2012.

Sales of tractors continue strong with 15,577 sales reported in September. That is up 7.6 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.

The nation’s farmers have bought 153,342 tractors in the first nine months of 2013. That is up more than 12 percent.

(AP) – After weeks of ultimatums, President Barack Obama and House Republicans are exploring whether they can end a budget standoff that has triggered a partial government shutdown and edged Washington to the verge of a historic, economy-jarring federal default.

The two sides continued discussions into the night Thursday after Obama and top administration officials met for 90 minutes with House Speaker John Boehner and other House GOP leaders at the White House. No agreement was reported and plenty of hurdles remained, but both sides cast their meeting positively as, for the first time, hopes emerged that a resolution might be attainable, even if only a temporary one.

Obama planned a late-morning White House meeting Friday with GOP senators, who said they would present options of their own for ending the shutdown and debt limit standoff.

A White House statement about Thursday’s meeting with House Republicans said “no specific determination was made” but added, “The president looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said that the meeting was “clarifying for both sides” and that following a night of negotiations, “hopefully we can see a way forward.”

The talks were held shortly before a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll was released bearing ominous news for the GOP. It showed more people blaming Republicans than Obama for the shutdown, 53 percent to 31 percent. Just 24 percent viewed the GOP positively, compared with 39 percent with positive views of the Democratic Party.

Boehner, R-Ohio, brought a proposal to the White House meeting to extend federal borrowing authority through Nov. 22, conditioned on Obama’s agreeing to negotiate over spending cuts and the government shutdown. But participants said the discussion expanded to ways to quickly end the shutdown, which entered its 11th day Friday.

“It’s clear he’d like to have the shutdown stopped,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said of Obama. “And we’re trying to find out what he would insist upon” to reopen the government “and what we would insist upon.”

One major problem for Boehner’s plan was highlighted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. After he and fellow Senate Democrats had their own White House meeting with Obama, Reid said negotiations before the government reopens — a key part of Boehner’s proposal — were “not going to happen.”

Boehner’s offer represented give on the part of Republicans, who had been insisting on cuts to Obama’s 2010 health care law and other programs as the price for reopening government and extending the debt limit. But they claimed victory on one front, noting that they were in negotiations with a president who had said repeatedly there would be none until the government was open and default prevented.

The speaker’s plan — and positive though unenthusiastic words about it from White House spokesman Jay Carney — seemed to spark a good day in the financial world. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 323 points, or 2.2 percent. European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said that while a U.S. default would inflict “severe damage” on the global economy, the world believes Washington will “find a way out of this.”

The shutdown has idled 350,000 civil servants, prevented the Social Security Administration from revealing next year’s cost-of-living increase for recipients and curtailed many consumer safety inspections.

The Obama administration has warned that the government will exhaust its borrowing authority on Oct. 17 and risk being unable to pay its bills and facing default.

“It would be a grave mistake” to ignore the risks to the U.S. and world economy that a default would raise, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

House Republicans’ insistence on spending cuts and deficit reduction come with the 2013 budget shortfall expected to drop below $700 billion after four years exceeding $1 trillion annually.

But their insistence on cuts in the health care law as the price for reopening government has frustrated many Senate Republicans, who see that battle as unwinnable.

That has prompted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other GOP senators to seek their own possible resolution to the shutdown and debt limit fights.

“For the first time there seems to be some movement,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said after a meeting with McConnell, R-Ky., and a half dozen Senate Republicans. GOP lawmakers said they have reached out to Senate Democrats.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and others have proposed a six-month extension of government spending, repeal of the medical device tax and greater flexibility for agencies to deal with across-the-board spending cuts in effect this year.

McCain said the goal was ending the shutdown and raising the debt limit, but said, “We will not defund Obamacare,” a crucial demand for conservatives.

Reid has proposed extending the debt

A 35-year-old Kansas City man whose girlfriend is accused of imprisoning her malnourished daughter in a closet has been ordered to spend seven years in prison for violating terms of probation.

Marcus Benson pleaded guilty last year to child endangerment after authorities found a 10-year-old girl in a Kansas City apartment. She weighed 32 pounds, less than half the average weight for her age.

Benson agreed to a seven-year prison term if he violated terms of probation, which required him to stay away from children younger than 17. Prosecutors say he was around a friend’s children in April.

(AP) — A Joplin man has pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife.

36-year-old Rondias L. Webb had been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Monica Webb. Through a deal, he pleaded guilty Wednesday to the lesser offense of second-degree murder.

Webb will be required to serve more than 25 years on the murder conviction. His plea deal with the Jasper County prosecutor also called for him to receive consecutive terms of 15 years for armed criminal action and one year for violation of a court protection order.

Prosecutors say Monica Webb was shot inside the home where she had moved to get away from her husband. Police say Rondias Webb shot himself after shooting his wife.

(AP) Cerner Corp. is proposing a $4.3 billion office complex that company officials say could bring up to 15,000 jobs to south Kansas City when it is completed in 10

years.

The city’s Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Committee on Wednesday approved the company’s request for tax incentives for the Three Trails Crossing development, which would be the largest office complex in Kansas City history. The City Council is expected to approve it Thursday.

The health care technology company said the complex would be built in 14 phases at the site of the former Bannister Mall.
“We are trying to raise the bar in this part of the city and provide the city with a jewel,” Brian Irwin, Cerner director of properties, told the planning committee.
If all goes as planned, the complex is expected is expected to be completed by 2024. It would include 11 office buildings, a daycare center, two data centers, a service center and 370,000 square feet of retail.

Under the redevelopment plan, 38 percent of the cost of the project would be reimbursed by future tax revenues, with the total amount of incentives at $1.63 billion.
Local and state governments would receive $446 million in payments in lieu of taxes over the 23-year life of the TIF Plan.  The project would provide an additional $6 million for the Hickman Mills School District and $2 million to support redevelopment in the surrounding neighborhood.
“Cerner has proven over and over again it’s a good corporate citizen, and I’m pleased it’s moving forward,” said Kansas City Councilman John Sharp.
If the council approves the redevelopment plan, Cerner plans to close on its acquisition of the 251-acre site by the end of the year, with the first office building construction beginning next year.

(AP) — A 22-year-old Lindenwood University wrestler faces a felony charge of reckless sex after allegedly transmitting the virus that causes AIDS to another man whom he met through social media.

St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar on Thursday charged Michael L. “Tiger” Johnson with reckless sex after what he called a 5-month investigation and said he believes there are additional victims.

Lohmar says Johnson and the victim had sex at least twice in the wrestler’s Lindenwood dorm room earlier this year. Medical records showed that Johnson was told that he was HIV-positive in January. Johnson remains jailed on a $100,000 cash bond.

(AP) — A Johnson County jury has found that a suburban Kansas City councilman engaged in misconduct when he let a homeless friend sleep at City Hall last year.

A jury ruled Wednesday after a three-day civil trial that Prairie Village Councilman David Morrison also willfully neglected to perform his council duties. But jurors determined that he didn’t violate state laws against official misconduct, trespassing and theft to a degree that reached “moral turpitude.”

A district judge can consider the findings in deciding whether Morrison should remain on the city council. A decision is expected soon.

Morrison has conceded that he showed poor judgment. His attorney, Tom Bath, says the matter is in the judge’s hands and that any other comment would be inappropriate.

(AP) — A Springfield man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the shooting death of a 17-year-old high school student.

Jordan Martin was sentenced Thursday for first-degree murder in the March 2010 death of Kody Ray. The victim was shot on the porch of his Springfield home, where a birthday party for a 5-year-old was being held.

Prosecutors say Martin persuaded another man, James Duke, to shoot Ray. They say Martin and Ray were part of an earlier brawl and Martin believed Ray talked to school administrators about the fight.

Martin’s attorney argued he didn’t know Duke intended to shoot Ray.

Duke is also serving life in prison for shooting Ray.

(AP) — Farmers in many states are surprised at the abundance of corn coming from their fields, and record harvests are likely in many states including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio.

In southeastern Nebraska, farmer Ben Steffen says his first field brought in 168 bushels an acre, above the average of 140.

The best crops are in areas with adequate rain and where corn pollinated amid cooler temperatures.

The positive surprise is welcome after the dismal harvest for many farmers last year when drought spread across the country reducing corn and soybean crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates this year’s harvest to bring in 13.8 billion bushels of corn, beating the 2009 record of 13.1 billion bushels. Some analysts believe farmers may exceed the estimates.

(AP) — Three teenagers suspected of crimes in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have been captured in southwest Iowa.

Fremont County sheriff’s deputies found the three inside the public library on Tuesday. The three bolted but were soon captured after foot chases.

The three had been reported missing from a youth center in Manning.

Nebraska authorities had alerted the Fremont County deputies as Otoe County, Neb., deputies were chasing a pickup believed stolen in Plattsmouth, Neb. Fremont County deputies soon were tipped that the pickup was seen in Sidney.

The three are suspected of vehicle theft in Manning, a police pursuit in Atchison County, Mo., thefts in Nemaha County, Neb., and vehicle theft and arson in Cass County, Neb.

Two of the teens are 16; the other is 13.