(AP) — A 67-year-old Kansas City man who was once a suspect in the deaths of seven women faces a misdemeanor charge of sexual misconduct.

Gregory Breeden is accused of exposing himself while urinating in the street outside his home in Raymore. He was being held Wednesday in the Cass County Jail on $2,500 bond.

Breeden was investigated in the deaths of seven women whose bodies were found in the Missouri River between 1982 and 1994. He was charged in 1996 with killing one of the women, but the case was dropped when a key witness refused to testify. He later served an unrelated 10-year sentence on a bad check charge.

Breeden has denied involvement in the serial killings, and also denies the current allegations.

by John Maday, Managing Editor, Drovers CattleNetwork

In spite of the federal government shutdown and Congressional gridlock, NCBA continues to push for resolution on a five-year Farm Bill and other key issues in Washington, D.C. NCBA’s Executive Director of Government Affairs, outlined some of those efforts.
Recent natural disasters, Butts says, such as last year’s droughts, fires, floods and most recently early and destructive snow storms in South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, have illustrated the need for disaster assistance provisions for farmers and ranchers. The 2008 Farm Bill, which was temporarily extended, included disaster assistance provisions but only for four years, so producers affected by these recent disasters are left with considerable uncertainty.
NCBA continues to push for passage of a five-year Farm Bill in spite of the current shutdown, Butts says. The House of Representatives and the Senate have passed their respective versions of a bill, which now need to be resolved in conference. Unlike the Senate bill, the House version removes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, to be considered in a separate bill. Butts says the House reportedly will appoint their conferees this week, suggesting the process is moving forward.
The process toward this Farm Bill has been a bumpy road from the beginning she adds, but the end is in sight, with passage likely by the end of this year. Grass-roots support is critical, and she urges farmers and ranchers to contact their Congressional representatives and encourage them to pass a bill.
The shutdown, Butts says, is hampering some lobbying efforts due to short staffs in Congressional offices, but NCBA continues to pursue additional goals including immigration reform and border security. Congress continues to push the issue forward. Originally, the House intended to address border security in July, but moved the discussion to September. Now, with the shutdown and emphasis on budget issues, the timeline is uncertain. The House, she says, has committed to address the border security issue before moving on to a broader labor and immigration package.
NCBA also continues to have conversations with the House Judiciary Committee about guest-worker programs, Butts says, emphasizing consideration of businesses such as livestock production, with year-around needs for labor. The current H-2A visa program does not work for beef producers, she says.
One bit of good news during the shutdown, she says, is that federal inspectors continue to serve in beef packing plants, allowing cattle marketing to continue through the shutdown.

Authorities in central Missouri say a body has been found near Boonville.

The Cooper County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating the body’s discovery, which was reported Wednesday.

An attorney for condemned killer Allen Nicklasson is asking the Missouri Supreme Court for a stay of execution, citing concerns about Missouri’s planned use of the anesthetic propofol for the first time as a lethal injection drug.

Attorney Jennifer Herndon filed the motion on Wednesday. It wasn’t clear when the court would issue a ruling.

 The Missouri Department of Corrections has expressed confidence in propofol as an execution drug, but Herndon raised concerns that it could cause Nicklasson to suffer.

Nicklasson was convicted of the 1994 killing of Excelsior Springs businessman Richard Drummond, who stopped to help when a car used by Nicklasson and two others broke down on Interstate 70. Another man in the car, Dennis Skillicorn, was executed in 2009.

(AP) — The partial government shutdown has halted death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers, but the House has now voted unanimously for legislation that would restore those benefits.

It’s unclear if the Democratic-led Senate will take up the bill, which the House passed by a 425-0 vote.

The Pentagon typically pays out $100,000 within three days of a soldier’s death. But it says the shutdown means there’s no authority now to pay the money.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has blamed the Obama administration for withholding the payments. But White House spokesman Jay Carney says Republicans are at fault for shutting down the government.

Carney says President Barack Obama was “disturbed” to learn of the problem and that the administration hoped to find a solution Wednesday.

The Greenwood County Kansas Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies, continues to search for 35-year-old Kevin Robert Welsh of Toronto, Kan. Welsh is wanted in connection with the deaths of Keith and Sheila Kriesel, Eureka, and the shooting of Catherine Scheff, Eureka, on October 2, 2013. Welsh is believed to be armed and may still be in Greenwood County.

The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement requests the assistance of the public in obtaining information to aid in apprehending

Welsh. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-KS-CRIME (1-800-572-7463) or 911.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office will assume responsibility for any resulting prosecution. The Greenwood County Attorney has requested this assistance.

Any public comments on the investigation and prosecution are governed by the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.6, Trial Publicity, and Rule 3.8, Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor. All media requests or inquiries should be directed to Don Brown, Communications Director, Office of the Attorney General, 120 S.W. 10th, 2nd Floor, Topeka, Kansas 66612, 785-296-2215.

(AP) — The Missouri Department of Corrections is sending back a shipment of propofol to the distributor, 11 months after the company’s urgent request for return of the anesthetic.

Missouri plans to become the first state to use propofol in an execution on Oct. 23. The department said in a news release Wednesday that it has remaining inventory. It isn’t clear if enough exists for additional executions.

The propofol supplied by Morris & Dickson of Shreveport, La., was made by Fresenius Kabi of Germany. Morris & Dickson sent a letter to the corrections department on Nov. 2, saying the sale was a mistake.

Fresenius Kabi prohibits distribution to prisons because the anti-death penalty European Union could limit export of any drug used in an execution, potentially creating a shortage of the anesthetic.

(AP) — Missouri lawmakers have blocked a proposed rule that could have expanded the use of ethanol in gasoline.

A legislative panel voted Wednesday to halt a rule change that would have allowed regular gasoline to be sold with a 15 percent blend of ethanol, which generally is made from corn.

Committee members said the proposal by the Department of Agriculture went beyond what is allowed in state law. They cited a 2006 Missouri law that requires a 10 percent blend of ethanol in gasoline. The proposed rule would not have mandated E15 but would have allowed it.

The committee’s vote is like a temporary moratorium. The full Legislature can decide whether to permanently block the rule when it convenes in January. Or the department could withdraw the proposed rule change.