TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Supporters of a bill to legalize medical marijuana made their case to a Kansas Senate panel a day before opponents are scheduled to get their turn before committee members.

The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee held an informational hearing Wednesday to hear testimony from proponents of a measure sponsored by Democratic Sen. David Haley of Kansas City.

Speakers included legal and medical professionals and several people who said medical marijuana treatments would help them.

Tatiana Lin, a senior analyst at the Kansas Health Institute, discussed a draft report on the bill’s potential consequences. She said the institute’s preliminary study predicted overall marijuana consumption would not increase as a result the bill, although a rise in marijuana consumption among at-risk residents was possible.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced in media release that three southern Missouri residents were indicted by a federal grand jury today in separate and unrelated cases of sexual child exploitation.

Chelese Penn, 24, of Hartville, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment alleges that Penn attempted to use a minor, identified as Jane Doe #1, to produce child pornography between July 1, 2012, and Oct. 3, 2014. Penn is also charged with receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet during that time.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.

Kevin Robert Thomas, 42, of Bolivar, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment alleges that Thomas received and distributed child pornography over the Internet from April 26 to May 2, 2013. Thomas is also charged with possessing child pornography on June 17, 2013.

The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Thomas to forfeit to the government a desktop computer and a laptop computer that were used to commit the alleged offenses.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull, II. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Polk County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Bolivar, Mo., Police Department.

Christian Cannon, 42, of Lebanon, Mo., was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment alleges that Cannon received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between April 18 and July 21, 2014.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri’s unemployment has fallen again and now is at its lowest point in almost seven years.

The state Department of Economic Development on Tuesday released data showing the seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped to 5.4 percent in December, its lowest rate since April 2008.

Unemployment has continued to drop slightly in recent months, from 5.9 percent in October to 5.6 percent in November.

Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment grew by 1,700 jobs in December, bringing the number of new jobs for 2014 at about 44,700.

That’s the largest annual growth from December-to-December since 1997.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City firefighters have extinguished a fire at a restaurant that recently reopened after the original location was leveled nearly two years ago in a deadly explosion.

The Kansas City Star reports that the new JJ’s restaurant near the upscale County Club Plaza shopping and entertainment district had to be evacuated Wednesday morning because of heavy smoke. Battalion Chief Jeff Johnson of the fire department said there weren’t injuries and described the damage as “minimal.”

JJ’s co-owner Jimmy Frantze said the restaurant opened for lunch after a visit from a city health official.

JJ’s re-opened in November. The business has been closed since February 2013, when the explosion caused by a natural gas leak killed server Megan Cramer, destroyed the restaurant and damaged two neighboring buildings.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two Kansas lawmakers are pushing similar bills that would make it illegal to post nude photos or videos of a former spouse or significant other on the Internet without permission.

Democratic Rep. Sydney Carlin of Manhattan introduced her “revenge porn” bill on Tuesday, while Republican Rep. Stephanie Clayton of Overland Park planned to introduce hers on Wednesday. Both said they were not aware the other was working on the same measure.

State privacy and blackmail laws make it a crime to post pictures or videos of someone that were taken without consent. The new bills seek to also forbid posting of sexual material that was consensual during a relationship that has since ended.

KIRKSVILLE – The driver of an SUV is hospitalized after a collision with a school bus in northeast Missouri.

The Kirksville Daily Express reports that the accident happened Wednesday morning on U.S. 63 in Kirksville. Witnesses told police that the bus turned left in front of a Honda Pilot.

Seven children on the bus, and the bus driver, were not injured, but an aide to the driver sustained minor injuries that did not require hospitalization. Details about the Pilot driver’s injuries have not been released.

GOODLAND, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a pilot escaped injury when a freight plane crashed in northwest Kansas.

Emergency crews are on the scene of the twin-engine plane crash in Sherman County. It was reported about 9 a.m. Wednesday. No passengers were on board

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman says the plane was carrying UPS cargo. It was registered to Key Lime Air of Englewood, Colorado.

The company said in a statement that the plane experienced and engine “anomaly” during the flight and went down safely in a rural area near Goodland.

Hileman says the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of the crash.

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GOODLAND -Officials are at the scene of a plane crash in Sherman County northwest of Goodland that happened Wednesday morning.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman said a twin engine plane crashed in Sherman County about 8:56 a.m. Central Time near the intersection of county roads 10 and 71.

According to Hileman the plane was carrying freight and registered to Key Lime Air of Englewood, Colorado.

Hileman said the pilot is “OK.”

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) — The area near the Mississippi River in historic Hannibal may soon be taking on a different look.
Officials with the northeast Missouri town’s Parks and Recreation Department say frequent flooding and simple aging have taken a toll on the riverfront where Samuel Clemens played as a child. A task force has been appointed to come up with a renovation plan.
The Riverfront Task Force was created last week, though the project isn’t expected to be completed for several years. The task force will consider what to do about parks near the river, the flood levee, a marina and the riverboat docking areas.

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate has confirmed one of the state’s highest-ranking black officials as public safety director despite concerns about a racial discrimination lawsuit against him.

Senators on Thursday voted 31-2 to confirm former St. Louis police Chief Daniel Isom II.

Isom was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon shortly after a white police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson.

He was appointed amid criticism about a lack of diversity in state department leaders.

Isom’s confirmation was delayed over questions about a discrimination lawsuit filed against him when he was St. Louis police chief.

A federal jury in 2013 awarded $420,000 to a white sergeant who claimed a black woman was wrongly promoted over him. Isom appealed.

Nixon and Republican Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey have defended him.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota stayed top in global sales at 10.23 million vehicles in 2014, taking that auto industry crown for the third year straight.

But in the numbers released Wednesday, Toyota Motor Corp. was less upbeat about the future. The Japanese automaker says it expects to sell fewer trucks and cars this year, at 10.15 million vehicles, down 1 percent year-on-year.

Volkswagen AG of Germany has said it sold 10.14 million vehicles in 2014. Detroit-based General Motors Co. was third at 9.92 million vehicles, a company record. GM gave its tally earlier this month.