WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is avoiding a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood over the dissenting votes of three justices.

Lower courts in both states had blocked the states from withholding money that is used for health services other than abortion for low-income women. Abortion opponents have said Planned Parenthood should not receive any government money because of heavily edited videos that claimed to show the nation’s largest abortion provider profiting from sales of fetal tissue for medical research.

Investigations sparked by the videos in several states didn’t result in criminal charges.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch say they would have heard the case.

CASS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a stabbing death.

Just after 4:30 p.m. Friday, deputies responded to 1007 N. Jerry, in Raymore after receiving a 9-1-1 call about a disturbance in progress, according to a media release.

The caller stated that her estranged husband entered the residence by breaking a window and was fighting with the victim. The caller stated that during the fight the victim was stabbed with a knife and the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle.

Personnel from South Metro Fire Department arrived on scene and began treating the victim, however he died from his injuries before being transported.

By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ new Democratic governor promised not to raise taxes to meet her goals of boosting spending on public schools and social services. Republicans who control the Legislature argue that a tax increase is coming even if state politicians do nothing.

One of the first big political fights Gov.-elect Laura Kelly faces upon taking office in January will be over cutting income taxes. The state is receiving a revenue windfall thanks to changes in the federal tax code at the end of 2017.

Kansas has been roiled by&nbsp;<a href=”https://www.apnews.com/f5741d8d0d8c40979857c9d2d6afae9f”>a debate over tax cuts</a>&nbsp;for most of this decade, since a previous Republican experiment in slashing income taxes went awry and most voters came to view it as a failure. Lawmakers rolled back most of the experiment, and Kelly built her campaign on a pledge that Kansas wouldn’t repeat it.

Now, according to a spokeswoman, Kelly wants to “let the dust settle” and stabilize the budget before considering new tax changes. But there will be no hiatus: Top Republicans are saying that an early priority for them is rewriting income tax laws to cancel out the unintended revenue increase from the federal tax changes.

“I’ve been working on it the past few weeks,” said state Sen. Caryn Tyson, a GOP conservative and chairwoman of the Senate tax committee. “We should take a vote as legislators to say, do we want to stop that increase? Which I absolutely do.”

<a href=”https://www.apnews.com/e3990de7f5bc45ffb7e171cfcc364fce”>Policies championed by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress</a>&nbsp;slashed federal income taxes but included provisions that will have some people paying more to their home states. The federal standard deduction increased — further limiting who can itemize — and it triggered a change in Kansas because its tax code is tied to federal law.

The federal overhaul is expected to raise revenue in some states and lower it in others. Officials in Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri and Utah cited new revenues in justifying state tax cuts adopted this year. In each, Republicans control the governor’s office and legislature.

Kansas officials have struggled to calculate the size of the boon. One early estimate put the gain at $138 million for the state’s current budget year. By last month, they had whittled the figure to $84 million.

That uncertainty hurt efforts by Republicans to rewrite Kansas tax laws earlier this year. They passed&nbsp;<a href=”http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/measures/documents/ccrb_hb2228_01_may3.pdf”>a bill</a>&nbsp;in the Senate, only to see it fall a few votes short in the House.

A bill has a better chance of passing in 2019. While voters statewide chose Democrat Kelly, a veteran state senator from Topeka, as the next governor, local contests left the Legislature more conservative.

“A lot of Republicans ran on giving that money back to the taxpayers,” said state House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area conservative.

But Kelly&nbsp;<a href=”https://www.apnews.com/461ce99d524a4058ad2399ad5dd7eb2c”>plans to increase spending</a>&nbsp;— for public schools alone, possibly $90 million a year — which could require the state to keep that tax revenue.

“Kansas still faces massive financial challenges,” said Kelly’s spokeswoman Ashley All. “After years of self-inflicted budget crises, we need to be more cautious and fiscally responsible.”

Kansas was ground zero for a national debate over trickle-down economics after then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback successfully pushed GOP legislators to slash income taxes in 2012 and 2013 in hopes of stimulating the economy. Persistent budget shortfalls arose, and Kansas became a cautionary tale, even for Republicans elsewhere who favored tax cuts.

Voters turned on Brownback’s legislative allies, and bipartisan majorities in 2017&nbsp;<a href=”https://www.apnews.com/e4f794cd96cb488cb04ab1cd48b1458d”>reversed most of his tax policies</a>, raising income taxes $600 million a year.

In the November election, voters had an overwhelmingly negative view of Brownback’s tax experiment: 77 percent said his tax policies were bad for Kansas, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 115,000 midterm voters nationwide, including nearly 4,000 in Kansas. The margin of sampling error among Kansas voters was plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Kansas voters had a more favorable view of the federal tax cuts. According to AP VoteCast, about half, or 51 percent, said they approve, while a little less than half, or 44 percent, said they disapprove.

Many Republicans view adjusting state tax laws as a moral imperative. New House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a conservative Wichita Republican, said the state is “just robbing” taxpayers.

Democrats acknowledge that they worry about lower-income families being hurt by inaction. New House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said he is open to working with Republicans on legislation dealing with itemized deductions but fears GOP lawmakers will push for tax breaks for multinational corporations.

Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst for the conservative Tax Foundation, said revenue windfalls allow states to pursue broader tax reforms, citing Georgia, Iowa and Vermont as examples. He said reverting to a state’s previous status quo on taxes is “the path of least resistance.”

“You’re missing an opportunity,” he said. “Other states are saying this is an opportunity for meaningful reform.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s newest state travel guide mistakenly features a picture of a Christmas celebration at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

A production error allowed the picture of the Kansas City station to be used instead of Union Station in Omaha.

A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Tourism Commission Erin Lenz says the two historic train stations look similar, and staff members who proofed the guide didn’t catch the error before 200,000 copies were printed.

The publication cost $94,000 to print and another $84,000 to distribute.

The Durham Museum occupies Omaha’s Union Station. Museum spokeswoman Jessica Brummer says she figures everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and the error probably earned the Durham some free publicity in Kansas City.

By DAVE SKRETTA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said he was shocked by security camera footage showing Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel, and that it was a collective decision by the organization to cut their star running back within hours.

In his first comments since the incident nine days ago, the team’s owner also said that the Chiefs were aware of two other offseason incidents involving Hunt, but not the extent of them.

“We’d had some issues with Kareem not being truthful with what happened that night (in Cleveland) and we really felt in everybody’s interest we head in another direction,” Clark Hunt explained after Kansas City clinched a playoff berth with a 27-24 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The other two incidents occurred in January at a downtown Kansas City nightclub and in June at an Ohio resort. No criminal charges were filed in any of the cases, and Clark Hunt said all of them were referred to the NFL for investigation. The league did not hand down any punishment until TMZ Sports posted the security footage from the Cleveland hotel, at which point Hunt was put on the NFL’s exempt list.

The Chiefs then announced within minutes they were releasing the NFL’s reigning rushing champion.

“I don’t think we were necessarily trying to make a statement,” Clark Hunt said. “We just felt like the best thing for the Kansas City Chiefs moving forward was to part ways with Kareem.”

Clark Hunt said he was comfortable in the background work done on Kareem Hunt by the Chiefs’ scouting staff under then-general manager John Dorsey, even though he’d had disciplinary issues at Toledo.

“When anybody comes to the Chiefs organization, part of what we expect of them is they’re going to be good citizens,” Clark Hunt said. “We want them to give back, but really the first step for a young player is learning how to conduct themselves not only on the field but off the field.”

The Chiefs have taken chances on other players with character concerns and for the most part they have worked out. Tight end Travis Kelce had off-the-field issues at Cincinnati but has blossomed into one of the NFL’s top tight ends, while wide receiver Tyreek Hill — who was kicked out of school at Oklahoma State for an assault on his then-girlfriend — has become a model citizen and one of the Chiefs’ biggest stars.

Even combustible cornerback Marcus Peters, who was kicked out of Washington before becoming a first-round pick of the Chiefs, steered clear of any legal trouble before he was traded to the Rams.

The NFL has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the Kareem Hunt case, especially after pouring resources into establishing a department to handle such investigations. Cleveland police also have launched an internal probe into their “overall response” to the incident.

“I’m not sure I’m at a point where I can say there was a breakdown (in the NFL’s investigation) and specifically what that breakdown was,” Clark Hunt said. “The league has spent a lot of time and resources trying to build a department that can handle these types of situations. Obviously it’s imperfect. I’m not sure you can ever reach perfection. There are limitations on the types of material the league security people can get, and I’m not sure we can change that.”

Hunt was among the NFL’s leading rushers again this season when he was released, and the decision was a significant blow to a team with Super Bowl aspirations. It was compounded on Sunday when Spencer Ware, elevated to the starting role, left briefly with a shoulder injury and later with a hamstring problem.

Still, Clark Hunt made it clear that releasing Hunt was the right decision for the organization, and that he hoped Kareem Hunt would seek counseling and perhaps find his way back to the NFL.

“There was a report today that he’s going to do that,” Clark Hunt said. “I hope someday he can return to the National Football League. I’m not sure when that will be. But our message to him was, even though we are parting ways, we’re supportive of you. If you need help, we are here to help you.”

 

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A former Olathe teacher and Shawnee City Council member will go to trial after pleading not guilty to having a sexual encounter with a student.

Thirty-three-year-old Justin Adrian waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday in Johnson County District Court.

The alleged sexual encounter occurred in a classroom at Olathe East High School, where Adrian was a history teacher.

The student was 18, but Kansas law makes it illegal for a teacher to have sexual contact with a student at the same school.

Adrian was a member of the Shawnee City Council but resigned when the allegations surfaced.

He is free on bond while the case is pending. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 23.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – University of Missouri faculty members are raising concerns that the system’s move to offer buyouts to its senior professors could leave some academic departments gutted.

The Kansas City Star reports the university system recently notified full-time and tenured faculty members over 62 of an option to receive a payout of 1.5 times their annual salary, up to $200,000, beginning Sept. 1, 2019. Eligible faculty at the Kansas City, Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis campuses must have worked in the system at least five years.

University system spokesman Christian Basi says the buyout program will save money, allow for more raises and serve as a way to “thank senior faculty for their contributions to the university.”

But history professor Gary Ebersole says past buyout programs led to the entire math and statistics department taking an early retirement.

By ANDREA TUDHOPE

President Donald Trump visited Kansas City Friday to speak at a national conference for Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Justice Department initiative that aims to partner local and federal officials in order to reduce violent crime.

This afternoon, President Trump delivered remarks at the 2018 Project Safe Neighborhoods National Conference where he reinforced his commitment to making our communities safer for all Americans. pic.twitter.com/8I1j0F0B30

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 8, 2018

At the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center, a crowd of hundreds of law enforcement officials and prosecutors from around the country greeted the president with warm applause, dozens of cell phones popping up in the air to capture his entrance.

“You keep America safe, and you maybe don’t hear it enough or sometimes don’t feel it enough,” Trump said to the crowd. “You do an incredible job. The people in this country know it and they love you. Just remember that, so true. On behalf of a grateful nation, I just want to say that we thank you. We salute you and we stand with you 100 percent.”

Trump said it is through Project Safe Neighborhoods that his administration has shown its dedication to supporting and protecting law enforcement officials. He said his administration has provided access to more than $600 million dollars worth of surplus military equipment and that there are more than 200 new violent crime prosecutors nationwide.

Western Missouri and Kansas have each received around a quarter million dollars in the past fiscal year from the federal program.

Trump said the core of the Project Safe Neighborhoods strategy “is restoring respect for law enforcement.”

“For too long, many politicians and radical activists have been smearing and slandering our police, making life easier for criminals and harder for law-abiding Americans. We will not tolerate attacks on the heroes who protect our streets and defend our communities. We will not allow it to happen,” he said as the room broke into a long stretch of applause.

Unlike most of his appearances, this one was missing that notorious campaign rally spirit, which could be attributed to the fact that it was a closed event.

But he did touch on many of his typical hot-button issues, like illegal immigration, the border wall and fake news, which he dropped in just three minutes into his speech, while congratulating Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley for his election to the U.S. Senate.

“So I just want to congratulate you, and you know, I keep listening to the fake news that they won the House, House, House. Nobody ever talks about the Senate,” Trump said.

Trump campaigned heavily for Hawley during the midterm race. He failed to mention that, as of Thursday, Hawley is under investigation for possibly using “public funds” in his bid for U.S. Senate.

On the whole, Trump did not have much to say about Kansas City — in fact, at one point, he mistakenly referred to it as St. Louis.

He was thanking officers, attorneys and advocates by name for their work, when he came to James Clark, vice president of community outreach for Better Family Life in St. Louis. He praised Clark for ending “more than 50 escalating gun battles between rival gangs right here in St. Louis.”

Though the fact that this conference was held here, in Kansas City, does hold significance. The city has seen rising levels of violence in recent years, and with just a few weeks left of 2018, homicides are only slightly off pace from 2017, which saw the highest number at in 25 years, with 150 people killed.

In his roughly 30 minute speech Friday, Trump spent a significant portion of the time talking about illegal immigration and his border wall. But U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Missouri Tim Garrison said that’s relevant for Kansas and Missouri.

“He understands that a lot of the problems that we face here in this district may not be obvious as border protection issues, most of the controlled substances that we find here in the heartland make their way to us over the border. So that’s important,” Garrison said.

In closing Friday, Trump told everyone in the room they were the “reason Americans sleep soundly in their beds at night.” As he did after his victory speech in 2016, Trump exited the stage Friday to the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Andrea Tudhope is a reporter in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. Follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.