Wire
Kansas program monitors pharmacies for meth abuse
WICHITA (AP) — A Web-based pharmacy monitoring program is being launched this week in Kansas as law enforcement officials battle a rise in meth labs across the state. About 128 pharmacies in 62 counties will participate in the 12-month pilot program, dubbed MethShield. The program will allow the pharmacies to immediately report sales of medications that can be used to make meth. “Meth continues to just be a terrible problem for Kansas,” sa...
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World Briefly
Georgia’s president says Russian forces control a third of Georgian territory GORI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s president said Thursday that a column of Russian tanks and other vehicles was moving toward the country’s second-largest city, and that Russian forces already control a third of Georgian territory. Mikhail Saakashvili, speaking to foreign reporters in the capital in an appeal for international help, said the convoy was about half...
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Celebrities
DALLAS (AP) — J.R., Bobby, Sue Ellen and other members of the Ewing clan are getting back together for a “Dallas” reunion party. Cast members of the popular prime-time soap opera that ran from 1978-91 will return to the Southfork Ranch north of Dallas on Nov. 8 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the show. Several key actors, including Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy, have confirmed they will attend. Hagman, who played central ...
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Crusading ex-lawmaker takes in sex offenders
Marc Levy Associated Press Writer MARIETTA, Pa. (AP) — A former tough-on-crime Pennsylvania lawmaker has adopted a new and unpopular cause, taking into his home three sex offenders who couldn’t find a place to live — a stand that has angered neighbors, drawn pickets and touched off a zoning dispute. As cities across the nation pass ever-tighter laws to keep out people convicted of sex crimes, Tom Armstrong said he is drawing on his religi...
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Task force appointed for transportation
TOPEKA (AP) — A new task force has the job of creating what Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is calling a “new strategic transportation approach.” Transportation Secretary Deb Miller has formed the 30-member group, including Gary Beachner, Beachner Grain, St. Paul, at the governor’s direction. It plans to have its first meeting Aug. 27 in Topeka. The task force’s discussions will come in the final year of the state’s 10-year, $13 billion transportation...
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Kansas council mulling proposal to lower speed limit, reduce emissions
TOPEKA (AP) — An advisory council is mulling over a proposal for reducing the speed limit on some Kansas highways to reduce the state’s emissions of greenhouse gases linked by many scientists to global warming. But the idea could face strong opposition from legislators, who would have to approve the change. The Kansas Energy Council, which advises lawmakers and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, has decided to take public comment on the idea of lower...
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World Briefs
Georgian officials say Russian tanks enter key city, violating freshly brokered truce TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian officials charged Wednesday that Russian tanks had rolled into a strategic city and seized a military base inside Georgia in violation of a freshly brokered truce intended to end a conflict that had bloodied and battered the U.S. ally and uprooted tens of thousands of people. The accusation came less than 12 hours after G...
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Kansas Senate, House candidates skipping national conventions
Four hopefuls believe it’s more important to campaign in their home state TOPEKA (AP) — Attending the Republican and Democratic national conventions isn’t a priority for candidates in two high-profile races in Kansas. Republican Sen. Pat Roberts plans to skip the GOP event Sept. 1-4 in Minneapolis-St. Paul where the party is expected to nominate Arizona Sen. John McCain for president. Roberts, seeking a third term, is touring the state, i...
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Oddities
Ohio man buys new truck with thousands of coins CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio man who says he doesn’t trust paper money has delivered enough coins to cover half the price of a brand new pickup truck. Employees at a dealership in the Cincinnati suburb of Springdale say 70-year-old James Jones plunked down 16 coffee cans full of coins Tuesday for a new Chevrolet Silverado. Salesman David Crisswell says employees spent 90 minutes counting the co...
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Celebrities
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince Charles, owner of an organic farm, says that increased use of genetically modified crops to help solve world food shortages could lead to environmental disaster. The heir to the British throne was quoted as saying in an interview published Wednesday that he believes new experiments with modified crops could worsen problems with food supplies. Prince Charles, whose farm has supplied products to stores since 19...
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Gunman wounds Arkansas Democratic Party chairman
Andrew DeMillo Associated Press Writer LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A gunman barged into the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday and shot the state party chairman, critically wounding him, authorities and party officials said. The unidentified man was later wounded after a chase and taken into police custody, authorities said. The gunman demanded to speak to the party chairman, Bill Gwatney, and fired three shots at the office n...
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Jury finds self-proclaimed Indian chief guilty of defrauding immigrants
Roxana Hegeman Associated Press Writer WICHITA (AP) — The self-proclaimed leader of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was found guilty Wednesday of defrauding immigrants by falsely telling them tribal membership would make them U.S. citizens. Malcolm Webber, 70, was found guilty Wednesday six charges arising from the unrecognized tribe’s efforts to sell tribal memberships. A jury in U.S. District Court in Wichita found Webber...
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19 districts, 36 schools fall short of goals
Numbers relatively low but still higher than last year John Hanna Associated Press Writer (AP) — About 6 percent of the state’s school districts and poorest schools failed this year to make adequate progress toward improving students’ scores on standardized math and reading tests. Education officials were heartened because the numbers were relatively low, even though they were slightly higher than last year’s figures. Chanute’s USD 413 h...
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Jury begins deliberations in Indian chief’s case
Roxana Hegeman Associated Press Writer WICHITA (AP) — Jurors began deliberations Tuesday in the federal trial of a man accused of selling tribal memberships to immigrants by falsely claiming such memberships conferred U.S. citizenship and other benefits. The defense rested without calling any witnesses to the stand on behalf of Malcolm Webber, the self-proclaimed chief of the Kaweah Indian Nation. The jury deliberated about four hours Tue...
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Oddities
Erie Zoo’s tiger a shy guy, won’t explore exhibit ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Officials at the Erie Zoo say one of their new Amur tigers is too shy to explore a new $500,000 exhibit. Nikki, a 370-pound male tiger, has refused to come out of his den into the public exhibit since it opened two months ago. “He pokes his head out occasionally, but that’s about it,” said Scott Mitchell, the zoo’s chief executive. Anna, a 300-pound female, regularly prow...
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Celebrities
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A music producer has sued Vanessa Hudgens for $5 million, claiming the actress and her father have repeatedly violated a contract and failed to pay him his share of her earnings. Hudgens, one of the stars of Disney’s successful “High School Musical” series, entered into an agreement with producer Johnny Vieira when she was still a minor, the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, states. Vieira claims Hud...
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World Briefly
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev orders end to military action in Georgia MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia Tuesday, saying it had punished Georgia and brought security for civilians and Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway South Ossetia region. “The security of our peacekeepers and civilians has been restored,” Medvedev said in a nationally televised statement. “The aggressor...
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Role of politics debated in selection of biodefense lab site
TOPEKA (AP) — Officials at Kansas State University still believe the site of a new national biodefense lab they’re pursuing will be determined on merit, but other Kansans worry about politics interfering. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering a site on the Manhattan campus for the $451 million National Bio- and Agro Defense Facility. It expects to make a decision later this year. Sites in Georgia, Mississippi, North Carol...
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Recount in two House races
TOPEKA (AP) — Recounts are planned in two Kansas legislative primaries, one where the incumbent lost and another where three votes separate the candidates. Representative Virginia Beamer of Oakley asked for a recount Tuesday after ending up 19 votes behind challenger Don Hineman of Dighton. In Johnson County, Democrat Andy Sandler says he wants a recount in his losing race against Mike Slattery. Three votes separate the two Mission residen...
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Heloise
Dear Heloise: Could you tell me what is the best way to neutralize the stinging sensation on your hands when you have been chopping hot peppers? -- Gayla Day from Sandpoint, Idaho Dear Gayla: This can be quite painful, especially if you accidentally touch your eyes. Ouch! Here’s how to keep this from happening: Soak your hands in a mixture of baking soda and water -- the baking soda helps neutralize the hotness of the peppers. Also, anoth...
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