TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Enforcement of a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students has been blocked in four states and a patchwork of places elsewhere by a federal judge in Kansas. U.S. District Judge John Broomes suggested in his ruling Tuesday that the Biden administration must now consider whether forcing compliance remains “worth the effort.” Broomes’ decision was the third against the rule from a federal judge in less than three weeks but more sweeping than the others. It applies in Alaska, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, which sued over the new rule. It also applies to a Stillwater, Oklahoma, middle school…
Author: AP News
By Annie Ma/Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has allowed the U.S. Education Department to move ahead with a plan to lower monthly payments for millions of student loan borrowers, putting on hold a ruling last week by a lower court. The ruling from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals puts back on track a central part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to address student debt — a rule that lowers from 10% of discretionary income to 5% the amount that some borrowers qualifying for a repayment plan need to pay. The reduced payment threshold was…
HOXIE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the crash of a vintage biplane in northwest Kansas that killed two Colorado residents. The 1934 WACO YKC single-engine biplane crashed into a field around 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Hoxie in Sheridan County around 6:10 p.m. Sunday, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. The Patrol identified the pilot as David Allen, 78, of Elbert, Colorado, and the passenger as Jeanne Allen, 79. They died at the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are in charge of the investigation.
By John Hanna/AP TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday together blocked much of a Biden administration student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. The judges’ rulings prevent the U.S. Department of Education from helping many of the intended borrowers ease their loan repayment burdens going forward under a rule set to go into effect July 1. The decisions do not cancel assistance already provided to borrowers. In Kansas, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled in a lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general, Kris Kobach, on…
By John Hanna/AP TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have approved major tax cuts and ended a political stalemate with Gov. Laura Kelly. Yet some of them sounded frustrated as they were doing it. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a bill Tuesday to cut income and property taxes by a total of $1.23 billion over the next three years. The measure contains the exact terms of a compromise reached by the Democratic governor and the GOP leaders of the House and Senate, and Kelly promised to sign it. But many lawmakers, particularly Republicans, said they’d wanted more for taxpayers, and legislators…
By John Hanna/AP TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 170-year-old rivalry is flaring up as Kansas lawmakers try to snatch the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs away from Missouri even though economists long ago concluded subsidizing pro sports isn’t worth the cost. The Kansas Legislature’s top leaders endorsed helping the Chiefs and professional baseball’s Kansas City Royals finance new stadiums in Kansas ahead of a special session set to convene Tuesday. The plan would authorize state bonds for stadium construction and pay them off with revenues from sports betting, the Kansas Lottery and additional tax dollars generated in and around the new venues. The states’…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Republican Kansas lawmaker who already dropped his re-election campaign last month after he was arrested in a traffic stop has now been barred from practicing law for at least a year for mishandling conflicts of interest in a murder case. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that state Rep. Carl Maughan of Colwich violated professional standards while representing 57-year-old Bret Blevins in a 2016 crash that killed two men, according to the Kansas City Star. Maughan did not respond immediately to an email from The Associated Press on Sunday nor did he answer a phone call from…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jose Trevino capped a six-run first inning with a three-run homer, Gleyber Torres added a three-run drive in the seventh and the New York Yankees romped over the Kansas City Royals 11-5 Wednesday night for their third straight win in the four-game series. Giancarlo Stanton hit a 449-foot, two-run homer into shrubbery next to a waterfall beyond left-center, a night after hitting a 446-foot home run over three fences beyond center field. Stanton has five home runs at Kauffman, two to left field and two to center. “We got to get right field now, so…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 25th home run with a 436-foot, two-run drive into the fountain behind the center-field seats, and the New York Yankees routed the Kansas City Royals 10-1 on Tuesday night for their 11th win in 14 games. Giancarlo Stanton followed Judge in the seventh with a 446-foot shot to center against reliever Nick Anderson for his 16th home run of the season. Austin Wells hit a three-run homer in a four-run fourth off starter Brady Singer. Back in the lineup after his first game off this season, Judge hit his…
BY DAVE SKRETTA Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who signed a new two-year deal in April, said Tuesday that he wants to keep playing football “until the wheels come off” after the first day of the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp. The 34-year-old Kelce signed a four-year, $57.25 million extension with Kansas City in 2020, which followed a $46 million, five-year deal that he signed in 2016. The latest $34.25 million pact ties Kelce to the team through the 2025 season. “Kansas City has been home for me for the past 11 years. I’m reminded that every time I come…