By John Hanna and Heather Hollingsworth/AP PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The Rev. Anthony Navaratnam stood before his congregation and urged them to pray for the women from surrounding states who will flock to the new abortion clinic in town that opened in August. “God is giving us an opportunity to be missionaries in Pittsburg, Kansas,” he told those at Flag Church, which hosted a training on how to protest outside of the clinic. The debate over reproductive rights has landed in this college town of 20,000 in the southeast corner of one of the few states left in the region still allowing abortions. It…
Author: AP News
By John Hanna/AP TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies. In an alarming letter, the officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as…
NEW YORK (AP) — Austin Wells hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning and added an RBI double in the eighth as the New York Yankees pulled away for a 10-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night and widened their lead in the AL East. The Yankees (83-61) surpassed last season’s win total and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles, who were handed a 12-3 loss in Boston. Aaron Judge hit a tying single off James McArthur and four pitches later, Wells lifted a 2-1 fastball into the lower rows of the…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael Wacha pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, Garrett Hampson and Salvador Perez drove in runs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0 on Sunday to complete a series sweep of their closest pursuers in the AL wild-card race. Wacha (12-7) struck out seven while allowing just one walk is 100th career win. He got plenty of help from his defense, which turned two double plays and threw out a runner trying to score from first base in the first inning. Kris Bubic handled the eighth for Kansas City before Lucas Erceg…
HOUSTON (AP) — Zach Dezenzo drew a go-ahead bases-loaded walk and the Houston Astros took advantage of two Kansas City errors in a four-run eighth inning to beat the Royals 6-3 on Thursday night. With two runners on and Astros trailing 3-2, Yainer Diaz hit a grounder to pitcher Lucas Erceg (2-5), who tried to barehand the comebacker, bobbled it and rushed a throw that got away from first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. José Altuve scored from second on the play to tie the score. Pasquantino’s glove hand appeared to collide with Diaz, and he exited the game with an apparent…
CLEVELAND (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs as the Kansas City Royals completed a doubleheader sweep of Cleveland, beating the Guardians 9-4 on Monday night to pull within one game of first in the AL Central. The Royals won the opener 4-3 as Bobby Witt Jr.’s 27th homer — and 11th since July 19 — snapped a tie in the eighth inning. After being nine games back in early July, the Royals have chipped away at Cleveland’s lead by posting an AL-best 22-13 record since the All-Star break. They can now…
By Jim Salter/AP A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment. If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns, including homemade automatic weapons that many police and prosecutors blame for fueling gun violence. Broomes, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted last year. Morgan was accused of possessing a model AM-15 .300-caliber machine gun…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent ran for a touchdown on the opening drive of the Bears’ game against Kansas City on Thursday night, and Chicago went on to beat the Chiefs 34-21 in a preseason finale in which both teams sat nearly all their starters. Bagent was 3 of 6 for 57 yards along with his TD run. The second-year pro has been competing with Brett Rypien, who took over late in the first quarter against Kansas City, for the job of backing up first overall draft pick Caleb Williams. Reddy Steward picked off two passes…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer, Seth Lugo once again looked like the pitcher whose brilliant first half made him an All-Star, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Monday night to extend their winning streak to five games. Lugo (14-7), who had been just 2-3 with 5.23 ERA since the All-Star break, allowed four hits and three walks over seven innings while striking out eight. That tied him with the Braves’ Chris Sale and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal for the big league lead in wins. Salvador Perez added two…
By Heather Hollingsworth/AP An employee of a rural Kansas school district repeatedly shoved a teenager with Down syndrome into a utility closet, hit the boy and once photographed him locked in a cage used to store athletic equipment, a lawsuit claims. The suit filed Friday in federal court said the paraprofessional assigned to the 15-year-old sent the photo to staff in the Kaw Valley district, comparing the teen to an animal and “making light of his serious, demeaning and discriminatory conduct.” The teen’s parents alleged in the suit that the paraprofessional did not have a key to the cage and…