Specilaist Fabian Caceres works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Oct. 7, 2013. The stock market is opening sharply lower as the U.S. government heads into a second week of a partial shutdown with no signs of a budget agreement in sight. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Author: KMAN Staff
Pro-life supporter Paige Cofield of Washington, DC., second from left, stands outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, on the first day of the 2013-2014 term. The justices take the bench Monday for the start of their new term with important cases about campaign contributions, housing discrimination and government-sanctioned prayer already on tap. Abortion, contraceptive coverage under the president’s new health care law and mobile phone privacy also may find their way onto the court’s calendar. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) All but five of the 772 Kansas National Guard airmen and soldiers who were furloughed last week because of the partial federal government shutdown are being called back to work. The Kansas adjutant general’s office says Monday that the recalls come after the Department of Defense issued guidance over the weekend regarding which employees were covered by the federal furlough orders. Those five National Guard technicians who remain furloughed don’t meet the guidance for recalls as stated by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. However, Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, state adjutant general, says the 263 federally-funded state employees furloughed…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo says “this is the moment” to reduce the size of government. The Republican from Wichita made the comments Monday as he tries to shore up support back home for taking a conservative hard-line against reopening government or raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts. Speaking outside a Rotary Club, Pompeo says he would “absolutely not” vote to raise the debt ceiling without any strings attached. He also claims there are not enough votes in the house to pass a clean continuing resolution to fund the government. Pompeo says the fight isn’t about what…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) University of Kansas researchers have won a $2.5 million federal grant to develop a system to screen foster children for trauma. The screening tool will be used to create treatment plans to help children when they are young. The goal is to reduce the need for hospitalizations, incarcerations and other more costly expenses as the children grow older. There also will be a tracking mechanism that permits statewide, systems-level progress monitoring. The university says that few states have universal screening and assessment tools to deal with trauma in young children. The researchers hope that the Kansas system…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Drivers across a Kansas River bridge near Lawrence might have some trouble keeping their eyes on the road. The guardrail on the east side of the bridge has been decorated with hundreds of decorated bras. The display is to publicize Breast Cancer Awareness Month and promote Health Care Access, a clinic that provides health care for poor Douglas County residents. The Bras Across the Kaw exhibit is not a new display. But Shelly Wakeman, director of the Health Care Clinic, says people didn’t always know who hung the bras, or the purpose of the display. Two large…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) University of Kansas athletic officials are considering changes to Late Night in the Phog after complaints about a lack of crowd control at the event last Friday. The Late Night festivities mark the official beginning of the basketball season and fans typically line up for hours before it starts. Associate athletic director Jim Marchiony says KU Athletics plans to discuss changes that might be needed to control crowds as they wait to be allowed into the free event. The Lawrence Journal-World reports fans complained about frequent cutting in line and a mob rushing the entrance when the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A crushing workload and a lack of funds to hire more help has a Kansas coroner months behind in finishing reports, which is having an impact on the local prosecutor’s office. Shawnee County coroner Don Pojman says he’s often up until 2 or 3 in the morning finishing reports for District Attorney Chad Taylor’s office. That’s in addition to his responsibilities to review infant deaths for the state, sign cremation permits and complete reports for other deaths. The Topeka Capital Journal reports Pojman’s office used to have 15 employees. But in his first year, his budget was…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Researchers at the University of Kansas have received a $4.4 million federal grant to help develop sustainable manufacturing processes for chemicals. The university says the four-year grant to its Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis comes from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Center director Bala Subramaniam says one of the major challenges for the chemical industry is to develop sustainable manufacturing processes. A major part of the project will be to identify what part of the manufacturing chain involves toxic materials. The university says the project will support five graduate students, five postdoctoral researchers…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Chief Justice Lawton Nuss is telling a special advisory panel to review the potential consequences to state courts if a funding gap isn’t closed. Nuss convened the panel Monday to look at the ramifications of a projected $8.25 million shortfall in the judicial branch budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2015. The shortfall could result in forcing employees to take unpaid leave. Nuss told the panel to prepare for the worst. State Senate Vice President Jeff King has written to the 10-member council attempting to blunt the perception that legislators are shortchanging the…