Minnesota and Rhode Island became the twelfth and thirteenth states to legalize same sex marriage on Thursday. Dozens of couples gathered in Minnesota to tie the knot at the stroke of midnight.
Author: KMAN Staff
The head of the National Security Agency defended the government’s much-criticized surveillance program at a computer hackers’ conference Wednesday, but also had a challenge for them: If you don’t like it, lend your talent to build a better one.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Alex Gordon hit a two-out triple in the seventh inning and then scored the go-ahead run for Kansas City on an error by Minnesota, and the Royals won their eighth straight game with a 4-3 victory over the Twins on Wednesday night. The Royals are above .500 at the end of July for the first time since 2003. At 53-51, they are two games over the break-even mark for the first time since May 17. They remained seven games behind Detroit in the AL Central race and 4.5 games back of second-place Cleveland, the current holder of the…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Royals have acquired outfielder Justin Maxwell from the Houston Astros for minor league pitcher Kyle Smith in an attempt to upgrade their depth for the stretch run. Maxwell made his major league debut in 2007 for the Nationals. He has spent the past two seasons with the Astros. He’s hitting just .241 with two homers and eight RBIs in 40 games this season, but that includes a .302 average against left-handed pitchers. The Royals already were trying to upgrade in right field, where David Lough has played well after Jeff Francoeur was waived…
A bill that would lower the cost of student loans has passed the House and is heading to President Barack Obama for his signature. Undergraduates this fall would borrow at a 3.9 percent interest rate for subsidized and unsubsidized loans.
The head of the National Security Agency defended the government’s much-criticized surveillance program at a computer hackers’ conference Wednesday, but also had a challenge for them: If you don’t like it, lend your talent to build a better one.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A key Kansas lawmaker is promising that Gov. Sam Brownback’s next appointee to the state Court of Appeals will be thoroughly scrutinized during a special legislative session. Independence Republican Jeff King chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. King said Wednesday he’s planning a confirmation hearing for the yet-to-be-named judge when the special session opens Sept. 3. King also said the committee will meet as long as necessary that day. King dismissed a claim by Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley that considering the appointment during the special session is intended to minimize scrutiny of the appointee. The Republican governor…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Kansas congressman’s legislation seeking a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage has picked up more support, but not from his Kansas colleagues. Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp’s bill has picked up at least 47 co-sponsors in the U.S. House since its introduction a month ago. That includes 20 supporters added in July. The Hutchinson News reports that absent from the list of co-sponsors are Kansas’ other three House members, all Republicans. U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo says he strongly believes in defending traditional marriage and is looking at the amendment carefully. Reps. Kevin Yoder and Lynn Jenkins declined…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A celebrity hunter from Tennessee who unlawfully killed a deer in Kansas has been banned from hunting anywhere in the United States or the world for the next year. The U.S. attorney’s office also announced Wednesday that William “Spook” Spann, 50, must spend a total of 30 nights and weekends in federal custody by the end of February. U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara imposed the sentence Tuesday after finding that Spann violated the terms of a plea agreement that banned him from hunting for six months. Last year, Spann pleaded guilty to transporting across state lines…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas officials say revenue collections beat estimates by $3.1 million in the first month of the new fiscal year. A report Wednesday from the Department of Revenue says July’s figures were boosted by strong sales tax collections, which were $9.1 million higher than expected. Overall revenues for the month totaled $425.4 million. Among other categories, individual income tax collections in July topped expectations by $3.4 million. But corporate income taxes came in $1 million below the figure predicted earlier by economists and researchers. Severance taxes on production from Kansas oil wells also missed the estimate, by nearly…