WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A divorced Palestinian man accused of illegally moving his three young children from their Kansas home to the Gaza Strip insists they are safe. Ahmed Abuhamda was charged in Kansas with aggravated interference with parental custody after he took his children overseas earlier this year amid a custody dispute with their American mother. He told The Associated Press in an interview that while he believes the family is in no real danger, as a Muslim he has taught his children that everybody has to die one day. Nine-year-old Jannah Abuhamda told AP in a phone call from…
Author: KMAN Staff
With the help of the Topeka Police Department, the Riley County Police Department was successful in finding Benjamin Chavez-Birdwell. Sometime during the evening of Wednesday, November 21, Benjamin was found at a Topeka residence. He is in good health and will be reunited with his father. Sonja Birdwell was arrested for aggravated interference with parental custody and is being held on a $10,000 bond. Police are still looking for the 2008 white Mazda 3 with Kansas license plate 053 EBR. It is still being considered stolen at this time. Police are asking for any help in locating the vehicle.
NORWALK, Iowa (AP) A central Iowa fruit and vegetable distributor is recalling several lots of cherry tomatoes after the grower notified the distributor that Salmonella was found in random sample testing by the Food and Drug Administration. Capital City Fruit Inc., of Norwalk says the recalled cherry tomatoes from Rio Queen Citrus are packaged in one-pint containers as Capital Brand Clamshell Cherry Tomatoes. They were shipped to retail stores from Nov. 14 to Nov.18 and sold in stores in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. No illnesses have been reported. Capital City Fruit on Wednesday says…
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) Frustrated farmers in a south-central Kansas county are coping with a rash of hay bale thefts. KAKE-TV reports Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet has ordered his deputies to patrol rural roads, aiming to halt what’s become an almost daily crime. Herzet blames the thefts on the severe drought, which has tightened supplies of hay and driven up prices. Butler County farmer Orville Carver says that someone cut the lock to his gate and stole nearly $500 worth of hay. Carver says the economy has something to do with the crime, but it doesn’t justify stealing from…
BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas mayor who has been embroiled in disputes with city council members over personnel moves has abruptly called it quits. The Joplin Globe reports Baxter Springs Mayor Jenifer Bingham resigned on Tuesday. She was replaced by Mike Kaufmann, who was told Tuesday afternoon by the city attorney that he had to go to City Hall and sign payroll checks. Kaufmann says he wasn’t expecting to be promoted, but he looks forward to returning stability to city government. Bingham ruffled feathers in April when she named replacements for the city clerk and police chief, both…
NESS CITY, Kan. (AP) A former Ness City man who was convicted in August of raping someone under 14 years old has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Benito Cardenas, 37, was convicted in Ness County of rape and aggravated sodomy under Jessica’s Law. He was sentenced Tuesday to life on each of the two convictions, with the sentences to run concurrently. The crimes happened in Ness City in September 2010. Cardenas was living in Dodge City at the time of his arrest in April 2011. Also Tuesday,…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A Douglas County judge has upheld the conviction and sentence of a Washington woman who killed two highway workers while driving south of Lawrence in 2007. The Lawrence Journal-World reports District Judge Paula Martin ruled earlier this month that Ramona Morgan’s court-appointed attorney committed some errors, but nothing bad enough to affect the jury’s decision. Morgan had argued she received ineffective counsel and that her 26-year sentence was excessive. Witnesses testified at Morgan’s 2008 trial that she drove around a pilot car twice in a U.S. 59 work zone on Sept. 11, 2007, and the second time…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Reno County officials have approved new restrictions on fireworks that prohibit any fireworks that emit flaming balls or shoot sparks more than 6 feet. The commission on Tuesday also voted to ban aerial luminaries, or sky lanterns, and shortened by one hour the hours fireworks may be sold or discharged. The Hutchinson News reports the new rules are the same as those recently passed by the Hutchinson City Council. County commissioners briefly considered an exception for some rural residents but chose not to after hearing from Hutchinson Fire Chief Kim Forbes. Forbes says the regulations let people…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas is holding a post-election conference of strategists, journalists and pollsters to analyze the 2012 presidential campaign. The free, public event will take place from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, and 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Dec. 7 at the Dole Institute. Campaign officials for President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will join other political insiders talking about the issues and outcome of the election. Topics will also include how Obama’s next term will differ from his first, and what the future…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A photo collection featuring images of African-Americans in Wichita from the late 1940s through the 1970s is now available online through the University of Kansas Libraries. The photos were taken by Leon K. Hughes, who began his photography career in 1946 while working in the city’s aircraft industry. Hughes became a leading photographer for Wichita’s family, church and civic events. He shot marriages, birthdays, graduations and more. The collection offers an inside view of the African-American community. Hughes died in 1978. His widow donated the photos in 2009. The interactive online collection includes more than 1,000 images.…