In a joint session, Congress formally certified that Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were the winners in the November election with 332 electoral votes, well more than the 270 required.
Author: KMAN Staff
Syrian ground and air forces bombarded rebel strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus and other areas around the country Friday.
A Manhattan man was sentenced to nearly three years with the Kansas Department of Corrections, but granted probation, on a conviction involving sexual exploitation of a child. Michael Combs was sentenced to 32 months during an appearance in Riley County district court Friday, but was granted 36 months probation. Combs also was ordered to register as an offender for 25 years. Combs was found guilty by a Riley county jury in October. He was arrested more than a year ago after a search warrant was executed at his home. The warrant was described as an ongoing investigation involving possession of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group that wants Kansans to be able to buy liquor at grocery stores and convenience stores says it will try again to persuade state lawmakers to change state law. Currently, Kansans can buy most liquor only in retail liquor stores, except for 3.2 beer and wine coolers. Uncork Kansas, a coalition of convenience stores, grocery stores, and chambers of commerce, says it plans to introduce a bill to change state law as early in the upcoming legislative session as possible. The Wichita Eagle reports the Kansas Chamber of Commerce announced earlier this week that it will…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure in Salina is home to a new animal, a Sichuan Takin . Officials at the zoo say the 4.5-year-old male Takin is the first of its species at any zoo in Kansas. Peter Burvenich, curator at the zoo, says it will be at least two to three years before the zoo considers getting a female Takin to start a breeding program. KSAL reports that the animal had been in quarantine for 30 days but is now on public display. Takin are native to Tibet and China. They live in the same bamboo…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former church vicar in Topeka pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two young brothers. Thirty-two-year-old Hugh Denton Cranford, a former vicar at Faith Lutheran Church, will be tried starting May 6 on three charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child younger than 14. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Cranford, a native of Kingwood, Texas, pleaded not guilty on Thursday. The mother of the two boys, who are now 7 and 9, testified that her husband and Cranford were friends and the family attended Faith Lutheran. She said her sons played with Cranford and he stayed overnight…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man who stabbed his girlfriend to death in a store parking lot was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison. Forty-year-old Eric Avila was sentenced Thursday for killing 35-year-old Alina Burkman at a south Wichita Kmart. He pleaded no contest in November to second-degree murder and kidnapping in the March 8 death. Wichita police said Avila and Burkman fought after being evicted from a nearby hotel. Police say Avila suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, but the wounds were apparently self-inflicted. The Wichita Eagle reports Avila’s attorney said the two loved each…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Charlie Chaplin is among the classic movie stars who will be featured during the 17th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival. The free festival takes place Feb. 22 and 23 in White Concert Hall at Washburn University in Topeka. Several short Keystone comedies produced by Max Sennett will be featured. Kansas City film historian Denise Morrison will provide introductions for the films and give an overview of the artists and the era of the silent films. Some films will be shown on 16mm film, while others may be projected digitally, due to the rarity of actual film material.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The largest wind farm ever built in Kansas is now in full commercial operation. BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas Power said Thursday the $800 million Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm generates 470 megawatts of electricity. Flat Ridge 2 is spread over a 66,000-acre site that spans parts of Harper, Barber, Kingman and Sumner counties in south-central Kansas. The companies say the farm uses 294 turbines each with the capacity to produce 1.6 megawatts, generating enough electricity to power more than 140,000 average American homes. Power generated from the facility will be exported to Missouri, Arkansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt plans to ask legislators to approve a new law he says will help prosecutors fight gang activity. The Republican attorney general and former state senator says the recommendation for a new anti-racketeering law is a product of a gang task force he assembled in 2012. The proposal would let prosecutors go after gangs for alleged patterns of criminal activity as well as single criminal acts. Schmidt says it would be another way to tackle what he calls the rising presence of street gangs in Kansas. The 2013 legislative session begins Jan. 14.