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SRS chief target of group WICHITA -- A national child protection organization on today demanded the resignation of the head of the Kansas child welfare agency after he backed off a secretly recorded statement in which he accused prosecutors of bullying his caseworkers into including things they do not believe in sworn affidavits
SRS chief target of group WICHITA -- A national child protection organization on today demanded the resignation of the head of the Kansas child welfare agency after he backed off a secretly recorded statement in which he accused prosecutors of bullying his caseworkers into including things they do not believe in sworn affidavits. Don Jordan, secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, wrote in an opinion column p...
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Demand for local produce increases
LAWRENCE (AP) -- Kevin Irick doesn't envision fertile soil, nourishing water and bountiful sunlight to know his business is growing. The farmer northeast of Lawrence simply looks at his increasing number of plants, compounding financial returns and -- perhaps most important for the future -- rising number of customers to understand that he's onto something. Growing and selling local is the way to go. "From what I started with, to what I have ...
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Gasp!Royals use power to beat Cardinals again
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- For the second straight night, the Kansas City Royals leaned on the long ball to reward their starting pitcher. This time, Brian Bannister was the beneficiary. David DeJesus and Alex Gordon homered for the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning Wednesday, helping Bannister and the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. In the series opener, Mike Aviles' eighth-inning homer made a winner out of Kyle Davies. "It's a pr...
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Conservative Anglicans meet Less than a month ahead of a global gathering of Anglican leaders, conservative bishops angry about the liberalism of churches in the United States, Canada and elsewhere are meeting for a strategy summit in Jordan and Israel
Conservative Anglicans meet Less than a month ahead of a global gathering of Anglican leaders, conservative bishops angry about the liberalism of churches in the United States, Canada and elsewhere are meeting for a strategy summit in Jordan and Israel. Organizers of the Global Anglican Future Conference say they will not formally break with the 77 million-member Anglican family when the meeting ends June 29. Even so, the gathering is a clear...
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Boston Baked
BOSTON (AP) -- With Russell and Havlicek sitting courtside Tuesday night, and Red surely lighting up a victory cigar somewhere, these Boston Celtics returned to glory like the great teams before them. Dominant in every way. On a new parquet floor below aging championship banners hung in the rafters two decades back, the Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one -- at last -- for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen -- their Big Thr...
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Fort honors a soldier
TOPEKA (AP) -- The Army will honor a former Fort Riley sergeant this weekend for his valor in combat during action in Iraq that claimed the life of two of his fellow soldiers. Sgt. 1st Class William K. Beaver will be presented with the Silver Star, the Army's third-highest honor for combat valor, during a ceremony at Fort Riley. He also will be reunited with other members of his military adviser team. In January, the advisers were attacked by...
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Wachovia, WaMu executives have a shakeup
NEW YORK -- Wachovia's CEO gets fired, while Washington Mutual's top executive is stripped of his chairman's title. And guess what? Investors don't feel any better about either company's prospects. Nor should they. The boards at both companies don't deserve applause; both moves should have happened sooner. Wachovia's Ken Thompson and WaMu's Kerry Killinger allowed both companies to take on unacceptable amounts of mortgage-related risk, and th...
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WICHITA -- A federal judge is delaying the evidentiary hearing for a Kansas nurse accused of running a "pill mill" with her husband
Judge grants delay WICHITA -- A federal judge is delaying the evidentiary hearing for a Kansas nurse accused of running a "pill mill" with her husband. Prosecutors are seeking the continued detention of nurse Linda Schneider. Today, Magistrate Judge Donald Bostwick granted a defense request for an extension of a hearing on prosecutors' claims that she is a flight risk. That hearing is now set for July 17. The hearing had been set for Thursday...
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Davies stymies Cards in I-70 series
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Two players who were minor league teammates until late last month gave the lowly Kansas City Royals' another dose of interleague success Tuesday night. Mike Aviles homered to snap an eighth-inning tie and Kyle Davies worked seven sharp innings in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. "We have a good group of veteran guys and young guys here," Aviles said. "It makes for a good environment. Right now our record doesn't s...
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Troops kill 36 Taliban ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan -- Afghan and Canadian forces moved into villages outside Kandahar today to root out Taliban militants, killing at least 36 insurgents, while an explosion elsewhere killed four British soldiers, officials said
Troops kill 36 Taliban ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan -- Afghan and Canadian forces moved into villages outside Kandahar today to root out Taliban militants, killing at least 36 insurgents, while an explosion elsewhere killed four British soldiers, officials said. Troops in Arghandab district just outside of Kandahar, southern Afghanistan's largest city, exchanged fire with militants during "a few minor contacts," NATO spokesman Mark Laity said. ...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spot nonferrous metal prices today. Aluminum -$1.3775 per lb., N.Y. Merc spot Tue. Copper -$3.7185 Cathode full plate, U.S. destinations. Copper $3.6585 N.Y. Merc spot Tue. Lead - $1826.00 metric ton, London Metal Exch. Zinc - $0.8649 per lb., delivered. Gold - $887.50 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Gold - $884.30 troy oz., NY Merc spot Tue. Silver - $17.250 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Silver - $1...
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Beasley makes his case to be No. 1
DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Michael Beasley kept drifting away from the podium, and he couldn't help but notice people at the hotel next door peeking through the fence to catch a glimpse of the player the Chicago Bulls could draft No. 1. "Man, I got people behind the fence, too?" he said. All eyes were on Beasley when he visited the Bulls' practice facility Tuesday, and Derrick Rose figures to get the same treatment this week. Holding the first p...
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Exhibit provides insights into human body
WICHITA (AP) -- "How can anyone not believe in God?" "Sometimes I wanted to throw up but very interesting." "An in-your-face call to get healthy, for sure!" "Makes me think of the abortion debate in a new way." "Morbid & amazing!" "OMG is that really me!" Such were some of the responses people wrote in a guest book after seeing "Our Body: The Universe Within" on its quiet recent opening day at Exploration Place in Wichita. "Actual...
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Judge rules against Collins
LAWRENCE (AP) -- A judge has ruled in favor of a woman who filed a lawsuit against Kansas basketball player Sherron Collins concerning an assault she said took place in an elevator. Douglas County District Court Judge Jack Murphy signed a journal entry in the case Monday granting judgment for damages in excess of $75,000 to Jessica J. Brown. Murphy ruled in Brown's favor because Collins had failed to file a legal response to the lawsuit since...
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School nurses accept challenges and embrace the rewards of jobs
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Last year, the work involved more than 60,000 visits by patients, plus almost 16,000 medications distributed -- not to mention 5,112 vision screenings, 5,537 hearing screenings, 469 asthma screenings and 4,086 dental screenings. Garden City's 14 public school nurses kept busy last school year -- as they do every year -- in an unpredictable job that requires a lot of multitasking, according to USD 457 Health Services ...
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TigeredgesMediate in sudden death
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- He worked overtime and when that wasn't enough, he worked a little more. This U.S. Open playoff was anything but the blowout it could have been, and when Tiger Woods adds them all up at the end of his remarkable career, the championship he won Monday might be the sweetest of all. Definitely the most painful. An 18-hole playoff wasn't enough to decide a champion, so Woods and the unflappable Rocco Mediate went one more hole, ...
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Literacy coach has made a difference
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) -- When Matthew Panuco started the fifth grade last fall, he was having trouble reading. So he started going to the CSI Literacy Camp twice a week. The camp, created by literacy coach Donna Manz, helped Matthew with his reading, writing and vocabulary. "The camp really helped me to read more, because at first I didn't read very well," he said. "I feel more prepared for the sixth grade now, and I love reading, especially...
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Harvester itineraries include some lengthy trips throughout the Midwest
ALDEN (AP) -- Alex Mazur has longed for adventure on the Great Plains of America. His eyes flicker with excitement, like a boy with a new bicycle, as he looks up at a large combine at the shop located in the middle of Alden -- thousands of miles from his native Scotland. "It's a love of these big-boys toys," the 20-year-old said with a grin. "I can't wait to get started." He heeded the call and joined a wheat harvesting crew that will make it...
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Survival of Flint Hills rests with burning, grazing
COTTONWOOD FALLS (AP) -- It's been called the "vast grassland empire" -- an expanse of rolling prairie, blackened in the spring by burning, brightened by green growth after the fire and aged to a rusty tan by autumn. The Flint Hills -- chiseled from sandstone, limestone and shale by the wind and water nearly 200 million years ago -- is an area from 30 to 50 miles wide stretching from Marshall County near the Nebraska border into Oklahoma, w...
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Teams gauge storm damage TOPEKA -- State and federal damage assessment teams are beginning preliminary review of the destruction caused by last week's tornadoes
Teams gauge storm damage TOPEKA -- State and federal damage assessment teams are beginning preliminary review of the destruction caused by last week's tornadoes. Teams are touring the Chapman and Manhattan areas, along with other communities hit by recent storms. Several state agencies have representatives in the area, including social services, health and transportation crews. A curfew remains in effect in Chapman from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily...
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