Shadows of dishonor cast on the U.S. military

The military, ranked as America's most trusted institution by its citizens but strained by 11 years of war, faces a troubling confluence: acts of mayhem, a growing sexual abuse scandal, a flurry of other misconduct cases. “We’re seeing a strain on an institution,” one expert says.

Slain UMKC vocalist is honored at commencement

Aaron Markarian was killed this spring before he got a chance to walk with his graduating class at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. On Saturday, the school named a scholarship in his honor.

Hearts broken over girl killed in Cass County wreck

One day after Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday on May 8, she picked up her Missouri driver’s license. One week later, she died in a traffic accident. The Harrisonville High School freshman, an honor roll student and Future Farmers of America competitor, was driving alone on Thursday afternoon, only 100 yards from her house.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is busy behind the scenes

Jay Nixon is a hands-off governor. That’s the word in the statehouse. He’s out of sight, disconnected, a distant presence rather than a dominating force, Republicans and more than a few Democrats say. But six hours spent with the two-term governor just two days before final adjournment revealed a chief executive anything but disengaged.

The Kansas death penalty has cobwebs

It may be weeks before Kansans know if prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Kyle Flack, accused of killing four people in Franklin County this spring. It will take far longer — 10 years or more — before anyone in the state is actually put to death for a crime. And that time gap, advocates on both sides of the death penalty debate say, suggests the state remains deeply uneasy about the punishment — an ambivalence that muddies its value.

Many reports about priest preceded boy’s suicide, parents say

The motion, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, is packed with excerpts from depositions of dozens of witnesses — including priests and nuns — and an affidavit from a former school board member at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School, who said she complained about Monsignor Thomas O’Brien’s alleged inappropriate behavior to a former bishop, then resigned and pulled her son from the school in the 1980s because nothing was done about it.

Group launches petition drive opposing KCI overhaul

Opponents of a new terminal at KCI Airport are launching an initiative petition drive to press their cause. They hope to place a measure on a city ballot saying that the city can’t build a new airport terminal without a public vote.

Father of slain Ottawa toddler grieves in a Missouri jail

It's only about 200 miles along curvy highways and country roads from Lebanon, Mo., to Ottawa, Kan., where in a few hours, visitation services would begin for Shawn Patrick Bailey's 18-month-old daughter and estranged wife, victims of a quadruple homicide discovered last week in Ottawa.

Kansas City diocese settles lawsuit involving Ratigan photos

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court against the diocese, Bishop Robert Finn and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan by the parents of a young northern Missouri girl, was settled for $600,000, attorneys for the girl’s family said. It is the diocese’s largest settlement in a single priest sex abuse case, they said.

I-70 upgrade in Missouri might take the scenic route to ballot

The bill is one Senate roll call away from the November 2014 ballot. But with only two days left before the end of the legislative session, a filibuster has put its chances in doubt. If supporters of the bill — primarily construction companies and organized labor — truly want to raise the sales tax, Republican Sen. John Lamping said, they can put the question on the ballot themselves.

Blue Summit couple is accused of locking girl in basement, denying her use of bathroom

Jackson County prosecutors charged Timothy A. Phillips, 30, and Lacey A. Chaney, 27, each with first-degree child endangerment, abuse or neglect of a child and felonious restraint. The 9-year-old girl told authorities that she had been locked in the basement, with little food or water, as punishment for a school suspension. She had been denied use of the bathroom because she had allegedly infected her father’s girlfriend with a rash.

Possible Kansas tax compromise in the works

A simmering standoff between the Kansas House and Senate over taxes cooled Wednesday amid a compromise extending part of a controversial addition to the state’s sales tax. House negotiators offered to extend three-tenths of a penny sales tax that was approved in 2010 to help the state limp through a recession-driven dip in revenues.

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