http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/index.xml News, sports and entertainment from The Kansas City Star en-us Copyright 2012Kansas City Star Breaking News 60 Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:58:25 CST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys 1.1.fi feedback@kansascity.com (Feedback) http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422079/murder-suspect-wants-gps-obtained.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422079/murder-suspect-wants-gps-obtained.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST It will be at least next week before Northland murder defendant Shon A. Pernice finds out whether prosecutors can use GPS evidence collected after his wife disappeared three years ago. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422073/man-on-bicycle-charged-in-attempted.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422073/man-on-bicycle-charged-in-attempted.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A Kansas City man charged with trying to rob a Topeka credit union on Thursday was riding a bicycle. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422063/proposed-kansas-abortion-ban-blocked.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422063/proposed-kansas-abortion-ban-blocked.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA, | An influential anti-abortion legislator is blocking the push for a ban on abortion in the Kansas Constitution, highlighting a split among abortion opponents over tactics and frustrating the group advocating the "personhood" proposal Friday. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3116897/kctv-5-weather.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3116897/kctv-5-weather.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:40 CST Sunny, cold weekend with highs Saturday in the 20s and overnight lows in the single digits. Warmer Sunday with highs near freezing. Chance of snow Sunday night and Monday. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422042/leader-is-out-after-11-years-at.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422042/leader-is-out-after-11-years-at.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST After 11 years in office, Phil Roberts is no longer president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422008/teenage-girl-shot-in-lees-summit.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422008/teenage-girl-shot-in-lees-summit.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A gathering of teenage girls in Lee's Summit turned perilous Friday when one of them was shot with a handgun, apparently by accident. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421931/kc-man-found-guilty-in-assault.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421931/kc-man-found-guilty-in-assault.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A 32-year-old man who fought six Kansas City police officers and turned a sergeant's stun gun against three officers pleaded guilty this week to five city ordinance violations. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419714/kansas-man-accused-of-poaching.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419714/kansas-man-accused-of-poaching.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A Topeka man has been charged with poaching a deer that could have broken a state record that's stood for more than 35 years, according to Mike Miller, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism information chief. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421924/grain-valley-teacher-had-been.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421924/grain-valley-teacher-had-been.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST In a letter released Thursday, Grain Valley School District officials said a "concern" first was brought to their attention in 2008 regarding a teacher arrested last month on alleged child sexual abuse offenses. 1312538 http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/house-leadership-details-tax-plan/ http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/house-leadership-details-tax-plan/#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:53 CST Leadership of the Kansas House today released details of a plan that lowers tax rates while preserving many credits and deductions in an attempt to better help the poor and the working class. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422105/tour-guide-at-st-louis-museum.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422105/tour-guide-at-st-louis-museum.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST James H. Strassner worked at the Museum of Transportation in west St. Louis County for nine years, leading tours and sharing the history of America's planes, trains and automobiles with countless visitors. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421866/pletzs-death-was-suicide-coroner.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421866/pletzs-death-was-suicide-coroner.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The death of former medical school president and civic leader Karen Pletz has been ruled a suicide, a Florida county medical examiner said Friday. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421834/man-severely-beaten-at-kc-homeless.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421834/man-severely-beaten-at-kc-homeless.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Jackson County prosecutors on Friday accused three homeless people of severely beating a 52-year-old homeless man early Thursday, breaking his nose, orbital bone, rib and wrist. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421809/assault-case-against-kc-mayors.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421809/assault-case-against-kc-mayors.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A judge in Kansas City Municipal Court on Friday dismissed an assault case against the Kansas City mayor's adult son, who was accused of punching a woman outside a nightclub in August. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421508/hudler-physioc-join-royals-broadcast.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421508/hudler-physioc-join-royals-broadcast.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Fox Sports Kansas City announced a major shakeup Friday in its Royals' broadcast crew that reunites former Angels announcers Rex Hudler and Steve Physioc while reducing duties for Ryan Lefebvre. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421744/lamb-former-fill-in-leader-at.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421744/lamb-former-fill-in-leader-at.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST When Gordon Lamb stepped up to lead the University of Missouri System as interim president in 2007, he said he would not simply warm the chair, but make a difference. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421302/kan-supreme-court-affirms-verdict.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421302/kan-supreme-court-affirms-verdict.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:33 CST The state's highest court has upheld the capital murder and aggravated kidnapping convictions of a Wichita man paid to kill a pregnant 14-year-old girl. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421450/judge-lawrence-sidewalk-ordinance.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421450/judge-lawrence-sidewalk-ordinance.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Parts of a Lawrence city ordinance that prohibits blocking sidewalks are unconstitutional, a municipal court judge ruled in the trial of a mentally ill man who was arrested after being accused of blocking downtown streets three times last year. 1312538 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=132055061 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=132055061#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:20 CST The 2012 Governor's Joplin Habitat Challenge partners with the Chiefs, Royals and Kansas Speedway in building 35 new homes for those still in temporary housing in Joplin. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421209/star-wins-sweepstakes-award.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421209/star-wins-sweepstakes-award.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The Kansas City Star has won several first-place awards in the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors newswriting and photo competition, including the sweepstakes award for photojournalism. 1312538 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=132037541 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=132037541#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:52 CST A Raytown mother of three and grandmother of six said she called an accountant after she discovered she had won $1 million richer. She plans an extra nice Christmas for her family. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419811/euro-ministers-question-deal-to.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419811/euro-ministers-question-deal-to.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46 CST Greece's future in the eurozone grew increasingly precarious Friday as violence erupted on the streets of Athens and dissent grew among its lawmakers after European leaders demanded deeper spending cuts. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420824/crashes-on-i-435-create-messes.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420824/crashes-on-i-435-create-messes.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Crashes involving multiple vehicles along the Interstate 435 loop in Kansas City this morning created problems for commuters. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420899/flu-cases-on-the-increase-in-st.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420899/flu-cases-on-the-increase-in-st.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST It is the peak of the flu season, and the number of cases is on the rise in the St. Louis area. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420781/court-finds-kansan-competent-for.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420781/court-finds-kansan-competent-for.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A federal judge has found a Kansas man competent to stand trial on charges of threatening the president of the United States. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420610/mccaskill-introducing-line-item.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420610/mccaskill-introducing-line-item.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00 CST WASHINGTON | Sen. Claire McCaskill plans on Friday to introduce a companion bill to legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would give President Barack Obama - and future presidents - line-item veto power. 1312538 http://joco913.com/news/apartment-explosion-in-overland-park/ http://joco913.com/news/apartment-explosion-in-overland-park/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST An apparent explosion and fire in an Overland Park apartment complex Thursday night sent one man to a hospital but in good condition. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420091/kansas-abortion-hearing-gets-testy.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420091/kansas-abortion-hearing-gets-testy.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A Kansas abortion debate turned nasty Thursday when the leader of a women's group pulled out a rubber stamp and accused a House panel of routinely approving bills restricting the procedure. 1312538 http://joco913.com/news/joco-library-board-wants-to-keep-all-branches-open-despite-budget-cuts/ http://joco913.com/news/joco-library-board-wants-to-keep-all-branches-open-despite-budget-cuts/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The Johnson County Library system's latest budget reduction scenario for 2013 and 2014 no longer has three libraries on the chopping block. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420421/two-area-schools-on-princeton.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420421/two-area-schools-on-princeton.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of Kansas are on this year's list of Princeton Review Best Value schools. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420417/former-university-of-missouri.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420417/former-university-of-missouri.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A man who served as an interim chancellor of the University of Missouri system and its Kansas City campus has died. 1312538 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=131990411 http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=131990411#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:37 CST Raytown police are still on the lookout for a burglar who got quite a scare this morning when the homeowner decided to fight back. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420152/governor-tolls-on-i-70-in-missouri.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420152/governor-tolls-on-i-70-in-missouri.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that before any toll booths could open on Interstate 70, voters first should agree to the idea. The governor did not say whether he supports putting tolls on one of the state's most important highways. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420136/nixon-proposes-grants-for-fast.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420136/nixon-proposes-grants-for-fast.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon likes a fledgling program at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg so much that he wants to offer it statewide. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420076/three-women-plead-guilty-to-hacking.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420076/three-women-plead-guilty-to-hacking.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A Gladstone woman on Thursday became the third area woman to plead guilty to a scheme of identity theft affecting hundreds of people to make Internet purchases. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419271/kansas-homeowners-eligible-for.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419271/kansas-homeowners-eligible-for.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Kansans are expected to receive about $50 million as the state's share of a $25 billion deal with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses after the housing bubble burst. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420093/supporters-of-missouri-sales-tax.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420093/supporters-of-missouri-sales-tax.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | A group wanting to replace Missouri's income tax with a higher and broader sales tax said Thursday that it is committed to getting the initiative on the November ballot, but declined to say how many millions of dollars it is willing to spend to try to persuade voters to support it. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420041/kansas-public-employees-work-against.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420041/kansas-public-employees-work-against.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | Teachers, other school workers and public employee groups tried Thursday to build pressure on legislators to abandon a proposal to create a 401(k)-style pension plan for new school and government hires. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420023/online-teacher-rating-proposal.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420023/online-teacher-rating-proposal.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | A proposal from Gov. Sam Brownback to post teacher evaluations on school district websites was removed Thursday from a House education bill after it sparked outrage. 1312538 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422466/marine-honored-for-afghanistan.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422466/marine-honored-for-afghanistan.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:28 CST A Marine based out of Camp Pendleton was awarded the Silver Star on Friday for courageous service during a bloody, six-hour firefight in the war in Afghanistan. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422617/romney-looks-to-end-losing-streak.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422617/romney-looks-to-end-losing-streak.html#storylink=rss Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:38 CST The Maine caucuses come at a critical time for Mitt Romney. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422598/police-3-found-dead-in-wash-home.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422598/police-3-found-dead-in-wash-home.html#storylink=rss Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:18 CST Police were searching for the person responsible for the deaths of a woman and two children whose bodies were found in a home in north Spokane, authorities said Saturday. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422074/apnewsbreak-satellite-spots-tanks.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422074/apnewsbreak-satellite-spots-tanks.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:33 CST Satellite image provider DigitalGlobe Inc. released photos Friday that appear to show Syrian army tanks and other armored vehicles in the city of Homs. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421941/under-fire-obama-adjusts-his-birth.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421941/under-fire-obama-adjusts-his-birth.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:18 CST Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421754/fla-sheriff-3-dead-after-rv-park.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421754/fla-sheriff-3-dead-after-rv-park.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:08 CST Authorities say three people are dead and two critically injured after a hostage standoff at a quiet Florida recreational vehicle park. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420969/apnewsbreak-audit-finds-issues.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420969/apnewsbreak-audit-finds-issues.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:36 CST Facing pressure to bring in more students as North Dakota's booming oil industry made it tougher to coax new high school graduates into college, Dickinson State University began looking overseas to boost its enrollment. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421756/nh-14-year-old-shoots-self-in.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421756/nh-14-year-old-shoots-self-in.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:13 CST A 14-year-old shot himself in the face in a New Hampshire elementary school cafeteria filled with dozens of students eating lunch, officials said Friday. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420618/gop-candidates-in-conn-primary.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420618/gop-candidates-in-conn-primary.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:01 CST Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and state Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola will be announcing which Republican candidates can participate in Connecticut's presidential primary. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421211/mentally-challenged-teen-rescued.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421211/mentally-challenged-teen-rescued.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:28 CST A missing, mentally challenged teenager was rescued and a woman was charged with false imprisonment after she befriended the girl and taunted her mother with text messages giving phony information on the girl's whereabouts, investigators said. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421801/argentina-uk-sent-nuclear-sub.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421801/argentina-uk-sent-nuclear-sub.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:38 CST Argentina said Friday it has information that Britain sent a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic near the disputed Falkland Islands in the latest verbal salvo in a dispute over the territory. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422080/obama-budget-projects-13-trillion.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422080/obama-budget-projects-13-trillion.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00 CST President Barack Obama expects the federal budget deficit to reach $1.33 trillion this year, administration officials said Friday evening, the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420996/report-teacher-in-la-molest-case.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420996/report-teacher-in-la-molest-case.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:51 CST The decision to pay $40,000 to a former third-grade teacher who has been charged with committing lewd acts on students was the most immediate way to guarantee he would not be a threat to any other student, school officials said Friday. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421749/ginsburg-questions-1973-abortion.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421749/ginsburg-questions-1973-abortion.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:03 CST Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested Friday that her predecessors on the high court mistimed the milestone 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422047/comedians-byu-black-history-video.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422047/comedians-byu-black-history-video.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:28 CST A YouTube video of a white comedian who painted his face black and quizzed Brigham Young University students about Black History Month has brought some unwanted attention to the Mormon-run school. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420844/this-week-in-the-civil-war.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420844/this-week-in-the-civil-war.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:01 CST ----- 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421642/2008-edwards-campaign-defends.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421642/2008-edwards-campaign-defends.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:20 CST A lawyer for John Edwards is defending recent spending by his 2008 presidential primary campaign, saying the expenses were related to last year's criminal probe of the former North Carolina senator and an ongoing federal audit. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421967/santorum-opposes-allowing-women.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421967/santorum-opposes-allowing-women.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:28 CST Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says he thinks it would be wrong to allow women to serve in combat. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420701/national-archives-shows-benjamin.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420701/national-archives-shows-benjamin.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:16 CST Documents from the National Archives are going on view to explore the life of Benjamin Franklin as a scientist, diplomat, philanthropist and founding father. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421448/congressman-asks-for-delay-in.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421448/congressman-asks-for-delay-in.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:45 CST A Virginia congressman asked a federal panel Friday to reject a design for a memorial honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, saying the World War II general's family objects to it. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421916/justice-department-calls-swiss.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421916/justice-department-calls-swiss.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:48 CST The U.S. Justice Department called Switzerland's largest private bank a fugitive from justice on Friday after it didn't send any representatives to a court hearing in New York, where it has been charged with conspired with American clients to hide $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420664/foreign-donations-at-risk-in-super.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420664/foreign-donations-at-risk-in-super.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:11 CST Money pouring into the presidential election from super political action committees appears so far to be strictly American, donated by U.S. companies, unions and millionaires. But U.S. officials and tax law experts warn the growth of super PACs has made conditions ripe for illegal foreign donations. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421288/court-hears-appeal-for-woman-who.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421288/court-hears-appeal-for-woman-who.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:08 CST Lawyers for a Pakistani scientist serving an 86 year prison sentence for shooting at U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan told an appeals court Friday that she was so mentally ill, she should have been barred from testifying at her own trial. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421848/schoolgirls-excluded-from-dallas.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421848/schoolgirls-excluded-from-dallas.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:13 CST When 5,700 fifth-grade boys in Dallas' public schools recently went to see a movie about black fighter pilots in World War II, the girls stayed in school and saw a different movie instead. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422169/woman-pleads-guilty-in-ny-newborn.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422169/woman-pleads-guilty-in-ny-newborn.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:43 CST A woman who snatched a newborn baby from a New York City hospital in 1987, then raised the child as her own for more than two decades, pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge Friday as the girl's true mother wept in the courtroom. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421076/3-senators-introduce-a-bill-for.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421076/3-senators-introduce-a-bill-for.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:46 CST Three Democratic New York state senators want an independent inspector to oversee the New York Police Department after what they called several abuses, including reports of widespread surveillance of Muslims and the crackdown on Occupy Wall Street protesters. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421757/obama-holds-private-fundraiser.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421757/obama-holds-private-fundraiser.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:08 CST President Barack Obama is raising money for his re-election campaign from a small group of wealthy donors who each paid $35,800 to meet with him at a hotel near the White House. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422072/ill-sen-mark-kirk-moved-to-stroke.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422072/ill-sen-mark-kirk-moved-to-stroke.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:28 CST Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has left the Chicago hospital where he was treated after his stroke last month and has been transferred to a rehabilitation center. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420983/more-than-70-pets-rescued-from.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420983/more-than-70-pets-rescued-from.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:46 CST Several dozen animals have found temporary shelter after Ohio firefighters rescued at least 60 pets from a house fire in a Cincinnati suburb. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421708/fbi-restores-conn-crime-labs-access.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421708/fbi-restores-conn-crime-labs-access.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:50 CST The FBI has restored a Connecticut crime lab's access to national DNA databanks. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422005/fight-breaks-out-at-a-funeral.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422005/fight-breaks-out-at-a-funeral.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:48 CST A fight broke out during a funeral at a Phoenix church after a friend of the departed punched a man who had reportedly been fighting with the deceased before he died. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420756/conn-officer-seeks-dismissal-of.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420756/conn-officer-seeks-dismissal-of.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:31 CST One of four Connecticut police officers accused of abusing and harassing Latinos is asking a federal judge to dismiss the charges because of the publicity the case has received. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421476/calif-officer-gets-prison-in-assaults.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421476/calif-officer-gets-prison-in-assaults.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00 CST To the young women who got into trouble partying in San Diego's popular downtown Gaslamp Quarter, officer Anthony Arevalos offered a way out: In return for sex, he would look the other way on traffic infractions. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421927/dispatcher-on-powell-call-case.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421927/dispatcher-on-powell-call-case.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:03 CST The dispatcher who took a much-criticized 911 call from a social worker trying to alert authorities to danger at Josh Powell's house before he killed himself and his children says the case has been "a nightmare." 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420680/obama-call-for-manufacturing-revival.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420680/obama-call-for-manufacturing-revival.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:51 CST President Barack Obama is making a strong election-year push for an economic revival "built on American manufacturing." But he faces an uphill slog, with little consensus even within his own party on how to do it. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421372/ag-pa-mans-facebook-surfer-page.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421372/ag-pa-mans-facebook-surfer-page.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:43 CST A married father used phony Facebook profiles to pose as two different Florida surfers to solicit sexually graphic messages and photos from seven teenage girls in western Pennsylvania, and two of the girls eventually agreed to meet for sex with the surfers' middle-aged "friend" - yet another fake persona he used, the state attorney general said Friday. 1312544 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422289/extradition-sought-for-fast-eddie.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422289/extradition-sought-for-fast-eddie.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST British police announced Friday they have begun the process of seeking the extradition of a man arrested Wednesday in Missouri, a suspect in a $1.6 million robbery in 1993. 1312535 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422624/the-nations-weather.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422624/the-nations-weather.html#storylink=rss Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:53 CST Weather Underground Forecast for Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421667/qa-obama-and-the-birth-control.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421667/qa-obama-and-the-birth-control.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:35 CST What birth control debate? A half-century after the introduction of the pill, acceptance of birth control by American women is virtually universal. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422607/for-romney-a-new-strategy-after.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/11/3422607/for-romney-a-new-strategy-after.html#storylink=rss Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:03 CST Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is casting himself as a strict conservative as he looks to reset his campaign following three losses to rival Rick Santorum. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420629/embalmer-takes-speech-case-to.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420629/embalmer-takes-speech-case-to.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:11 CST Troy Schoeller admits he could have chosen his words more carefully when he talked to a reporter about bodies he worked on as an embalmer at a funeral home. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421225/santorum-amplifies-faith-in-way.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421225/santorum-amplifies-faith-in-way.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:38 CST Rick Santorum stirs his ever-growing crowds when he promises to right a country awash in "immoral debt" and to replace an administration he argues has "callousness toward life and family and faith." 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421840/comforter-in-powell-unit-tested.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421840/comforter-in-powell-unit-tested.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:08 CST Police in Washington state who searched a storage unit rented by Josh Powell found a stained comforter that tested positive for blood in initial exams, according to documents filed in court Friday. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422106/coroner-in-ohio-changes-ruling.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422106/coroner-in-ohio-changes-ruling.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:58 CST A coroner in southeast Ohio has changed the ruling in the 1972 death of a woman after her widower killed three relatives and himself last month in front of his cancer-stricken second wife - the first wife's sister. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421016/high-court-asked-to-undo-mont.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421016/high-court-asked-to-undo-mont.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:01 CST Corporations are asking the Supreme Court to allow them to spend freely to influence upcoming elections in Montana, despite a state high court ruling upholding a ban on independent corporate campaign spending. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422061/pelosi-says-5-states-will-lift.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422061/pelosi-says-5-states-will-lift.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:53 CST House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predicts that five large states will put Democrats in striking distance of gaining control of the House after the November elections. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421651/navy-names-ship-for-former-congresswoman.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421651/navy-names-ship-for-former-congresswoman.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:30 CST Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in an assassination attempt 13 months ago, returned to Washington Friday for double honors. The Navy named a ship after her and she saw President Barack Obama sign the last piece of legislation she authored into law. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421974/social-issues-rule-busy-day-in.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421974/social-issues-rule-busy-day-in.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:33 CST President Barack Obama's political shifting over contraception coverage has united conservative Republicans in protest even as they split over which GOP presidential hopeful should face him in the general election. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420745/5-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420745/5-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:06 CST Five people were killed early Friday when a driver going the wrong way crashed into another vehicle on Interstate 10 outside New Orleans, closing the westbound lanes for nearly five hours, state police said. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421458/romney-tries-to-woo-skeptical.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421458/romney-tries-to-woo-skeptical.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:50 CST Mitt Romney says he has a "severely conservative" record as he looks to win over voters who favored his rivals in recent contests. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421925/serial-killers-tip-leads-to-remains.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421925/serial-killers-tip-leads-to-remains.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:03 CST A death row inmate has led authorities to an area of Northern California believed to be the burial sites of two victims of the notorious "Speed Freak Killers," as searchers focused Saturday on an abandoned well for any additional remains. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420668/foreign-donations-at-risk-in-super.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420668/foreign-donations-at-risk-in-super.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:21 CST Money pouring into the presidential election from super political action committees and nonprofit campaign groups appears so far to be strictly American in origin, donated by U.S. companies, unions and millionaires. But it's easier than ever to conceal the source of money and the identities of contributors, making conditions ripe for illegal donations from foreigners, overseas companies or governments attempting to help a favored candidate for the White House. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421299/8-school-workers-on-leave-during.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421299/8-school-workers-on-leave-during.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:18 CST Eight school district employees were placed on leave during an investigation of their handling of allegations that a special education teacher kicked and slapped students. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421887/hackers-claim-attack-on-ala-government.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421887/hackers-claim-attack-on-ala-government.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:23 CST Computer hackers claiming to be from the loose-knit group known as Anonymous say they have broken into several Alabama law enforcement and government websites and have stolen the personal information for more than 46,000 people. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420605/dad-of-nyc-subway-bomb-plotter.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420605/dad-of-nyc-subway-bomb-plotter.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:31 CST The father of an admitted terrorist was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison Friday after he was convicted of destroying evidence and lying to investigators to cover up his son's plot to attack the New York City subways in 2009 as one of a trio of suicide bombers. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421094/obama-signs-giffords-final-bill.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421094/obama-signs-giffords-final-bill.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:56 CST President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a final bill authored by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in an Arizona shooting rampage a year ago. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421800/ap-sources-us-says-syrian-elite.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421800/ap-sources-us-says-syrian-elite.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:38 CST The Obama administration says it is seeing growing signs that the Syrian elite, including people close to President Bashar Assad, are increasingly worried and beginning to prepare exit plans. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422077/obama-budget-projects-13-trillion.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422077/obama-budget-projects-13-trillion.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:24 CST President Barack Obama expects the federal budget deficit to reach $1.33 trillion this year, administration officials said Friday evening, the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420985/romney-aides-to-speak-at-super.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420985/romney-aides-to-speak-at-super.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:46 CST Senior campaign aides to Republican Mitt Romney will begin appearing at fundraising events for an independent political group supporting his White House run, officials said Friday. The decision comes days after President Barack Obama gave his campaign the OK to do the same. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421747/park-service-to-remove-inscription.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421747/park-service-to-remove-inscription.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:03 CST The National Park Service announced plans Friday to remove an inscription from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and replace it with a full quotation from the civil rights leader - a move the memorial project's architect said would "destroy" the monument. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422029/us-to-raise-human-rights-when.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422029/us-to-raise-human-rights-when.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:03 CST The White House said Friday it won't recoil from raising grave human rights concerns during a getting-acquainted visit next week by China's likely future leader. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420782/coroner-examined-late-philadelphia.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420782/coroner-examined-late-philadelphia.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:51 CST The child-molestation scandal in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has taken a mysterious new turn, with prosecutors asking a coroner to examine the body of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua to establish whether he died of natural causes. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421493/border-officials-pilot-program.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421493/border-officials-pilot-program.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:05 CST Federal officials say a pilot program designed to make it quicker for pedestrians to enter the U.S. from Mexico has reduced wait times by 26 percent at a West Texas crossing. 1312536 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421966/conservative-activists-are-revved.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3421966/conservative-activists-are-revved.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00 CST Conservatives are fired up, convinced that this will be a big year, but they worry that Mitt Romney will make their task harder. 1312536