http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/index.xml News, sports and entertainment from The Kansas City Star en-us Copyright 2013Kansas City Star Politics 60 Sat, 25 May 2013 07:42:02 CDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys 1.1.fi feedback@kansascity.com (Feedback) http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254881/koch-lawyer-obama-administration.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254881/koch-lawyer-obama-administration.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 23:08 CDT The chief lawyer for Koch Industries said Friday that government targeting of conservative political groups is nothing new to the Wichita-based company. 1783550 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254574/whos-soaring-whos-floundering.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254574/whos-soaring-whos-floundering.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 16:55 CDT Here's our weekly roundup of area pols 1783554 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253696/clinton-leads-iowa-but-not-by.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253696/clinton-leads-iowa-but-not-by.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 09:27 CDT Paul, Rubio are in the hunt in the state that holds the first major presidential test 1783554 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251677/brownback-to-legislature-shut.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251677/brownback-to-legislature-shut.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 09:09 CDT Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has seen enough. In a terse, four-sentence news release Wednesday, the governor demanded that lawmakers end the 2013 session. "The Kansas Legislature has accomplished a great deal of work during the 2013 session," he said. 1783554 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251653/circo-launches-new-pac.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251653/circo-launches-new-pac.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 08:54 CDT Move could be seen as first step toward run for higher office 1783554 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249396/moran-roberts-cheer-mcconnell.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249396/moran-roberts-cheer-mcconnell.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 09:56 CDT Kansas Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts on Wednesday cheered the Air Force's decision to pick McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita as the home for new refueling tankers. The Air Force will make an official announcement later Wednesday morning after it informs the congressional delegations from the states involved of the decisions. 1783554 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254863/some-lawmakers-waive-pay-as-kansas.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254863/some-lawmakers-waive-pay-as-kansas.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 20:00 CDT Some Kansas legislators are waiving their salaries or donating the money to charity as the legislative session heads into extra days to solve the state's tax policy. 1783551 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4253042/kansas-senate-passes-plan-to-cut.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4253042/kansas-senate-passes-plan-to-cut.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 23:22 CDT The Senate voted 25-14 to pass the tax plan after failing to reach an agreement with House members over a dispute about how much of a sales tax increase should be renewed. The Senate plan keeps the state sales tax rate at 6.3 percent but would slice it on groceries to 4.95 percent. It now goes to the House, where approval is questionable. 1783551 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252180/code-pinks-medea-benjamin-interrupts.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252180/code-pinks-medea-benjamin-interrupts.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 14:14 CDT Code Pink peace activists have heckled George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney. Today, its co-founder Medea Benjamin interrupted President Barack Obama's counterterrorism speech several times before she was escorted out of National Defense University. 1783551 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250879/4-americans-killed-since-2009.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250879/4-americans-killed-since-2009.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 18:15 CDT President Barack Obama sought Thursday to advance the U.S. beyond the unrelenting war effort of the past dozen years, defining a narrowing terror threat that still imperils the nation but now is defined by smaller networks and homegrown extremists rather than the grandiose plots of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida. He defended his controversial drone-strikes program as a linchpin of the U.S. response to the evolving dangers. 1783551 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4251001/us-for-first-time-acknowledges.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4251001/us-for-first-time-acknowledges.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 19:46 CDT The Obama administration confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that four Americans have died in U.S. drone strikes since 2009, but it sought to justify the killing of only one - a senior leader of al Qaida's Yemen-based affiliate - and said nothing about the other three except to acknowledge indirectly that they'd been killed by accident. 1783551 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4255205/controversies-do-little-to-change.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4255205/controversies-do-little-to-change.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 23:02 CDT The electorate is locked into supporting or opposing the president, observers say, with little regard to ongoing events. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254701/kansas-tax-negotiators-agree-on.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254701/kansas-tax-negotiators-agree-on.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 21:22 CDT House Republicans drafted the proposal during negotiations with senators on tax issues. GOP senators accepted it so both chambers could vote on it, with the House taking it up first, possibly Tuesday. But a Senate leader doubts it can pass both chambers. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254698/looser-missouri-is-a-loser.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4254698/looser-missouri-is-a-loser.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 17:41 CDT Not only did nothing get done in the 2013 session of the Missouri General Assembly, the state actually lost ground when it comes to cleaning up its ethics. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253781/md-suspect-is-son-of-bush-white.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253781/md-suspect-is-son-of-bush-white.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 10:30 CDT The 20-year-old son of a former aide to President George W. Bush was charged in a Washington, D.C., suburb on Friday, accused by police of killing a man with a hatchet. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253907/kansas-still-looking-for-sales.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253907/kansas-still-looking-for-sales.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 12:38 CDT The Kansas Legislature will return to Topeka Tuesday to work out disputes over the state's sales tax. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253354/some-unions-now-angry-about-health.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/24/4253354/some-unions-now-angry-about-health.html#storylink=rss Fri, 24 May 2013 02:50 CDT Some labor unions that enthusiastically backed President Barack Obama's health care overhaul are now frustrated and angry, fearful that it will jeopardize benefits for millions of their members. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4253069/hickman-mills-school-board-stages.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4253069/hickman-mills-school-board-stages.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 22:55 CDT Breman Anderson Jr. is removed in a 4-3 vote after one of his allies defects. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252723/federal-judge-from-lawrence-is.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252723/federal-judge-from-lawrence-is.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 22:52 CDT With his Senate confirmation by a 97-0 vote, Sri Srinivasan will become the first South Asian federal appellate judge. And he could be bound for the U.S. Supreme Court. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252397/brownback-vetoes-bill-expanding.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252397/brownback-vetoes-bill-expanding.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 16:15 CDT A bill that would have allowed limited expansion of charity raffles was vetoed by Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252628/prosecutor-declines-case-over.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4252628/prosecutor-declines-case-over.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08 CDT The Jackson County prosecutor's office won't pursue a case against Ossco Bolton, who has refused to return the $15,000 check. The money was intended to bring Las Vegas boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Kansas City for a Dec. 8 youth mentoring event that did not take place. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251824/obama-nominates-latina-to-federal.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251824/obama-nominates-latina-to-federal.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00 CDT President Barack Obama says he will nominate Katherine Archuleta, a former top campaign aide, as director of the Office of Personnel Management. Archuleta would be the first Hispanic to direct the agency, which oversees and sets policies for the federal government's civil service workforce. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250542/publisher-sen-warren-book-coming.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250542/publisher-sen-warren-book-coming.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 16:05 CDT U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite among liberals for her forceful advocacy for consumers and criticisms of the financial industry, has a book deal. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249473/civil-engineers-issue-weak-grades.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249473/civil-engineers-issue-weak-grades.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 22:25 CDT Bridges in Kansas: D-plus. Dams in Missouri: D-minus. Overall infrastructure across both states: Does C-minus earn anyone a star? Civil engineers are tough graders. A few gathered in Kansas City on Wednesday to deliver a report card that pretty much stank. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249928/pharmacy-compounding-reform-bill.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4249928/pharmacy-compounding-reform-bill.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00 CDT A Senate committee issued a report showing that poor compounding practices have persisted even since last fall, when a meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections killed 55 people and sickened about 700. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250323/kc-ready-to-extend-red-light-cameras.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250323/kc-ready-to-extend-red-light-cameras.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 20:42 CDT The City Council's Public Safety Committee endorsed a renewal of the contract with American Traffic Solutions, the red-light camera vendor. The full council votes on the contract Thursday. 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251138/former-dc-schools-chief-still.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23/4251138/former-dc-schools-chief-still.html#storylink=rss Thu, 23 May 2013 05:43 CDT A full house crowded into the Plaza Library to debate education reform with Michelle Rhee, author of the new book "Radical." 1783552 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250943/in-a-3-am-vote-raytown-gives-green.html http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/22/4250943/in-a-3-am-vote-raytown-gives-green.html#storylink=rss Wed, 22 May 2013 20:39 CDT A proposal to relax some downtown design standards to accommodate a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market had sharply divided the city. The Board of Aldermen approved the zoning change 6-4 after a long meeting. 1783552