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Celebrities
Judge orders Redmond O’Neal into detox LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has ordered the 23-year-old son of actor Ryan O’Neal back to rehab weeks after he and his father were arrested on suspicion of drug possession. Redmond O’Neal appeared in a Malibu courtroom Wednesday on a probation violation for a previous drug conviction. Judge Scott Millington ordered O’Neal into a two-week detox program after he admitted he had relapsed, court records show. ...
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Report dampens optimism over Kansas corn harvest
Roxana Hegeman Associated Press Writer WICHITA (AP) — The state’s corn harvest for this year may not break any records as once anticipated, but it’s still likely to be most bountiful crop produced in Kansas this season, a new report shows. The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that corn production in the state is now expected to be 6 percent lower than last month’s forecast. The new estimate of 493.2 million bushels i...
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Atheist soldier drops lawsuit against defense secretary
John Milburn Associated Press Writer TOPEKA (AP) — One of two atheist soldiers at Fort Riley who sued U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates over alleged violations of religious freedoms has dropped his case. Attorneys for Pfc. Jeremy Hall and his co-plaintiff, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, filed notice Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., dismissing the lawsuit. Hall plans to leave the Army next spring, and foun...
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Man pleads guilty in home loan scheme
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man pleads guilty to a scheme in which he and others fraudulently obtained more than $12 million in home loans. The U.S. attorney’s office announced Friday that 53-year-old David Kostelec, of Leawood, admitted that he and others submitted fraudulent loan applications and real estate appraisals between July 2002 and October 2005. Kostelec also admitted that they laundered the money through vari...
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More Kansans registering as Dems, unaffiliated
Director of state’s GOP said number of voters at the poll more important than affiliation TOPEKA (AP) — Democrats have gained a little ground in Kansas since 2004, and there are more unaffiliated voters, but the state still remains a Republican stronghold. That’s according to the latest statewide voter registration figures, released by the secretary of state’s office. Registration closes Oct. 20, so the numbers are still in flux. Already,...
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Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death
Carla K. Johnson Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for preventing SIDS, a still mysterious cause of death. Experts also recommend a firm mattress, removing toys and pillows from cribs, and keeping infants from getting too warm. Su...
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Oddities
Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven URBANA, Ohio (AP) — A defendant had a hard time facing the music. Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said. It wasn’t the music, ...
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Entertainment Briefs
Brinkley to ex: Shield kids from ‘20/20’ interview GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — Christie Brinkley wants her ex-husband to shield their children from a televised interview in which he explains his affair with a teenager and his Internet porn proclivities. Brinkley lawyer Robert Stephan Cohen said Thursday that Peter Cook must keep the couple’s two children away from the Barbara Walters interview scheduled to air on ABC while he has custody of...
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Kansas farmers bringing in crops
KCGA believes it will have a record-breaking year Roxana Hegeman Associated Press Writer WICHITA (AP) — Kansas farmers are well into their harvest of what is an anticipated to be a record corn crop. Kansas Corn Growers Association spokeswoman Sue Schulte said this week that corn growers are very optimistic about their yields and their crops. “By all indications, we will break a record this year,” she said. Among the pleased farmers is ...
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World Briefs
Calm gives way to fear on Wall Street as Dow closes below 9,000 for the first time in 5 years WASHINGTON (AP) — Calm gave way to fear in financial markets Thursday, turning a relatively steady day into a rout that pushed the Dow Jones industrials below 9,000 for the first time in five years. Investors, who had begun the day somewhat optimistic that the government was taking extraordinary steps to contain the financial crisis, turned gloo...
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Slain children’s former lawyer under investigation for fraud
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Independence lawyer who invested money from a memorial fund for two slain children into his own company is being investigated for possible securities fraud. The probe involves another investment in which Kent Desselle allegedly lost a woman’s $400,000 savings and did not tell her for eight years. He was to invest the money in low-risk funds. The allegations are outlined in a cease-and-desist order that Missouri S...
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State Briefs
Plea scheduled for suspect in baby-swiping plot INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — The second of two women charged with plotting to steal a pregnant teenager’s unborn child pleads guilty to kidnapping and first-degree assault. Eighteen-year-old Alisa Betts, of Atchison, Kan., entered the guilty pleas Thursday in Jackson County Cirtcuit Court. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a third charge of felonious restraint. Sentencing was set fo...
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Negotiations resume in Boeing machinists’ strike
SEATTLE (AP) — The Boeing Co. and its striking machinists union have agreed to return to the bargaining table, both sides said Wednesday night. A federal mediator will help hammer out details of the resumed negotiations. The machinists union has been on strike in a contract dispute since Sept. 6. “We’ve been keeping the lines of communication open since the strike, and we’ve agreed to pursue additional talks through a federal mediator,” compa...
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Celebrities
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Watch out world: Paris Hilton is continuing her bid for the White House. The paparazzi darling and reality TV star touted her candidacy in a video on FunnyOrDie.com Wednesday — her second appearance in a political spoof on the site. “Running for fake president is a little daunting,” a heavily made-up Hilton tells Martin Sheen, whom she calls “one of our greatest fake presidents.” “Being a fake president is a lot harder ...
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Heloise
Dear Heloise: In response to phone etiquette in businesses, how many people have called a place of business only to have the phone ring and ring and ring, without even a pickup and a “please hold”? I do understand the customer’s concern about “being there” and that full attention should be paid to the customer who is in the store. Unfortunately, the person on the phone cannot see through the phone to observe another customer. In the retai...
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Ask Amy
Dear Amy: I recently moved into an apartment with three other girls. When I arrived I asked if there were any rules I needed to know. I was told to just help out with the dishes. You see, the previous resident who lived there never did the dishes, and the girls didn’t want to talk to her about it because they did not want to cause a problem. This sounded fine to me, but then the pile-ups started. We have no dishwasher, but the girls just u...
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New movie tells tale of a young Billy Graham
Martha Waggoner Associated Press Writer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Robby Benson knows how it sounds. But his reason for making a movie about the life of a young Billy Graham, the director says, is simple: “I wanted to make a movie about goodness.” “Billy: The Early Years” focuses on Graham’s life as a teenager growing up on a dairy farm in Charlotte through his years as a young man, when he became a super-evangelist, drawing hundreds of thousan...
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World Briefs
Fed, other central banks announce rate cuts to revive world economy, settle markets WASHINGTON (AP) — Wall Street bounced higher and lower Wednesday trying to make up its mind about an unprecedented coordinated interest rate cut by central banks around the world. In the end it settled on a familiar feeling — fear — and plunged again. The Federal Reserve, desperately trying to jump-start the lending that keeps the U.S. economy moving, dropped ...
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Dems still press on missed meetings in Kansas 2nd
John Hanna AP Political Writer TOPEKA (AP) — Even by YouTube standards, the 36-second snippet isn’t much: a couple of wobbly zooms and pans, a fuzzy picture and murky sound from a less-than-exciting government meeting. But Democrats are hoping their image of an empty chair resonates with Kansas voters. The chair belongs to Lynn Jenkins, the Republican challenger in the 2nd Congressional District, arguably the state’s hottest political race. D...
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Pelosi raises idea of $150 billion stimulus bill to heal economy
Colleen Slevin Associated Press Writer DENVER (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that a $150 billion economic stimulus plan is needed now because of the faltering economy and she may call the House into session after the election to pass it. Pelosi told reporters that the stock market meltdown, which has caused an estimated $2 trillion loss from pension funds, was a factor in her recommendation for a second stimulus bill. Th...
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