Wire
Study says Kansans are conscientious
Fred Mann and Beccy Tanner The Wichita Eagle WICHITA (AP) — We are a state of dutiful people marching responsibly through life in sensible shoes. A new study linking personality to geography reveals Kansas to be a state that values rules, structure, discipline. We are, in fact, No. 5 in America in “Conscientiousness,” according the study released earlier this month by the University of Cambridge in England. We paint by the numbers, keep ...
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Celebrities
NEW YORK (AP) — Another Super Bowl, another rock ’n’ roll superstar at halftime. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show in Tampa, Fla., the NFL and NBC announced Sunday night. Continuing a run of major talent that has lately included the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the biggest television event in the nation will showcase one of its most b...
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State briefs
Most Kansas lawmakers oppose bailout measure WASHINGTON (AP) — Only one member of Kansas’ congressional delegation voted in favor of the Wall Street bailout legislation. Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore, of Lenexa, was the state’s lone vote to support the $700 billion rescue plan. The measure that Congressional leaders spent all weekend negotiating failed 228-205 in a mid-afternoon House vote Monday. The bailout plan is an unpopular one, but it’s...
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DoD says it sees few complaints over religion
TOPEKA (AP) — The Defense Department says it receives few complaints from military personnel who believe they’ve faced religious discrimination, a statement at odds with the allegations in a new federal lawsuit. Spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said Friday the department has received fewer than 50 complaints in the past three years. The armed forces have more than 2.2 million active-duty and Reserve personnel. “The department respects (and suppor...
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World Briefly
Bargaining restarted on troubled economic bailout plan; Frank sees agreement by Sunday WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration and Congress anxiously revived negotiations Friday on a $700 billion financial bailout, one day after the largest bank collapse in U.S. history provided a brutal reminder of the risks of failure. “I’m convinced that by Sunday we will have an agreement that people can understand on this bill,” predicted Massachuse...
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Nebraska lawmakers consider revising ‘safe-haven’ law
Wording permits caregivers to abandon children up to age 18 at state-certified hospitals without fear of prosecution Timberly Ross Associated Press Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When Nebraska lawmakers passed a unique “safe-haven” law that allowed parents to abandon children as old as 18, they never seriously thought such dropoffs would become common. But their worst fears have come true: At least 16 children, some of them teenagers, have ...
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Kids can be easy prey for identity thieves
Eileen AJ Connelly AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Among the people Linda Foley is currently working to help are a 3-year-old whose Social Security number is being used by someone for work purposes. And there’s a 5-year-old whose identity is linked to driver’s licenses, arrest warrants for drunken driving, and a warrant for unpaid child support. These stories may sound unusual, but Foley has heard of many such situations since she star...
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Wii-habilitation offers fun alternative
EMPORIA (AP) — Laura Schlobohm of Emporia enjoyed a game of bowling recently, cheering on her spares and attempting to coax the ball to hit the pins. Schlobohm wasn’t at a bowling alley. She was participating in Wii-habilitation and was one day from returning home from Newman Regional Health’s inpatient rehabilitation unit. She had broken her hip just over two weeks earlier. Part of Schlobohm’s rehabilitation exercises was to use the Nint...
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Celebrities
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Grammy-winning Tejano singer Emilio Navaira, still recovering from injuries suffered in a bus wreck six months ago, has been discharged from a hospital after another traffic accident. A University Hospital spokeswoman said Navaira and his wife, Maria, were discharged late Thursday, a day after their car collided with a truck. Navaira has been undergoing rehabilitation since wrecking his tour bus in suburban Houston in Ma...
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Preschoolers’ moms get chance to focus on selves
TOPEKA (AP) — Sometimes, mothers with young children just want a short break from their adoring kids and a chance to visit with other moms in a relaxed atmosphere. For moms like this, there is Mothers of Preschoolers, an interdenominational Christian-based group active in several Topeka-area churches. At MOPS meetings, moms leave their children up to 5 years old at the church nursery for Mopettes programs designed especially for little one...
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Oddities
Skeptical bank teller scares off would-be robber CENTEREACH, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a bank teller in Long Island, New York, had a simple question for a would-be robber: Are you serious? The skeptical teller’s question was apparently enough to spook the female suspect, who fled the Roslyn Savings Bank in Centereach late Thursday afternoon without a dime. Police say she walked into the bank located inside a supermarket and handed the teller...
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College classes blending Web and classroom
WICHITA (AP) — Butler Community College student Steven Lee had never taken an online class before, so he thought a “blended” learning class with half the work in a classroom and half on the computer would be a way to try online learning. The blended English class saves him almost an hour round-trip drive to campus every other week. “It’s one extra day I can make money,” Lee said. “And it saves gas.” Online course offerings are rapidly expandi...
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Kids trade Spongebob for spongepaint with DIY TV
Jennifer Forker Associated Press Writer ARVADA, Colo. (AP) — I knew something was amiss when the knickknacks — the small bowls, colorful vases, even an unused incense burner — mysteriously appeared in my living room. It could only mean one thing: My 10-year-old daughter was watching too much HGTV again. Hope likes to watch those home design shows as much as anything that airs on Disney or Animal Planet. During the early evening down time...
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Second soldier sues over religious freedom
TOPEKA (AP) — An atheist soldier at Fort Riley is suing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, claiming he was forced to took part in public prayers. Spc. Dustin Chalker is the second soldier at the northeast Kansas post to file suit alleging violations of religious freedoms. Chalker is joined in the lawsuit by the New Mexico-based Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Chalker says he was required to attend one function last year and two this ye...
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Kansas delegation to Washington, challengers assess bailout plan
Sam Hananel Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — It didn’t take long Thursday for Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt to come out against the multibillion-dollar Wall Street bailout plan reached by congressional leaders. The Wichita-area Republican said his office has received nearly 500 calls this week from outraged voters opposed to the idea of a rescue package to help shaky financial houses. “Based on what I know today, I’m a no,” Tiahrt sai...
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Oddities
Police: Milk vomit frat rank causes Arizona crash TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Police say members of an Arizona State University fraternity vomited milk from a campus bridge and caused a car crash that injured two people. Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal says the prank caused a woman in one car to stop in the road Monday night. Another car smashed into it from behind. He says the woman and her 6-year-old daughter suffered only minor injuries. Un...
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Democrats frame economy as ‘values’ issue
The Associated Press In Parma, Ohio, an organizer for Barack Obama arrived at a recent “Catholic house party,” a campaign-sponsored chat about values, prepared to answer questions about abortion. The conversation instead lurched into the battered state of the local economy — not surprising in a community where laid-off Ford auto workers are now greeters at Wal-Mart. Across the religious spectrum, from atheists to evangelicals, the economy ran...
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Kansas receives federal disaster relief
TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas is getting about $33.6 million in federal public assistance to repair damage from the tornadoes and storms of May 22 through June 16. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday the money will help state and local governments entities and eligible private non-profits repair storm damage, rebuild infrastructure and help with emergency costs, such as debris removal and overtime for emergency workers. It’s the s...
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Celebrities
Rapper Busta Rhymes refused entry into Britain LONDON (AP) — Rapper Busta Rhymes was refused entry into Britain on Thursday, according to the promoter of a Busta Rhymes charity concert. Rhymes, 36, was detained at London City Airport by immigration officers, who said their refusal was based on “unresolved convictions” in the United States, said Stephen Greene of Orange RockCorps. The performer remained in custody in London while RockCorps...
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Senate passes bill to close child porn loophole
Sam Hananel Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to a Kansas child pornography case, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill making it clear that images obtained on the Internet do in fact travel across state lines. The measure, passed on a voice vote late Tuesday, closes a loophole that allowed a Kansas City, Kan., man convicted of possessing child pornography to avoid punishment under federal law. The bill is similar to one p...
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