AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Man confesses to shooting Kan. abortion provider

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Defiant and unapologetic, a man accused of shooting a Kansas abortion provider confessed to the slaying Monday, telling The Associated Press that he killed the doctor to protect unborn children.

Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., spoke to the AP in a telephone call from jail, saying he plans to argue at his trial that he was justified in shooting Dr. George Tiller.

"Because of the fact preborn children's lives were in imminent danger this was the action I chose. ... I want to make sure that the focus is, of course, obviously on the preborn children and the necessity to defend them," Roeder said.

"Defending innocent life -- that is what prompted me. I mean, it is pretty simple," he said.

Roeder is charged with one count of first-degree murder in Tiller's death and two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly threatening two ushers who tried to stop him during the May 31 melee in the foyer of the doctor's Wichita church. Roeder has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in January.

Tiller family attorney Lee Thompson and groups that support abortion rights decried Roeder as a terrorist who used violence to achieve his political agenda.

------ Kansas schools consider new lawsuit against state

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Another round of litigation over Kansas school funding could take place soon as school districts consider their options.

Thirty-six school districts have joined Schools for Fair Funding, the nonprofit coalition that started the lawsuit in 1999 to increase school funding. Those districts have nearly 130,000 students, which is almost a third of all students in Kansas.

The group won a landmark legal fight earlier this decade, culminating with the Kansas Supreme Court approving more than $460 million in new education spending over three years. But a recession has prompted the Legislature and Gov. Mark Parkinson to cut many of those new dollars from the classroom, kindling talk of a new lawsuit.

"Clearly, the Legislature is not following through on the commitments it has made," said Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards.

Superintendents are concerned that the reductions will start hurting student achievement and put a halt to academic progress.

"We are in about as difficult a situation as we have been in for quite a while," said Rick Doll, superintendent of the Lawrence school district, which has seen a reduction in its budget of nearly $3.5 million. "Future cuts are going to directly impact teachers, which impacts kids," he said, adding that the Lawrence board hasn't decided yet to join the coalition.

------ Tax waivers for pipeline to cost local governments

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- Leaders from six Kansas counties want a chance to challenge the state's contention that the Canadian owner of a crude oil pipeline is eligible for millions of dollars in tax credits.

The Kansas portion of the pipeline will run through Washington, Clay, Dickinson, Marion, Butler and Cowley counties on its way from Steele City, Neb., to Cushing, Okla. The entire pipeline will carry crude oil from Canadian tar sands to Pakota, Ill., Cushing and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has already signed a contract with Canadian energy company TransCanada granting $55.49 million in tax credits for the pipeline, which will be paid in 10 installments over 14 years, said Joe Monaco, a spokesman for the Commerce Department.

There has not been a ruling on whether the pipeline will also be exempt from property taxes.

At a meeting in Abilene last Wednesday, officials from five of the six Kansas counties involved raised questions about whether the pipeline qualifies for any tax exemptions.

According to the law creating the exemptions, Kansas refineries would have to have access to any pipeline that is seeking tax exemptions. Kansas refineries will not have any access connections to the TransCanada pipeline, said Jim Prescott, company spokesman, but will have to use their existing connections at Cushing, Okla., to access that oil.

------ Hawker Beechcraft to close Salina, Kan., plant

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- Airplane maker Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announced Monday that it will close its Salina operation.

The company, one of the nation's leading business jet manufacturers, said in a news release that it informed its Salina employees and the International Association of Machinists leadership Monday morning. The release said the union has been asked to make a "business case" for moving jobs to Wichita, where Hawker Beechcraft is headquartered.

No timeline for the closure has been set. Its lease with the the Salina Airport Authority, where it occupies 484,000 square feet and 10 buildings, doesn't expire until February 2012.

"We are continuing to work with them for a smooth transition as they close down their Salina operation between now and 2012," said Melissa McCoy, a spokeswoman for the authority.

About 240 people work at the Salina operation, down from about 500 a year ago. The plant builds wings, spar assemblies and other subassemblies.

Local union negotiator Pat Maxey said workers were prepared for the news.

------ YRC Worldwide launches debt-for-stock swap

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) -- YRC Worldwide Inc. said Monday it has begun a swap of stock for $536.8 million in debt, a move designed to stave off a bankruptcy filing and put the troubled trucking company on sounder short-term financial footing.

The company, which operates trucks under Yellow, Roadway and New Penn names, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that if it is unable to complete the exchange offer or address its existing cash problems, it will file for bankruptcy protection.

A bankruptcy filing has been rumored for months as the company struggles with a dramatic downturn in freight shipping during the economic slowdown.

The company's stock plunged last week when it announced plans for the offer, which could sharply reduce the value of current shares.

YRC said Monday it launched the offer for 5 percent convertible notes due in 2023, 3.375 percent convertible notes due in 2023, and 8.5 percent guaranteed notes due next April 15, 2010, issued by subsidiary YRC Regional Transportation Inc.

The notes have a combined face value of $536.8 million plus unpaid interest.

------ Sprint plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. on Monday said it will cut 2,000 to 2,500 jobs, mostly before the end of the year, as it keeps losing subscribers.

The wireless carrier, based in Overland Park, Kan., said the goal is to cut labor costs by at least $350 million per year.

Sprint plans to take a charge of $60 million to $80 million in the current quarter for severance and other costs associated with the job cuts.

Sprint shares rose on the announcement, closing up 58 cents, or 20 percent, at $3.43.

The company started the year with about 56,000 employees. It then cut 8,000 jobs in the first half of the year. It is also transferring 6,000 employees to LM Ericsson AB, a Swedish contractor that is taking over management of Sprint's network.

Sprint has been seeing subscribers defect to larger carriers AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless for a while. In the quarter that ended in September, it lost a net 545,000 subscribers, and revenue slipped 9 percent from a year ago.