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

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Twitter boosts public access to federal courtrooms

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Order in the court, please, including you tweeter!

In a victory for news technology in federal courts, a judge is allowing a reporter to use the microblogging service Twitter to provide constant updates from a racketeering gang trial this week.

It's not the first time online streaming has been allowed in courtrooms, but the practice is still rare in the federal system, especially in criminal cases.

A couple of lawyers voiced concern about the possibility that a juror might visit the online site to read the posts from Ron Sylvester, a reporter for the Wichita Eagle, but U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said jurors are always told to avoid newspaper, broadcast and online reports.

"You either trust your jurors to live with the admonishment, or you don't," he said.

People use Twitter to update others on what they're doing or observing. The postings, known as "tweets," are limited to 140 characters and can be sent and received on a mobile phone or computer.

------ Kan. man pleads guilty to airport burglaries

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to burglarizing airports in four states.

Acting U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker announced Friday that Michael S. Wagner has pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud.

Prosecutors allege the 27-year-old Hutchinson man stole items including laptop computers and cameras from small airports in Kansas, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma.

Investigators determined some of the stolen merchandise was sold on eBay, and buyers paid by mailing money through the U.S. Postal Service.

He faces up to 120 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $2 million.

Sentencing has been set for May 29.

------ Army's advising mission getting new guidance

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) -- The Army is completing a set of guiding principles on how it will provide security assistance in foreign countries.

It's viewed as an interim document, one being experimented at Fort Leavenworth with help of dozens of officers who have had ample experience doing the real thing.

The process and the final product will reflect lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and previous experience advising foreign militaries, while keeping a focus on future conflicts.

"The focus is always going to be on supporting the legitimate government," said Maj. Steve Lucas.

The experiment by the Battle Command Battle Laboratory began last month when more than 950 midlevel officers conducted a war game simulating a major combat operation in Azerbaijan. In that phase, officers simulated attacking an enemy, fighting an insurgency and initiating stability operations.

In this current phase, being conducted in a building behind the high limestone walls of the former U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, the goal is to coordinate security assistance while the fragile government re-emerges. The focus is on brigade and division level staff.

------ Neb company linked to salmonella resumes shipments

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The Omaha company that recalled alfalfa and onion sprouts after they were linked to a regional salmonella outbreak has resumed distribution of its products.

John Hall, a spokesman for SunSprout Enterprises Inc., said Friday that no problems were found during an inspection by local and federal health officials. And, he said, the company was cleared to ship its sprouts.

Health officials said Friday at least 39 cases of salmonella in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota appear linked to SunSprout's products.

Earlier this week, SunSprout agreed to recall its alfalfa and onion sprouts as a precaution. But company officials have said they believe their safety practices, which include testing for salmonella, would have caught any tainted sprouts.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokesman Mike Herndon said Friday that the inspection at SunSprout is ongoing, but no cause of the salmonella outbreak have been found so far.

He said several samples were collected from the plant, but the results won't be known for a few days.

------ 2 Tenn men charged with stealing Goodyear secrets

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Two Tennessee engineers have been charged with stealing trade secrets from Goodyear Tire Co. to help design manufacturing equipment for a Chinese tire company.

Clark Alan Roberts and Sean Edward Howley pleaded not guilty Friday before a federal magistrate in Knoxville to an unsealed 12-count indictment charging trade secret theft, wire fraud and conspiracy.

They face up to 150 years in prison and $2.75 million in fines.

The indictment says the pair visited a Goodyear plant in Kansas in 2007 under a ruse to photograph Goodyear equipment their employer, Wyko Tire Technology Inc., needed to fill an order for a Chinese tire-manufacturer.

Their trial is set for May 13 in Knoxville.

------ H&R Block posts 3Q profit, beats expectations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- H&R Block Inc. is bracing for what could be a make-or-break final stretch of this year's income tax season.

The nation's largest tax preparer reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter Friday. But it also said the total number of tax returns prepared by its network of retail offices or through its online and TaxCut software products was down 1.8 percent through the end of February versus a year ago.

The retail offices, which generate the highest fees, saw a 3.9 percent decline from a year ago.

Executives were quick to note that the Kansas City-based company has seen a last-minute rush of taxpayers in the final weeks of the tax season over the last three years and that those procrastinators often generate higher fees because their returns are more complex.

They also acknowledged, however, that the struggling economy has made the situation more opaque this year with many of the company's traditional moderate- and low-income clients either foregoing a tax return because of their income, using free online products or attempting to prepare their taxes themselves to save money.

"At this stage we remain generally on track to our financial program and to our performance expectations for the full year, although achieving even the bottom end of our earnings guidance is not risk-free," Chairman Richard Breeden told analysts during a conference call after the company released its third-quarter earnings.

------ Scammers use phony Mass. checks on auction sites

BOSTON (AP) -- The Massachusetts Department of Revenue says scammers are using fraudulent checks bearing the name and address of the agency to bilk Craigslist sellers out of their money.

Officials say the scam begins when the buyer contacts a seller on the auction Web site about an item and sends a phony department check for more than the item's amount.

The buyer then asks for a real check in return to cover the difference between the phony check and the sales price of the item.

A seller who is victimized could deposit the bad check, send money to the scammer and ship the item all before realizing the trick.

A revenue spokesman says the hoax has shown up in other states besides Massachusetts, including Pennsylvania, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Kentucky.

------ Kan. Supreme Court gains new justice

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The Kansas Supreme Court has a new justice, an attorney widely respected for his work for state agencies but who's been in the spotlight because of his ties to the state Democratic Party's chairman.

Dan Biles, 56, of Shawnee, was sworn in Friday by Chief Justice Robert E. Davis as the 74th justice, replacing former Chief Justice Kay McFarland, who retired in January.

After his wife and daughters helped him don his robe, Biles took his seat as the seventh justice at the far right seat on the bench, the traditional place for the court's newest member.

Biles said he stood before the court more than 20 times to argue cases over the years.

"Without exception, at no time did I feel any member of the court was doing anything but supporting the constitution of the state and the United States," he said.

He also told the some 300 people in the Supreme Court chamber that he would "preserve the neutrality of the court."

------ Judge blocks records for missing Kan. boy

EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas judge on Friday blocked the release of child welfare records of an 11-year-old boy whose disappearance went unreported for nearly a decade.

Three media outlets, including The Associated Press, filed an open records request with the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The request was filed under a Kansas statute that allows release of SRS records when a child dies or nearly dies related to abuse or neglect.

Butler County District Judge Mike Ward ruled that since no "official determination" has been made that Adam Herrman is dead, those records would remain closed.

If a homicide charge is filed by the county attorney, and there are allegations of child abuse, there would be a duty to disclose, Ward said.

The SRS records disclosure had initially been opposed by Butler County District Attorney Jan Satterfield, who filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against SRS to keep the records closed.

The Butler County district attorney's office withdrew that request in court Friday, saying it no longer opposed their records public release since investigators had finished reviewing them and interviewing witnesses.

------ Salina man held in baby's beating

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- A Salina man is in custody for allegedly abusing a 12-week-old baby.

Salina Police Capt. Mike Sweeney says the 19-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night. Earlier in the day, police were called to Salina Regional Health Center, where a 12-week-old girl was being treated for injuries consistent with child abuse and being shaken.

Sweeney says the baby girl had multiple rib fractures and bruises on her forehead and knee. The baby also was suffering from a brain injury consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. She was transferred by air to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Sweeney says the baby is the daughter of the suspect's girlfriend. The suspect is booked into jail on charges that could include child abuse and aggravated battery.

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Information from: KSAL-AM

------ $8 payback inspires officer to form homeless fund

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A police officer who received a surprise $8 payback from a stranger he helped in 1988 is so inspired that he's appealing for donations to a Kansas city homeless shelter.

Overland Park, Kan., police Sgt. Dan Carney unveiled his plan Thursday to help raise money for the City Union Mission. Twenty-one years ago, Carney came across a motorcyclist passing through town, out of gas and broke. He gave him $8, all the money he had on him.

But just recently the man on the motorcycle found Carney's business card in a drawer and sent him the eight bucks.

Now Carney is asking anyone who has the money to donate $8 to the City Union Mission as part of his plan called "Give 8 Ask 8."

He's also asking those who give $8 to the mission to ask eight people to do the same, at a time when the shelter needs help to withstand a tough economy.

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------ Phase 1 of BP wind farm up and running

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) -- BP Wind Energy marks the start of full commercial operation of phase I at the Flat Ridge Wind Farm in southern Kansas.

State Treasurer Dennis McKinney on Thursday joined local elected officials, landowners and community leaders to announce the milestone at the facility in Barber County, near Medicine Lodge.

Phase I generates 100 megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power about 30,000 average Kansas homes. Westar Energy and BP each own 50 megawatts of the energy generated by the wind farm. BP's share has been sold to Westar under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Westar is also investing in two other wind farms, one in Cloud County near Concordia, the other in Wichita County near Leoti. The utility will purchase power from the Cloud County site and own and operate the Wichita County site.

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On the Net:

------ Firefighters battle fire in lake bed near Topeka

SILVER LAKE, Kan. (AP) -- Motorists traveling on U.S. 24 northwest of Topeka might have thought Silver Lake was on fire.

In a way, it was.

Firefighters from several companies on Thursday afternoon battled a grass fire in the former lake bed, now a wetlands. Heat and wind fueled flames that consumed dry cattails, producing black smoke that could be seen from Topeka.

The blaze threatened several structures in the town of Silver Lake, including a day care and a church, but the flames did not reach any buildings. Firefighters were unable to get fire trucks into the marshy area for fear of getting stuck.

Silver Lake Fire Chief Joe Hawkins said one firefighter suffered minor smoke inhalation. Two horses were rescued from the lake area.