U.S. Surgeon General Worried About Worsening Pandemic Fueled by Delta Variant
The U.S. Surgeon General says he’s worried about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of the future during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. U.S. cases of COVID-19 last week increased by 17,000 nationwide over a 14-day period for the first time since late fall, and an increase in death historically follows a spike in illness. Murthy says much of the worsening problem is being driven by the delta variant first identified in India. The delta variant is blamed for the recent uptick in coronavirus cases in Kansas and Misssouri and now accounts for most COVID-19 cases in both states.
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Girl Hurt when Bolt Crashes Through Vehicle’s Windshield
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A girl from Missouri was hospitalized after a large bolt and nut crashed through the windshield of the vehicle she was riding in. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the incident happened in west Lawrence around 5 pm Saturday near the intersection of U.S. Highway 40 and Bob Billings Parkway. Fifteen-year-old Linzie Sanders, of Willard, Missouri, was struck in the face by the bolt. The Highway Patrol did not say in the accident report where the nut and bolt came from. None of the four other people riding in the 2017 Honda Pilot was injured when the bolt crashed through the windshield.
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Kansas City Officers Shoot at Suspect in Car in Traffic Stop
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after Kansas City police officers shot at a suspect in a vehicle early Sunday. The shooting happened shortly after midnight Sunday while officers were conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of Independence and Ewing avenues. Kansas City Police Department spokeswoman Officer Donna Drake said the officers shot at the suspect after the man drove toward officers. Drake said the suspect was not hit by the gunfire. The suspect fled before other officers in the area began chasing the vehicle. The suspect came to a stop about a mile away and fled on foot. After a brief foot chase, the suspect was arrested.
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Elderly Kansas Couple Dies After Car Collides with Semi Near Newton
NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — An elderly Kansas couple died after their vehicle collided with a semi on Interstate-135 about two miles south of Newton. The Kansas Highway Patrol said 71-year-old Raymond Bina, and his 65-year-old wife, Denice Bina, both died in the Saturday afternoon crash. The Highway Patrol said the Lincoln MKZ that Denice Bina was driving left the highway and crossed into the median Saturday afternoon. The car then overcorrected and crossed into the northbound lanes where it collided with a semitrailer truck. The 25-year-old Udall man who was driving the semi was not hurt in the crash.
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Kansas City Man Sentenced for Shooting Bus Passenger
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for shooting a passenger on a bus in northeast Kansas City last year. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s office said Sunday that 52-year-old Larry Harris Jr. has been sentenced for shooting a passenger on a bus at a bus stop on March 30, 2020. A jury convicted Harris of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in May. At the time of the shooting, witnesses told police that Harris fired a shot into the bus from the sidewalk as the bus pulled up to the stop. The shot struck a passenger in the back.
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Officials: 15-Year-Old Girl Drowned in Kansas Swimming Pool
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in south-central Kansas say a 15-year-girl drowned in a private swimming pool over the weekend. Officials say the drowning happened Friday night at a home in Harvey County. First responders were called to the home around 9:30 pm. Officials say the girl was swimming alone in the pool when she drowned. Others in the home found the girl in the pool and called 911. Medics who arrived on the scene performed CPR and rushed her to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The girl’s name has not yet been released.
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Teen Arrested in Another Teen’s Shooting Death in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of another teen in Wichita. Police said officers discovered a 16-year-old with gunshot wounds shortly before 10 pm Thursday when they were responding to a reported burglary at a home in north Wichita. That teen was taken to a Wichita hospital where he died. His name wasn’t immediately released. After a 16-year-old and a 20-year-old showed up at a hospital with gunshot wounds, police arrested that 16-year-old after learning there had been a fight between those two men and the victim before the shooting.
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Man Who Apparently Shot Himself in Standoff Identified
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County authorities have identified a 43-year-old man who they say shot himself during a standoff at a motel. Police on Saturday identified the man as Ramiro Rosete Jr. A Sedgwick County deputy stopped a vehicle driven by Rosete late Thursday and discovered that Rosete had an outstanding warrant for suspicion of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Authorities say Rosete fled when the deputy tried to arrest him. Deputies later learned the man was staying at a motel, where he barricaded himself inside. SWAT team negotiators convinced Rosete to surrender, but authorities say that shortly after the agreement, a single gunshot was heard from the suspect’s room.
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KCK Police Investigate Deaths of 2 Men Found in Car
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say two men found near a crashed vehicle were homicide victims. Police were called just before 5 am Friday and found two men unconscious and not breathing near a vehicle that appeared to have crashed into a parked vehicle in an industrial area. Officers determined that the men, described as Hispanic and in their 20s, had been shot. Their names have not been released. No arrests have been made.
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Kansas Authorities Find 56 Pounds of Marijuana During Search
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in south-central Kansas seized 89 marijuana plans and several bags of the drug during the recent search of a property northeast of El Dorado. The Butler County Sheriff’s office said the 56 pounds of marijuana worth roughly $180,000 was seized during the search on Thursday as part of an investigation of a marijuana growing operation on the property. No arrests were reported immediately after the search, but the sheriff’s office said charges are expected soon in the case.
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Kansas City Man Gets 23 Years for Fatally Stabbing Woman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for fatally stabbing a mother of four in 2018. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s office said Sunday that 20-year-old Xzavior McDowellwas sentenced Friday in connection with the death of 27-year-old Deandrea Vine. McDowell had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Vine was found stabbed to death on July 28, 2018 in front of the home where she and her four children were living with other family. McDowell and Vine worked together at a Walmart, and McDowell told police she he was in a relationship with Vine before her death.
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Ceremony in Kansas City Honors Victims of Hyatt Regency Skywalk Tragedy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of one of its greatest tragedies with a release of white doves. The Kansas City Star reports that about 100 people gathered at the Skywalk Memorial Plaza to remember the 114 people killed when disaster struck the Hyatt Regency Hotel on July 17, 1981. Hundreds of people had gathered in the hotel lobby for that night’s “tea dance” when skywalks collapsed. In addition to those killed, more than 200 people were injured. Brent Wright told the crowd that he is among the “members of a club we did not want to join.” He lost his mother and stepfather in the collapse.
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Floyd Cooper, Acclaimed Children’s Illustrator, Dead at 65
NEW YORK (AP) — An award-winning illustrator and author of children’s books whose mission to offer candid and positive images of Black history included subjects ranging from Frederick Douglass and the civil rights movement to Venus and Serena Williams has died. Floyd Cooper was 65. He illustrated dozens of books and his work on Joyce Carol Thomas’ “The Blacker the Berry” brought him the Coretta Scott King Award in 2009 for achievement by a Black illustrator. He also collaborated with such top authors as Weatherford, Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson and Howard Bryant.
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These area headlines are curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Kaye McIntyre and Tom Parkinson. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and by 1 pm on weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!