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<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have released troubled running back Larry Johnson.</p>

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG MONDAY, AUGUST 31ST, 2009 AT 6:13 PM Green Impact Zone Posted by Adolfo Carrión, Jr. We have just arrived in Kansas City where, tomorrow, we will continue our discussion of smart growth and smart planning for America’s metropolitan areas. Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy Derek Douglas, Special Advisor for Green Jobs Van Jones, and I will be joined by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari. Together, we will meet with local elected officials, stakeholders, and community members to discuss the development of the Green Impact Zone, an...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Dozens of children with a Connecticut youth group and their parents were kicked out of a Kansas City hotel in the middle of the night this week after hotel officials said they had gotten tired of fielding noise complaints from other guests. But members of the Nation Drill Squad and Drum Corps, based in New Haven, claim their eviction from the Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex Hotel culminated several days of what they called prejudicial treatment because they are black. "Everyone should be respected regardless of your skin color," said Douglas Bethea, director of the group...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Uzbekistan Nationals Among 12 Charged with Racketeering, Human Trafficking & Immigration Violations in Scheme to Employ Illegal Aliens in 14 States Twelve defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, have been charged in a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 2009, on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges related to labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in 14 states. Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan residing in Mission, Kan.; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek...

A tornado headed east down I70 towards the Kansas City speedway causing motorists to jump out of their cars and head for the ditch.

Here are some pics from the Kansas City Tea Party, starting with one of my favorites: The crowd was huge.  It was difficult to get a good shot of it all, but here are a few from different angles (The Kansas City Star says the crowd was at least 4,000):

After arriving 1/2 hour late due to prior committments and incliment weather, I arrived just after the group had started their walk to Clair McCaskill's office.I wandered behind the main group and caught up just as the crossed the main street.With the temperature hovering around 20 degrees farenheit, snow on the ground 3 to 4 inches deep, and more snow blowing on the wind we made our way to the Plaza/Westport office of Clair McCaskill.It appeared that there were approximately 200 people gathered to protest PORKULUS.As chants rose on the wind Blind Mule stepped forth and began reading letters he...

Don't forget to see part one and Bishop Robert Finn's homily from the consecration of Old Saint Patrick Oratory in Kansas City. As opposed to the pic dump you see here, Kansas Catholic will be posting pics methodically and actually explaining them. So check back there often. Saint Louis Catholic has a list of other sites with pics. He also announces that St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, whose choir came to sing at the St. Pat's consecration, will be hosting all-day Adoration on Election Day. Kansas City has the world's tallest bishop. Here, actually, Bishop Finn climbs...

Last Saturday I had the privilege of consecrating the restored church of Old St. Patrick. This is the oldest existing Catholic church in Kansas City. It will serve as the Oratory for the Latin Mass community which first began here under Bishop John Sullivan, and for many years has shared the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows. One of the beauties of the Traditional Latin High Mass that I celebrated is that it highlights a most profound aspect of the Mass, namely our participation with the Communion of Saints. The high altar, multiple candles, incense and Gregorian chant, collectively give...

ST. LOUIS - Under the Gateway to the West, the St. Louis arch, Barack Obama addressed an estimated 100,000 people in the “red” Show Me State just 17 days before the general election - his biggest rally to date in the United States.

A friend of mine sent me an email this morning with a disturbing report. This stuff is getting ridiculous. A whole bunch of little kids 50/50 black and white, maybe 4 to 5 years old and a well-dressed young black teacher-looking guy wearing a plastic name badge walked by my house. Some of the little girls waved and said hi to my neighbor's daughter, so they must live near here. They started chanting "We love Obama!" I'm not sure if that's the point of their outing, or if the kids were just goofing around. Then they started chanting "We hate...

A picture of Joyce McGautha superintendent of the Urban Community Leadership AcademyUrban Community Leadership Academy 1524 Paseo Boulevard Kansas City, MO 64108 816-483-8035Principal: Joyce McGauthaGrades: 5-9Sponsor: University of Central MissouriClick Below to listen to Joyce McGaetha the school superintendent admit she knew the kids  were being taped and didn't see a problem with it. She is just upset it was posted on youtube. Joyce%20McGauthe%20on%20Stigall%20100608.mp3Here is the original video: Obama Youth Regiment LYRICS:"Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega, Alpha, Omega,""Because of Obama, I'm...

Sarah Palin stands on stage as a crowd of exuberant Republicans, some wearing “I love pitbulls with lipstick” T-shirts, roar “Sar-ah, Sar-ah, Sar-ah” at their newfound heroine — a woman they believe has just transformed their hopes of winning the White House. Behind her, having woken to the news that he has taken a lead over Barack Obama for the first time in nine months, is a grinning 72-year-old man, clapping along to the rhythm of the chanting as his running-mate basks in the adulation. His name is John McCain, by the way, but it is Mrs Palin the crowd...

Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees John McCain and Sarah Palin will be in the Kansas City area Sunday and Monday, the campaign announced this afternoon. After flying into Kansas City on Sunday evening, they will attend a rally on Monday in Lee’s Summit. The rally is on 520 NW Murray Road at the Pavilion at John Knox Village. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. The pre-program will begin at around 10:30 a.m. Tickets are not required. Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Legislation moving toward House debate would slash six judges from the St. Louis Circuit Court, while adding new judges to courts in the St. Louis County, Kansas City and Springfield areas.Rep. Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City and a lawyer, said state resources must be allocated efficiently, and some courts desperately need more judges. He pointed to a special legislative committee report along with a state report conducted by the National Center of State Courts that found St. Louis has more judges than it needs. Stevenson said the studies and other judges have indicated St. Louis has more than it needs and...

I'm going to be in Kansas City this weekend as a summer vacation. Since I've never been there, I would like to hear some of your recommendations on what to do--besides th e primary reason why I'll be in KC--if there are restaurants, places to see and/or avoid, dive bars, and so on. Any suggestions are always appreciated (even from Chiefs fans) :) Thanks in advance.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group on Thursday announced plans to hold its 2009 national convention in Chicago. The National Council of La Raza voted Oct. 20 to pull the conference from Kansas City because a woman on the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Board was also a member the anti-illegal immigrant Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The member, Frances Semler, resigned from the parks board last month. La Raza believes the Minuteman organization is hostile to Hispanics. The group is known for its citizen patrols on the Mexican border and for picketing construction sites where...

President Bush arrived early this morning in Kansas City, Missouri to speak about the economy and to sign the Presidential Proclamation in Honor of American Heart Month (Transcript) The president had a breakfast meeting with Kansas City business leaders, then toured Hallmark Cards Inc. where he delivered a statement on the economy. (Transcript) Keeping with the American Heart Month theme, First Lady Laura Bush recorded the weekly radio address today: For the weekly radio address, President Bush has handed the mic over to me. And today, I'd like to talk about something that's close to my heart -- America's heart...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Members of an anti-illegal immigration group say they will use their regional conference this weekend to teach more people "the truth" about the organization. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps caused a stir four months ago when it announced it would bring the conference to Kansas City, where several minority groups were upset about the mayor's appointment of a Minuteman member to the city's parks board. Frances Semler resigned from the parks board last week over her Minuteman involvement, but opposition to the group remains high as Minuteman members gear up for their conference. Missouri and Kansas...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A special Kansas City police counter-terrorism unit says they are battling international and domestic terrorism in the metro. The department's homeland security division has five detectives dedicated to investigating threats of terrorism. The unit's commander says it's an evolving threat. "We have investigated leads, that we believe are threads that are involved in the material support of terrorism that leads to acts of terrorism," Major Tom Dailey said. Dailey's unit works closely with the 15 different agencies, including the FBI and CIA. The police mainly gather leads and deliver credible threats to the proper authorities. Dailey...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A national civil rights group has decided to pull its 2008 convention out of Kansas City because of actions by the city's mayor. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was expected to announce the decision Tuesday morning, The Kansas City Star reported in its Tuesday editions. The group says Mayor Mark Funkhouser showed racial insensitivity in June when he appointed to the park board someone who is a member of an organization that opposes illegal immigration. The SCLC also was upset that Funkhouser tried to oust City Manager Wayne Cauthen, who is black, without first consulting...

Just aired on local radio: Mayor Mark Funkhouser holds a press conference expressing his regret that the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) will not hold it's annual convention in KC in 2008. Under pressure to remove Frances Semler, a 73 year old grandmother, appointed by Mayor Funkhouser to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commission, who is also a member of the Minutemen, he has stood tall and has refused to cave to vicious and racist attacks at him and Ms. Semler.

A national civil rights organization co-founded by Martin Luther King Jr. is pulling its 2008 national convention from Kansas City to protest decisions by the mayor. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference thinks Mayor Mark Funkhouser showed racial insensitivity when he appointed a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to the park board and when he tried to oust City Manager Wayne Cauthen, an African-American, without consulting with the City Council. Local SCLC members also have criticized Funkhouser and his wife, who allegedly called a mayoral aide “Mammy.”

Word comes to us that Msgr. Heliodore Mejak, for over 63 years the pastor at Holy Family Parish in KCK, passed away on Christmas Day. Msgr. Mejak was reported to be the longest-serving pastor in the world, and only the SECOND pastor to serve in the parish since its formation in the 1920s. Deus, qui inter apostolicos Sacerdotes, famulum tuum Heliodore, sacerdotali fecisti dignitate vigere: praesta quaesumus; ut eorum quote perpetuo aggregetur consortio. O God, Who wast pleased to raise Heliodore, Thy servant, to the dignity of the priesthood: vouchsafe to number him with Thy bishops and priests for evermore....

EL DORADO | Foul play is suspected in the disappearance of a Butler Community College student missing since she left a bar Friday with a man, authorities said. Emily Sander, 18, was last seen at the Retreat, a bar east of El Dorado...... “We just want to find her,” said her grandfather, Clement Sander. “There’s got to be a closure.” At a news conference Monday, El Dorado police said they believe Sander is the victim of violence, but did not elaborate further on their evidence. Detective Justin Phillips said Sander apparently left the bar with Israel Mireles, 24. Police began...

Should cities be allowed to ban handguns? Yes No

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Some of the city's Latino leaders are talking about a recall campaign against the mayor because he refuses to remove a member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps from the city's parks board. Mayor Mark Funkhouser spent about an hour Thursday in a private meeting with representatives from about 30 Latino groups. The groups are upset with the mayor's appointment of Frances Semler, who is a member of the anti-illegal-immigration group the Minutemen. If Semler doesn't leave the parks board, two large conventions may pull out of Kansas City. Several reporters asked the mayor if he...

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A routine city hall appointment threatens to turn Kansas City into a new front in the U.S. debate over illegal immigration, even though the closest Mexico border crossing is hundreds of miles (kilometers) away. Anger has been simmering among Hispanic leaders since the summer, when newly elected Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed Frances Semler, a dues-paying member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), to the city's parks and recreation board. Critics say the group is a racist band of vigilantes patrolling the Mexican border with guns and intimidation. "The Minuteman is an extremist group ......

Just a heads up to all of you who are following the Kansas City Parks Board member, Francis Semler. Semler will be on Fox and Friends this morning around 7:20 central time. The AP ran this story http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hvKfSdRprsGKF7xQST3NJ9TNpGpg Semler has been the target of the local Coalition of Hispanic Organizations. They have demanded that she be removed from the Parks Board because she is a member of the Minutemen. The National Council of LaRaza and the NAACP have threatened to pull their conferences from Kansas City unless Semler is removed from the Board.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two civil rights organizations have threatened to pull their national conventions from Kansas City because a woman who is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was appointed to the city's parks board. But now, stepping into that convention breach is the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps itself, which has announced plans to hold a convention in Kansas City in December. The National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have said they are considering canceling conventions in Kansas City because of...

Kansas City has landed a new convention — but it’s one that some leaders don’t want. Several city officials were angered Friday by the announcement that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps will hold its first-ever national convention in Kansas City to support a member embroiled in controversy. The two-day event is scheduled for early December and expected to attract about 300 people. “I am concerned our city is looking like the hotbed of right-wing vigilante groups, and that’s not how I want Kansas City to be portrayed,” Councilwoman Jan Marcason said. Correcting such misconceptions is part of the purpose of...

A controversial Parks Board appointee called police when a group of protesters showed up at her home. They were there to demand Frances Semler's resignation and they're not alone. Both the Hispanic activist group La Raza and the NAACP said they're considering pulling national conventions out of Kansas City if Semler stays on the Parks Board. A neighbor said that Semler, 73, was worried about her safety when a group of people stood outside her door at 9 p.m. wanting to speak to her and that's why she called police. Semler's a member of the Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration group...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization is warning it may move its 2009 convention from Kansas City because of a controversial city park board member. The National Council of La Raza is already looking at other cities after the appointment of Frances Semler, an anti-illegal immigration activist, said Janet Murguia, La Raza's president. City Councilmembers have also heard concerns from members of the NAACP, which is expected to hold its 2010 convention in Kansas City. The city hasn't heard directly from officials of the national organization. Losing two national conventions could hurt the city's image...

The leader of the National Council of La Raza said Friday that the organization is working with Kansas City officials to try to keep the 2009 convention in the city. That’s welcome news. Unless cool heads prevail, Kansas City could lose a valuable national convention. That possibility was raised this week because of continuing concerns about Frances Semler’s appointment to the city’s park board.

The nation’s largest Hispanic rights group is warning it may cancel its 2009 convention here because of a controversial Kansas City park board member. The head of the National Council of La Raza said Thursday that the organization is already looking at several other cities because of the appointment of Frances Semler.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., turned to the story for which Kansas is most famous, "The Wizard of Oz," to tell participants at the National Right to Life Committee's 2007 convention how the story's characters can guide their actions in the pro-life movement. Speaking at a prayer breakfast during the June 14-16 convention in Kansas City, Mo., Archbishop Naumann said that, when considering the Scarecrow, "we need to pray for not only a brain, but for the wisdom to know how to best communicate to our contemporaries the sanctity of human life." One can be "armed with...

President Bush arrived in Missouri last night. This morning he had a breakfast meeting with community leaders in Riverside (Transcript) before heading to the National Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Kansas City where he delivered an amazing speech. (Transcript with audio) Afterwards, the president boarded Air Force One and returned to Texas, arriving at his home in Crawford this afternoon. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Work crews Thursday began installing the first of 152 sturdy vinyl flags that will flutter 24/7 from city light poles along Kansas City’s renamed “Grand Boulevard of the Americas.” The project, a tribute to the 35 nations of the Organization of American States, is the brainchild of local businessman and longtime civic activist James M. Malouff III. “I don’t want to demean our heritage,” he said Thursday. “But we’re way beyond cow town. Kansas City is a cosmopolitan city” engaged in international business and cultural exchanges, with emerging international visitor attractions such as the World War I Museum. He said...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A husband is accused of pushing his ill wife off the balcony of their apartment building. Cristie Reimer, 47, was found dead on the sidewalk Tuesday night after a fall from her fourth-floor apartment in the 4900 block of Wornall Road. Her husband, 51-year-old Stanley Reimer, was charged with second-degree murder. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty in federal court.

The Kansas City International Airport has added several foot-washing basins in restrooms to accommodate a growing number of Muslim taxicab drivers who requested the facilities to prepare for daily Islamic prayer, WND has learned. The move concerns airport police who worry about Middle Eastern men loitering inside the building. After 9/11, the airport beefed up its police force to help prevent terrorist attacks. "Why are we constructing places of worship for them inside our airports?" said an airport official who requested anonymity. "Why are we catering to their rituals? We don't do it for any other religion."

An Emporia, Kan., couple adopted Edwin R. Hall when he was 7 because they wanted to give him a better life. Eight years later, after Hall was convicted in juvenile court of threatening his adoptive sister with a knife, he went back into state custody. He would spend the next three years in four juvenile correctional facilities and never return to his adoptive home. The 26-year-old Hall now sits in the Johnson County jail on $5 million bond, accused of kidnapping and killing 18-year-old Kelsey Smith one week ago today. His attorney, Paul Cramm, declined to comment Friday... Hall pleaded...

http://sb1.thefifthnetwork.com/VCMS/Player.aspx?id=67051ef1-8609-4194-a38a-732f97a5e041&PlayerTemplateId=95a123a6-2be0-4450-97bf-07abbf425f4d&videoGUID=5E55A1D2-6E0F-4B25-9522-211D93A1DA40&channelId=ID0EFF

NAFTA SUPERHIGHWAY | An urban myth or reality? Super suspicious foes The government denies any such plans, but campaign against it continues. By MATT STEARNS McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON | If the government really has a secret plan for a 12-lane road-and-rail NAFTA Superhighway that will split the heartland from Mexico to Canada, it is playing with a great poker face. “There is absolutely no U.S. government plan for a NAFTA Superhighway of any sort,” said David Bohigian, an assistant secretary of commerce. Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican and a powerful member of committees that would authorize and pay for...

Grassroots Americans of all parties and economic classes rose up out of their political apathy a few months ago and forced President Bush to reverse his administration's decision to allow a Middle East government to own America's major ports. But the push for foreign ownership continues: the next port scheduled to be taken over is Kansas City, Missouri. Even though public schools stopped teaching geography a couple of decades ago, most Americans (especially residents of the Show Me state) are surprised to learn that Kansas City (where the only waves are "amber waves of grain") is a port. We are...

The murky diplomatic status of a proposed Mexican customs clearinghouse in Kansas City has gotten murkier. Since last spring, local officials and the Washington office of Sen. Kit Bond all have insisted that the matter was moving through government channels. But U.S. State Department spokesman Eric Watnik said that the agency has never been formally asked to consider the proposal. “It’s off the radar screen,” said Bill Anthony, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security. Border Protection was engaged in the early planning and was widely thought to have endorsed the project and moved...

HARRISBURG - The Penguins apparently have cut a deal with public officials to finance an Uptown arena that would keep the team in Pittsburgh, a state senator said Wednesday. "I'm hearing that a deal could be made any day, which makes me suspect it's all about crossing the t's and dotting the i's," said Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Brookline Democrat who serves on the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which would own the arena. "I don't know that there are any major hurdles left. It's all just little things." Fontana said he expects officials to announce a deal today or...

You didn't have to believe in omens to find it a bit odd that on the subway ride toward Mellon Arena yesterday, "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" seemed to be squawking in a continuous loop. This was right at the top of zero hour, when the long-awaited, viciously anticipated casino licensing issue would finally be decided. Twenty minutes later, the Penguins had begun practice on the NHL's oldest living hockey pond, and at precisely 11:27 a.m., the franchise learned it was indeed getting nothing for Christmas. Oh yeah, mommy and daddy are mad, the NHL is mad, even the Rooneys...

DALLAS -- Lamar Hunt, the pro sports visionary who owned the Kansas City Chiefs and came up with the term "Super Bowl," died Wednesday night. He was 74. Hunt, a founder of the American Football League and one of the driving forces behind the AFL-NFL merger, died at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas of complications from prostate cancer, Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore said. Hunt battled cancer for several years and was hospitalized the day before Thanksgiving with a partially collapsed lung. Doctors discovered that the cancer had spread, and Hunt had been under heavy sedation since last week. "He was a...

A MASSIVE road four football fields wide and running from Mexico to Canada through the heartland of the United States is being proposed amid controversy over security and the damage to the environment. The "nation's most modern roadway", proposed between Laredo in Texas and Duluth, Minnesota, along Interstate 35, would allow the US to bypass the west coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to import goods from China and the Far East into the heart of middle America via Mexico, saving both cost and time. However, critics argue that the ten-lane road would lay a swathe of concrete...