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Top Stories Of The Week

Sly James planned a trip to Jefferson City to promote a mayoral school takeover. Confidence in Boeing's future in Kansas was shaken. And fears for a missing college student proved unfounded. KCUR's Steve Bell looks back on those and other top stories on the KCUR Saturday News Review.Missing College Student Unharmed

19-year-old Aisha Khan had been married for five months to her husband, who was born in Pakistan. It was an arranged marriage, but there were no reports of domestic unhappiness. When she vanished after leaving a message on her sister's phone that she had fended off an obnoxious intoxicated harasser, Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass decided to treat the matter as an abduction.

Khan surfaced Thursday evening. Police said only that she was not abducted, and no crime had been committed. A family spokesman expressed gratitude... but had no explanation for where Aisha had been.

No charges will be filed. It was officials of the KU Edwards Campus, not family members or Aisha, that called police.

 

James Pushes School Takeover Plan

Kansas City Mayor Sly James announced that he will go to Jefferson City and ask for control of Kansas City Public Schools... at least as a starting point for the discussion to avoid a state takeover. School Board member Arthur Benson said he the mayor should support the elected board and avoid the disruption.

 

District Threatens To End ACE Program

Meanwhile, the Kansas City district warned its African Centered Education school it won’t renew its contract unless the district has more say-so about program finances., The program is already suing the district, claiming insufficient support.

 

Boeing Exec Says No Tanker Work For Kansas

Boeing wouldn't officially confirm its plans, but Congressman Mike Pompeo said a company executive told him Boeing would not be doing any work on a military tanker contract in Kansas. The Kansas delegation had lobbied for Boeing to get the contract.

 

Panel Blames Climate, Not Corps For Floods

A panel studying this summer's Missouri River floods found that the Corps of Engineers was not at fault, and stopped just short of blaming global warming. Hydrologist Bill Lawrence of the National Weather Service was on the panel. He says the climate extremes have increased, and Corp's water management manual needs to be revised in view of the new weather patterns.

 

Hyatt Reverses, Will Donate to Skywalk Memorial

Hyatt Hotels changed its mind and will donate $25,000 to the Skywalk victims memorial. Hyatt had originally declined, saying effective this past month it was no longer the operator of the hotel where the 1981 disaster occurred. That decision was heavily criticized.

 

UM System Sets New Class-Recording Policy

The University of Missouri decided to allow students to make audio and video recordings of classes. But those who do will have to ask permission if they want to redistribute the recordings. The rule is in response to a conservative blog that posted portions of lectures that had been edited to make it sound like the professor advocated violence as a labor negotiation technique.

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