Kansas

A member of Westboro Baptist Church, famous for preaching a fiery gospel that claims all those deemed "sinners" would go to hell, has said that even President Barack Obama would be a better choice in the 2012 presidential elections than the Republican candidates.

Timothy Phelps, the youngest son of the Baptist pastor who leads the Topeka, Kan. church, explained in an interview with The Huffington Post why he would rather have Obama as president than any of the other choices.

Commenting on Newt Gingrich’s surprising victory in the South Carolina primary, Phelps described the former House Speaker as a “liar, thief, and adulterer.” more >>

Two Topeka pastors are calling for the resignation of Kansas House Speaker Mike O'Neal because of an email he recently sent that asked people to pray for President Obama with reference to Psalm 109:8, a Bible verse that in context with other verses has David asking God for the death of a leader.

The Rev. Tobias Schlingensiepen and the Rev. Jim McCullough delivered more than 30,000 signatures Thursday that were collected with the help of online faith-based activist group, Faithful America, condemning O'Neal's "egregious use of Christian Scripture to pray for President Obama's death."

O'Neal has apologized for the email, but said he will not resign. O'Neal had previously apologized for another email he forwarded to some legislators that called Michelle Obama "Mrs. YoMama" and made fun of her hair, according to the Kansas City Star. more >>

This Christmas some seniors wanted more than just to spread some holiday cheer and chocolates, they wanted to spread smiles and laughs while donning their dancing shoes and moving their happy feet.

Elderly residents from Meadowlark Estates in Lawrence, Kan., decided to spread some seasonal cheer by performing a song recorded by the cast of the popular television show Glee at a local Target department store. The song that they chose was the recording of “Last Christmas.”

The lady that apparently coordinated the stunt had a large heart draped around her neck and was supported by several other happily twisting and shaking friends. more >>

A Kansas pastor has been banned from an Islamic center after he was arrested while handing out Bibles in front of the house of worship.

On Thursday, Sedgwick County District Judge Phil Journey sentenced Mark Holick to 12 months of unsupervised probation.

Holick, who was found guilty of loitering and disrupting a local business, was ordered to pay a $300 fine and to stay at least 1,000 feet away from the Islamic Society of Wichita. more >>

A federal judge issued an injunction Monday on a Kansas law that denies groups like Planned Parenthood federal funding for abortions, stating that the group will likely succeed in having the law overturned.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten will save the Hays, Kansas Planned Parenthood $330,000 and allow it to remain open.

Under the law, family planning groups are forbidden from using federal funding in order to pay for abortions. Groups are still provided with money for other women’s health services such as pap smears, birth control, breast exams and gynecological exams, but federal family planning funds first go to hospitals and public health departments. more >>

Kansas lawmakers passed legislation Friday morning, banning general state health insurance from covering abortion and preventing future Obamacare funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

Passed in the last hours of the session, the Kansas state legislature approved a bill mandating private insurance companies to remove abortion from the list of standard procedures covered by in-state insurance health plans.

The only exception is in the case when the mother's life is at risk. Others seeking abortion coverage would have purchase it separately at their expense. According to The Associate Press, those riders are only $2. more >>