Kansas

Four of the five Christian youths going from Oklahoma to Iowa for a Teen Mania conference died after their small plane made a crash landing and caught fire in a field in southeastern Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Saturday the twin-engine Cessna 401 crashed Friday afternoon about nine miles west of Chanute. The plane landed in a field and skidded about 200 feet before hitting trees.

The pilot had been in contact with air traffic controllers and there was no distress call, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. more >>

A poll conducted last week among more than 1,000 Republican primary voters nationwide revealed that Rick Santorum is still the most popular GOP candidate. But most voters expect Mitt Romney to win anyway.

The poll, a joint effort between CBS News and The New York Times, was conducted by phone from March 7-11, and 34 percent of respondents said they support Santorum, while 30 percent gave their backing to Romney. However, an overwhelming 73 percent admitted that the former Massachusetts governor is most likely to pick up the Republican presidential candidate nomination.

A detailed analysis of the ongoing GOP race by Politico suggested that although many sympathize with Santorum's strong ideals and message, they feel that he is not as electable by a wide majority of voters as someone like Romney. more >>

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 >>