1st suspect caught in Kansas slayings
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- One of the two men accused of opening fire inside a Kansas bar, killing four people and wounding five others, was arrested while the other remained at large, police said.
Javier Alatorre, 23, and Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, were each charged with four counts of first-degree murder, police in Kansas City, Kan., said in an early Monday release. Alatorre was arrested Sunday in Kansas City, Mo., but police were still looking for Villanueva-Morales, who is considered armed and dangerous. Bail for each was set at $1 million.
Surveillance video shows Villanueva-Morales entering the Tequila KC bar, where he got into an argument and was told to leave late Saturday, police spokesman officer Thomas Tomasic said. It wasn't clear whether Alatorre also was in the bar during the argument. Both men returned about two hours later and opened fire early Sunday, Tomasic said.
Bartender Jose Valdez told The Kansas City Star that he had refused to serve one of the suspects because the man had previously caused problems at the bar. Valdez said the man threw a cup at him and left, but returned later with another man shortly before closing time.
Hospital seeks source of deadly germ
DANVILLE, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania hospital is trying to determine the source of a waterborne germ that appears to have infected at least eight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, three of whom have died, officials said Monday.
Geisinger Medical Center in Danville has begun sending very premature newborns and some expectant mothers to other facilities while officials investigate, the hospital said.
Four babies have recovered from an infection caused by the Pseudomonas bacterium, and one is still being treated with antibiotics, the hospital said.
Officials said they are working with state and federal health authorities to ensure the bacteria have been eradicated.
The bacteria are common and often harmless but can cause disease in "very fragile patients," Dr. Frank Maffei, the hospital's chair of pediatrics, said at a news conference.
Oklahoma group fighting gun-carry law
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A Democratic state representative from Oklahoma City and other advocates for more restrictive gun laws filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a new Oklahoma law that will allow people to carry firearms without a background check or training.
State Rep. Jason Lowe sued in Oklahoma County, arguing that the law violates a state constitutional requirement that bills deal with only one subject matter.
Dubbed "constitutional carry" by its supporters, the bill signed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt would allow most adults to carry firearms, concealed or openly, without the currently required background check or training. Exceptions would include anyone in the country illegally or those convicted of certain crimes. Firearms would still be prohibited in certain locations, including public buildings, schools, professional sporting events, casinos and bars. The bill is scheduled to take effect Nov. 1.
Lowe and other advocates for tighter gun laws already fell short of gathering enough signatures to send the issue to a vote of the people.
In the lawsuit, attorneys for Lowe and the other plaintiffs argue that the bill deals not just with carrying firearms, but also with self-defense, a campus weapons ban, the transportation of firearms, pre-emption and other subjects.
Stitt's office declined to comment.
20 more of Saturn's moons discovered
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Twenty new moons have been found around Saturn, giving the ringed planet a total of 82, scientists said Monday. That beats Jupiter and its 79 moons.
"It was fun to find that Saturn is the true moon king," said astronomer Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
If it's any consolation to the Jupiter crowd, our solar system's biggest planet -- Jupiter -- still has the biggest moon. Jupiter's Ganymede is almost half the size of Earth. By contrast, Saturn's 20 new moons are minuscule, each barely 3 miles in diameter.
Sheppard and his team used a telescope in Hawaii to spot Saturn's 20 new moons over the summer. About 100 even tinier moons may be orbiting Saturn, still waiting to be found, he said.
It's harder spotting mini moons around Saturn than Jupiter, Sheppard said, given how much farther Saturn is.
Seventeen of Saturn's new moons orbit the planet in the opposite, or retrograde, direction. The other three circle in the same direction that Saturn rotates. They're so far from Saturn that it takes two to three years to complete a single orbit.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 10/08/2019