Kansas holds tax refunds

Kansas holds tax refunds

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has suspended income tax refunds and may not be able to pay employees on time, state officials said Monday.

The state doesn’t have enough money in its main budget account to pay its bills, prompting Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to suggest borrowing $225 million from other accounts throughout state government. But the move required approval from legislative leaders, and Republican leaders refused Monday.

Budget Director Duane Goossen said that without the money, he’s not sure the state can meet its payroll. About 42,000 state employees are scheduled to be paid again Friday.

Troop surge in Afghanistan

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Close to 3,000 American soldiers who recently arrived in Afghanistan to secure two violent provinces near Kabul have begun operations in the field and already are seeing combat, the unit’s spokesman said Monday.

The new troops are the first wave of an expected surge of reinforcements this year. The process began to take shape under President George Bush but has been given impetus by President Barack Obama’s call for an increased focus on Afghanistan.

U.S. commanders have been contemplating sending up to 30,000 additional soldiers to bolster the 33,000 already here, but the new administration is expected to initially approve only a portion of that number . White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday the president would decide soon.

Nuclear sub accident

LONDON — Nuclear submarines from Britain and France collided deep in the Atlantic Ocean this month, authorities said Monday in the first acknowledgment of a highly unusual accident that one expert called the gravest in nearly a decade.

Officials said the low-speed crash did not damage the vessels’ nuclear reactors or missiles or cause radiation to leak. But anti-nuclear groups said it was still a frightening reminder of the risks posed by submarines prowling the oceans powered by radioactive material and bristling with nuclear weapons.

The first public indication of a mishap came when France reported in a little-noticed Feb. 6 statement that one of its submarine had struck a submerged object — perhaps a shipping container. But confirmation of the accident only came after British media reported it.

Pet chimp attacks, is killed

HARTFORD, Conn. — A 200-pound chimpanzee kept as a pet and once used in commercials was shot and killed by police Monday after it mauled a woman visiting its owner and later cornered an officer in his cruiser, authorities said.

Stamford police Lt. Richard Conklin said the injured woman was hospitalized late Monday in “very serious” condition at Stamford Hospital; her identity was not immediately released. Conklin said she suffered “a tremendous loss of blood” from serious facial injuries.

Well-known around Stamford because he rode around in trucks belonging to his owners’ towing company, the chimp, named Travis, appeared on TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola when he was younger, made an appearance on the “Maury Povich Show” and took part in a television pilot, according to a 2003 story in The Advocate newspaper of Stamford.

Obama to sign stimulus

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will venture out of the White House today for a Western swing that will see him sign into law the $787 billion stimulus package and roll out a plan meant to keep struggling families from losing their homes.

The two-day trip to Denver and Phoenix reflects a decision by the president to escape the Beltway and check in on the rest of the country at least once a week in hopes of staying in touch with ordinary Americans.

Obama is to sign the stimulus bill in Denver today, then a day later in Phoenix announce details of a plan to avert home foreclosures.

Clinton arrives in Tokyo

TOKYO — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off the official program of her first overseas trip in Tokyo today, visiting a Japanese cultural site and meeting U.S. Embassy staff under the shadow of threatening rhetoric from North Korea.

Clinton participated in a purification rite and welcoming ceremony at a Shinto shrine to the father of modern Japan, Emperor Meiji. She said its message of “balance and harmony” would set the tone for the Obama administration’s foreign policy, especially in tough economic times.

Combined dispatches