INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Kamala Harris is clarifying her position on federally mandated school busing, saying it’s only necessary in cases where local governments are actively opposing integration. Harris says that in the 1960s and ’70s, institutions “were literally working against integration of our schools.” Harris says that’s why she supported busing then but now thinks it should just be a “tool” available to local governments and school districts to address segregation. She says, “Today it is very rare that we require the courts or the federal government to intervene.”

Harris spoke with reporters Thursday before a campaign event in Indianola, Iowa. Her stance on busing came under scrutiny after last week’s debate, when she went after former Vice President Joe Biden for his stance on busing while he was a senator.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man was fatally shot by police after confronting them with a weapon when officers were called to a Des Moines-area home because of a domestic disturbance. West Des Moines police said the shooting occurred about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday less than a mile from the junction of Interstate 35 and I-235 on the city’s north side. Police said shots were fired moments after officers confronted the man. The man died of his injuries at a local hospital. Police said no officers were injured.

Police did not identify the man who died or describe his weapon. They did not say how many officers were involved or identify them. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was examining the incident. The officers were to remain on administrative leave in the meantime.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals has overturned a $3.25 million jury award against a Des Moines-area couple’s lawyer over a failed adoption where the baby boy later was murdered.

The Des Moines Register reports that a three-judge panel ruled Wednesday that adoption attorney Jason Rieper’s conduct fell short of the legal threshold permitting Rachel and Heidi McFarland of Ankeny to recover damages for emotional distress from alleged malpractice.

They sued because Rieper failed to get the birth mother’s signature in 2014 on a crucial document. Rieper said she changed her mind. The infant lived with the couple for two months before he was returned to his mother. Five weeks later, he was found dead in her apartment.

The father pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 50-year prison sentence.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden says President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July spectacle in Washington “misses the point.” Biden was speaking to a few hundred supporters in working-class Marshalltown, Iowa.

The Democratic presidential candidate says, “I wonder what Donald Trump will say this evening, when he speaks to the nation at an event designed more to stroke his ego than celebrate American ideals.”

Earlier, the 76-year-old Biden, in well-worn running shoes, zigzagged across a parade route in Independence, Iowa, often jogging from curb to curb, sometimes trotting backward.

Clearly in his element as a hand-to-hand politician, Biden posed for innumerable photos with supporters, such as Elizabeth Washburn, who traveled with her husband and son more than an hour from Iowa City to see Biden.

We hope you are enjoying celebrating Independence Day! Bring KJAN along for your celebrations Thursday night. We will have a block of patriotic music running from 7:00pm-Midnight this evening to help you celebrate. So don’t worry about putting together that playlist, tune in to KJAN and sit back and enjoy those fireworks displays. Happy Independence Day from your friends at KJAN! Cardinals baseball coverage will prevent us from doing this Friday and Saturday nights.

(Update 5:53-p.m.: The accident victim was identified late today as 27-year old Brianna Pogge, of Atlantic)

(Original story) — A woman estimated by authorities to have been in her late 20’s was injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident north of Atlantic this morning. According to Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Bartholomew, the woman was driving an SUV when the vehicle drifted onto the shoulder southbound on Olive Street about one-quarter of a mile north of Echo Road.

Ric Hanson (Photos) – click on an image to enlarge

She over-corrected back onto the road, crossed over the centerline, crossed back and went off the road again into a ditch, where the vehicle struck a culvert pipe and flipped-up ontop of the culvert. The accident happened at around 10:28-a.m., southwest of the Pipeline Foods elevator. The woman was initially placed in a Medivac Ambulance to be stabilized before being flown by LifeNet helicopter to Bergan-Mercy Hospital. She was the lone occupant of the vehicle.

Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, Atlantic Police and Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon all assisted at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) — A special investigation by the state auditor’s office indicates a former part-timer who worked for the Webster City Chamber of Commerce was responsible for 263-thousand dollars worth of payments that were either improper or lacked proper documentation. Leah Mulholland was a financial and administrative assistant for the Webster City Chamber of Commerce. Auditors report she overpaid herself by 190-thousand dollars over a four-and-a-half year period. Auditors flagged another 35-thousand dollars worth of spending to cover things like what auditors believe were Mulholland’s cell phone bills, the purchase of a sex toy and 27-hundred dollars worth of hotel bills in Webster City. The auditor’s report also mentions improper spending at a Webster City hair salon and for food and meals at restaurants.

According to the auditors’ report, Webster City Chamber of Commerce officials “did not provide sufficient oversight of the Chamber’s financial transactions.” The chamber’s board of directors has released a written statement, indicating “all recommendations” outlined in the auditors’ report already “have been implemented.” The statement indicates this is an “ongoing criminal case” and goes on to say the “chamber board and staff are supporting and cooperating with the county attorney, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Iowa attorney general’s office.”