Battery

You may have wondered how well hybrids hold up for the long haul. It has been 10 years since the #1 seller, the Toyota Prius, hit the roads, and some are now pushing 200,000 miles. Consumer Reports testers put one such Prius through its paces, and the results are pretty impressive. Consumer Reports did its standard fuel-economy tests and measured acceleration. The 200,000-mile Prius measured up surprisingly well. It got 40.4 miles per gallon. The Prius tested in 2000 got 40.6 mpg. Acceleration was virtually the same, too. There was less than a half-second difference getting to 60 miles an hour.

A Wichita police officer is okay after being punched in the face, twice. Investigators tell Eyewitness News the officer was responding to a call at Douglas & Seneca around 5:30 Wednesday. Eyewitnesses there reported a man jumping up and down, kicking snow at vehicles. At first, the man complied with the officer, but then started hitting him. Another officer who arrived a short time later helped get the suspect under control. The man was booked on four counts, including Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer

A former Salina day care provider pleads guilty to a charge of aggravated battery. Prosecutors say Amanda Castro shook a three-month-old baby when the child would not stop crying. During a preliminary hearing in April doctors said the baby suffered brain damage and had been in and out of the hospital. Castro had been charged with child abuse and aggravated battery. While she initially entered a not guilty plea, prosecutors now say Castro has pleaded guilty to battery, the more serious of the two charges.

This summer, if you see John Pennella around his mechanic shop chances are he'll be carrying one of these conductivity testers. It checks car batteries and each one under a hood he works on will be tested. "We replace a significant amount of batteries during this time of season. " Like the cold, Pennella says extreme heat can ruin an already aging battery. Temperatures in the 90's can bring a batteries heat to over two-hundred degrees. "It's not uncommon, you take a long trip, you're building a lot of heat up in that engine compartment, you stop for a burger, you get back in the car and the car won't start," says Pennella.

The Wichita police department says one of its officers was transporting a woman to jail when she propositioned him. The 21 year old was originally arrested for being accused of a hit and run and domestic violence. The officer says the woman propositioned him while in cuffs in the back of his car. After being turned down, he says the woman slipped her cuffs in front of her, then kicked out the rear window of his car. Police say she then jumped out of the window.

SEATTLE (AP) - Technology bloggers have posted photos of what may be the next version of the iPhone. If the gadget is real, Apple's next iPhone could have a longer battery life and be used for video chatting. Analysts expect an updated iPhone this summer. AOL blog Engadget posted photos of the device over the weekend. Gizmodo, a competing gadget blog, obtained the phone itself and published details Monday. Both blogs say the phone was found in a Silicon Valley bar. Gizmodo's report Apple Inc. didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

If your holiday electronics and toys are running out of juice, this report is just in time. Consumer Reports tested AA batteries, both regular ones and rechargeables. Prices range from a $1.50 for two standard batteries all the way up to $9 for two rechargeables. Testers evaluate battery performance using digital cameras, the most common use of AA batteries. The goal is to challenge each to an identical battery of tests. Testers zoom in and out, take five pictures with the flash on, and then five pictures with the flash off. After a 10-minute rest, the test is repeated until the batteries die. The lowest-scoring standard AAs, the CVS Alkaline batteries, only had enough juice for 92 snapshots.

By Kara Sewell (WICHITA, Kan.) Mechanics at Unruh Automotive Service say when temperatures drop they see a flood of cars with bad batteries. Mechanic Clarence Griffin says some car's batteries may only have enough amps to crank in normal weather conditions and once the temperatures drop so does the charge on your battery. Griffin recommends taking your battery to your mechanic and having it tested to make sure it will hold a charge during cold weather so you don't wind up sitting behind your steering wheel in a car that won't crank.

Monday Afternoon Update A fire Saturday at the Exide battery plant in Salina caused $75,000 in damage. The company says the fire damaged the air handling system. No one was hurt. A spokesperson describes the fire as "minor. " This is the third fire at the plant in three years. A fire in 2007 caused $3 million in damage. ----------------------------------------- Original Story SALINA, Kan. (AP) - The Exide Technologies battery manufacturing plant in Salina had to be evacuated over the weekend because of a fire.

By Cliff Judy & John Boyd (WICHITA, Kan.) Police have identified the man who shot and killed Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Etheridge as Richard Lyons, Jr.  Lyons was shot and killed in a firefight hours after the initial shooting. We checked on Lyons and found he had an extensive juvenile record: 1994 -- charged with criminal damage to property 2 counts 1997 -- charged with battery 1998 -- charged with criminal damage to property 2000 -- criminal threat, domestic battery and criminal damage to property (this may have been his first charge as an adult)