Cyberattack Disrupts Operations at Wichita, Manhattan Ascension Hospitals
WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A cyberattack against Ascension hospitals has affected the company's operations nationwide. Ascension operates 140 hospitals in 19 states including facilities in Wichita and Manhattan. KAKE TV reports that all Ascension patients in the Wichita area have been diverted to other hospitals for treatment. Ascension, which also operates senior living facilities, was attacked Wednesday. Ascension Via Christi is a level-one trauma center, one of only two such facilities in Wichita.
Healthcare providers across the U.S. have suffered numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, some of which have disrupted patient care and cost health providers millions, if not billions, of dollars. In February, a separate ransomware attack was launched against a subsidiary of healthcare giant UnitedHealth.
(Additional reporting...)
Ascension Health System Suffers Multi-State Cyberattack
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A multi-state cyber attack has been launched against the health nonprofit company Ascension... and it's disrupting clinical operations at Ascension Via Christi hospitals and clinics in Kansas. Ascension has been telling its business partners to disconnect from the Ascension network. It remains unclear how long or how extensive the disruption will be. Ascension operates hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes in Kansas and 18 other states.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are blaming the director of a Russian ransomware group for launching a cyberattack against the city of Wichita's website. The U.S. Justice Department has named Dimitry Khoroshev and his company, LockBit, in a 26-count indictment. LockBit has also claimed responsibility for the hack on city computers. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, along with officials in Australia and the United Kingdom, also announced financial sanctions against Khoroshev, 31.
And the State Department is offering up to $10 million for information that leads to his arrest.
Justice officials say LockBit has targeted more than 2,000 victims globally and stolen more than $100 million in ransomware payments.
Cyberattacks have recently affected Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Jackson County, Missouri. And last fall, the Kansas judicial branch saw its online court system go offline as the result of a ransomware attack. (Read more.)
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KU and WSU Collaborate to Open Bio-Medical Campus in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas officials and education leaders broke ground Wednesday on a new biomedical campus in downtown Wichita. The $300 million facility is a collaboration between the University of Kansas and Wichita State University. The campus will house KU’s schools of medicine and pharmacy in Wichita, and WSU and WSU Tech’s colleges of health professions. Leaders say it’ll help facilitate interdisciplinary research and attract more students. Governor Laura Kelly says that’s critical because Kansas has a shortage of health care workers. “That means better health outcomes for everyday Kansans. And for the people in this area, access to superb health care right in your own backyard," she said. The first phase of the new facility is slated to open in 2027.
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End of the Line for the Chevrolet Malibu in Kansas City, Kansas
DETROIT (AP) — The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed Thursday that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles. The midsize sedan was once the top-selling segment in the U.S., a stalwart of family garages nationwide. Sales for the Chevy Malbu started to decline in the early 2000s as the SUV became more prominent and pickup truck sales grew.
Now, the U.S. auto market is dominated by SUVs and trucks. Full-size pickups from Ford, Chevrolet and Ram are the top selling vehicles in America, and the top-selling non pickup is Toyota's RAV4 small SUV.
Last year, midsize cars made up only 8% of U.S. new vehicle sales, but it was 22% as recently as 2007, according to Motorintelligence.com. Still, Americans bought 1.3 million of the cars last year in a segment dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
GM sold just over 130,000 Malibus last year, 8.5% fewer than in 2022. Sales rose to nearly 230,000 after a redesign for the 2016 model year, but much of those were at low profits to rental car companies. The midsize car segment made a bit of a comeback last year with sales up almost 5%. GM said it sold over 10 million Malibus, making nine generations since its debut.
GM's factory in Kansas City, Kansas, which now makes the Malibu and the Cadillac XT4 small SUV, will stop making the Malibu in November and the XT4 in January. The plant will get a $390 million retooling to make a new version of the Chevrolet Bolt small electric car.
The plant will begin producing the Bolt and XT4 on the same assembly line in late 2025, giving the plant the flexibility to respond to customer demands, the company said.
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Northern Lights May Be Visible over Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – A massive sunspot impacting radio signals on Earth could produce rare appearances of the Northern Lights in the Midwest Friday and Saturday. Seeing the Northern Lights from Kansas is uncommon. However, KSNT reports this event could be one for the history books. Solar events can sometimes lead to the creation of geomagnetic storms on Earth, which in turn produce the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis.
The lights may be visible in Kansas around 10 pm or later Friday and Saturday. The Moon will not be in the sky during the event, which will increase the chance that people can catch a glimpse of the lights, if skies are clear. Scientists say the further north you are located in Kansas, the better your chances will be of spotting the Northern Lights.
Looking for more info? Visit https://www.spaceweather.com/
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Westmoreland Expresses Gratitude for Help After Tornado
WESTMORELAND, Kan. (KPR) — The city of Westmoreland - the county seat of Pottawatomie County in northeast Kansas - is still trying to recover from a deadly tornado that struck in late April. City officials are expressing gratitude to the hundreds of people who have helped out in their recovery efforts, including first responders, search and rescue teams, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the residents of nearby communities, like Wamego. City officials say donations of supplies are no longer needed. However, Westmoreland is still accepting cash donations. The town was hit by an EF-3 tornado on April 30th. The twister killed one person, injured three and destroyed dozens of homes in the town of 750 people.
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FBI Seeks Public's Help Following Two Attempted Bank Robberies in KC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — The FBI is investigating two attempted bank robberies that took place this week in Kansas City. Agents are asking for the public's help to identify people of interest who were captured by security cameras. WDAF TV reports that both attempted robberies took place Wednesday at two different U.S. Bank branches but investigators say it’s too early to determine if the attempted robberies are connected.
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KCK Police Investigate After Homicide Confession
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) — Authorities in Kansas City, Kansas, say a man walked into the emergency room at the KU Medical Center, fired his gun into the ceiling, and confessed to killing someone and provided the address where the body could be found. Police later found a woman at that location dead with gunshot wounds. The suspect was taken into custody. No one at the hospital was injured. Police are still investigating the case. KCTV reports that this is the 10th homicide of the year in KCK.
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Home Security Company Ordered to Pay $500,000 to Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — A Utah-based company has been ordered to pay a half-million dollars to Kansas after the state alleged the company used deceptive business practices. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kansas settled with Vivint after accusing the company of renewing consumer contracts without consent, charging customers after cancelling, selling faulty equipment and lying to its customers. Vivint is one of the largest home security companies in the country, offering security cameras, smart thermostats, and solar energy products. The company has settled similar lawsuits with Arkansas, Nebraska, and several other states for what consumer protection groups called misleading and aggressive sales tactics.
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Season Canceled for Kansas Baseball Team Accused of Animal Cruelty
VALLEY CENTER, Kan. (KMUW) — A Wichita-area high school has now canceled the rest of its baseball team’s season over alleged animal cruelty. Suzanne Perez reports. Police in Valley Center, near Wichita, say they are still investigating reports that the high school baseball team killed a chicken on the field before traveling to an away game last month. The season was initially suspended, but a district spokeswoman says school leaders decided to cancel the remainder of the varsity team’s games based on information provided during the investigation. She would not say whether coaches or other adults were involved in the incident, saying it is a personnel issue. The team was 4-12 and had 10 games left. The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office will get the case this summer.
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Missouri's GOP Governor Signs Bill to Kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Republican Governor Mike Parson has signed a bill to once again try to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program. Parson signed the legislation today (THUR) in his Jefferson City Capitol office. According to Planned Parenthood, only Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas have successfully blocked Medicaid funding for the organization. Missouri Republicans have tried for years to block Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood.
Defunding efforts have been thwarted in the courts. Abortions are not covered by Medicaid, and almost all abortions are illegal in Missouri. But abortion opponents say Planned Parenthood shouldn't receive any public funding because clinics in other states provide abortions. “Our administration has been the strongest pro-life administration in Missouri history,” Parson said. “We’ve ended all elective abortions in this state, approved new support for mothers, expecting mothers, and children, and, with this bill, ensured that we are not sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers for any purpose."
In Missouri, Republicans have tried for years to block Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood clinics because of its association with abortion. That has continued even though Planned Parenthood no longer performs abortions in Missouri.
A state law prohibiting most abortions took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to abortion in June 2022.
Defunding efforts in the state have been repeatedly thwarted in the courts. A February Missouri Supreme Court ruling found that lawmakers’ latest attempt at defunding Planned Parenthood was unconstitutional. “This bill not only defies the ruling of Missouri’s highest court but also flouts federal Medicaid law,” the region's Planned Parenthood center said in a statement. “By denying Medicaid patients’ right to receive health care from Planned Parenthood, politicians are directly obstructing access to much-needed health services, including birth control, cancer screenings, annual wellness exams, and STI testing and treatment.”
Missouri Planned Parenthood plans to continue treating Medicaid patients at no cost, according to the organization.
Meanwhile, abortion-rights advocates last week turned in more than twice the needed number of signatures to put a proposal to legalize abortion on the Missouri ballot this year.
Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office still needs to verify the signatures. But supporters have said they are confident they will qualify for the ballot.
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KCK Public School Bond Issue Fails
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) — This week, voters in Kansas City, Kansas, rejected a $420 million bond issue to replace some of the school district’s aging buildings. The bond would have raised property taxes for the next 30 years. But the Kansas City Beacon reports some residents were skeptical about paying higher taxes because the district lost and regained full accreditation in the past year. Randy Lopez is president of KCK's board of education. He said the district will do its best to maintain and improve facilities. "The reality is, there's just not enough capital dollars in any school budget, or any district budget, to do the projects that we were hoping to do," he said. Lopez said the school board will engage with the community and decide whether to move forward with another bond proposal.
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Missouri Has One of Worst Drug Problems in U.S.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) — A recent study reveals that the drug crisis in Missouri is one of the worst in the U.S. The personal finance website WalletHub analyzed statistics from many sources, including the CDC, FBI, and federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The study found that Missouri is the 6th-worst state for drug usage. Kansas is ranked as the 19th worst state for drug usage. WalletHub used the date to compare all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescription use and employee drug testing laws.
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Kansas Sheriff Admits He Did Not Have Valid Warrant to Seize Old Ballots
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (Johnson County Post) — Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden has admitted that he did not have a valid search warrant for old ballots, as part of his years-long probe into local elections. Hayden claimed at a GOP event last month that he had a search warrant “in hand” for old county election ballots. The sheriff insinuated that Johnson County elections officials had rushed to destroy ballots from as far back as 2019, in order to avoid turning them over for his investigation. Kansas requires old ballots to be destroyed if they are not contested. But at a GOP candidate forum this week, Hayden acknowledged that the search warrant had never been signed by a judge and, therefore, was not valid. Hayden’s office has been putting county resources towards his probe into local election systems for three years now - so far, with no criminal charges filed.
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KU Police Arrest Protester
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KC Star) — Campus police at the University of Kansas say they arrested one person after disbanding a pro-Palestine / anti-Israel protest. Demonstrators had set up an encampment outside Fraser Hall last week. The Kansas City Star reports that KU warned protesters several times that police would be called in if protesters didn't voluntarily remove their tents. Police took down the tents Tuesday and arrested one protester who refused to leave. A university spokesperson says the arrested person was not a KU student.
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