Police Arrest Pro-Palestine Protesters on KU Campus
LAWRENCE, Kan. (Lawrence Times) — Three people were arrested this (FRI) morning at the University of Kansas when police cleared out the pro-Palestine student encampment. The area outside of Fraser Hall is now clear and quiet. The demonstrations came to an end Thursday night after KU officials warned protestors they had to leave the site by 10 pm or campus police would get involved. According to the Lawrence Times, police began dispersing the crowd around 11 pm Thursday. Around midnight, campus police arrested three people for suspicion of criminal trespassing. Campus police removed cases of water, lawn chairs, signs, tents and other items from the area because they were not permitted.
After days of demonstrations, university officials hand-delivered a letter to protestors on Thursday, alerting them of what was to come. The letter said the demonstration had become a threat to this weekend’s commencement, where visitors would be coming to campus for the ceremony and other events. The situation on campus is calm, for now, but the added element of graduation will keep campus officials and police on high alert...not just at KU, but on campuses across the country.
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Wichita Man Gets Prison for Threatening to Kill the President
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) - A Wichita man has been sentenced to nearly two years in jail for threatening to kill President Joe Biden. The U.S. Justic Department says Cody McCormick pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat against the president. Authorities say the 28-year-old man made the threat in a Facebook message sent to a Wichita TV station last spring. During questioning by Secret Service agents, McCormick told them he would kidnap Biden and force him to leave office. He said he would kill Biden if his demands weren’t met.
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Northern Lights May Be Visible over Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, may be visible tonight (FRI) in the Kansas sky. A geomagnetic storm on Earth could result in making the lights visible, which is not a common event in the sunflower state. Nathan Griesemer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says the chances of seeing the lights will be better in northern Kansas. "We should have mostly clear skies tonight and if we look close to the horizon tonight, you should be able to see a little bit of a hue of the Aurora Borealis." he said. "It's definitely a possibility that we will be able to see that close to the horizon." The Northern Lights could be visible in Kansas tonight (FRI) and Saturday night, starting around 10 pm.
Looking for more info? Visit https://www.spaceweather.com/
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Kansas Legislature Acts to Help Drivers with Suspended Licenses
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas drivers with suspended or revoked licenses may soon get some relief to help them drive legally again. The Kansas Legislature has passed a bill that lowers license reinstatement fees and allows courts to reduce traffic ticket fines. In some cases, drivers who get a traffic ticket they cannot afford will drive with a suspended license and rack up more tickets. And some drivers may never know their license is suspended until it's too late.
Democratic state Senator Olethe Faust-Goudeau says the state currently suspends licenses without warning for failing to pay ticket fines. The bill requires the state to give drivers a written notice and 60 days. “It will give you another opportunity to take care of that situation, to avoid that suspension," she said. More than 200,000 Kansas drivers have suspended or revoked licenses.
The legislation lowers the cost of license reinstatement fees and allows courts to reduce traffic ticket fines. Faust-Goudeau says drivers currently can be charged a $100 license reinstatement fee for each ticket. But the new bill reduces that to only one charge, regardless of the number of tickets. “You can have multiple traffic violations, but you only pay $100 for all of them," she said. The bill has been sent to Governor Laura Kelly.
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Kansas Governor to Veto Tax Cuts and Call Special Session
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has reiterated her plans to veto a bipartisan tax cutting bill and call lawmakers back to Topeka for a special session. Both parties said passing tax cuts was a top priority this session, but so far, Kelly has vetoed two tax bills she called unsustainable. The governor said Thursday she’ll also veto the latest bill and call a special session until lawmakers pass cuts she finds acceptable. “That incredible surplus that we have - ending balance - all of that will be gone if I were to sign this bill," she said. Lawmakers can’t do certain campaign activities while in session, so they might be eager to pass a bill and get back on the campaign trail ahead of November’s elections. Kelly’s veto is expected by next Friday.
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Manhattan Mayor Resigns After DUI Arrest
MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) - The mayor of Manhattan has resigned following his arrest for driving under the influence. WIBW TV reports that Mayor Winfried “Wynn” Butler turned in his resignation to the city commission. Riley County Police say Wynn was involved in a crash at a liquor store Wednesday night at the Candlewood Shopping Center. Butler told reporters that he was pulling into a parking space at the liquor store when the brakes on his car “failed.” The proprietors of the liquor store say the structure sustained more than $10,000 in damage.
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Valley Center High School Baseball Season Closed Due to Animal Cruelty Case
VALLEY CENTER, Kan. (KNS) - A Wichita-area high school has now canceled the rest of its baseball season because of alleged animal cruelty. 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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End of the Line for the Chevrolet Malibu in Kansas City, Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KPR) - It's the end of the line for the Chevy Malibu, made in Kansas City, Kansas. The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed the news Thursday. GM's factory in Kansas City, Kansas, will soon start making a new version of the Chevy Bolt electric car.
(-Additional reporting-)
Say Goodbye to the Chevy Malibu
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) - It's the end of the line for the Chevy Malbu, made in Kansas City, Kansas. General Motors announced Thuesday that it would stop making the mid-size sedan. But there is some good news. GM will retool its Fairfax Assembly plant to start producing a new version of the Chevy Bolt electric car. GM has been cranking out Chevy Malibus since 1964. For the last 20 years, it’s made them at its Fairfax Assembly plant near downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Production stops this fall, and the plant, which also makes small Cadillac SUVs will shut down for retooling. Most of the roughly 2,200 full time employees will be temporarily laid off. GM promises to invest about $390 million upgrading the plant, and to launch production of a next generation electric vehicle, an updated Chevy Bolt, by the end of 2025. The plant will also resume building small Cadillac SUVs.
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Cyberattack Disrupts Operations at Wichita, Manhattan Ascension Hospitals
WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Hospitals in Wichita and Manhattan are still reeling from this week's cyberattack. The attack 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 were 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.
(-Related-)
Kansas City’s Official Website Restored and Back Online - Was It A Cyberattack?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star/KPR) - The city government website for Kansas City came back online Thursday after being down most of the week. Officials called it a computer outage. The municipal court was closed until Wednesday, due to the same issue. While officials haven’t publicly called the incident a cyberattack, cyber security breaches are on the rise locally and nationally, and experts say that trend is likely to continue. The Kansas City Star reports that city officials first noticed there was an issue Saturday morning. As a result, hearings and trials had to be continued to later dates. People could not post bond. The court’s email service was also down, along with the email accounts of other city officials.
This week’s incident marks the latest in a string of recent cyber disruptions to Kansas City government and surrounding municipalities — illustrating an escalating pattern of cyber threats.
- On January 25, a ransomware attack affected the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
- On April 2, Jackson County’s assessment, collections and record of deeds offices were closed due to a ransomware attack.
- A few weeks later, Kansas City Scout operators had an outage after a cyber attack that prompted officials to shut down the traffic information system for the metro as a protective measure.
- On April 8, Ascension hospital operations nationwide were affected by a cyberattack, including hospitals in Wichita and Manhattan.
- Last year, a cyber attack also shuttered online access to the Kansas court's online system for months.
- During the pandemic, the Independence City Council voted to spend $4 million to beef up the city’s cybersecurity protections and upgrade the outdated computer network. Four months later, the city’s system was attacked. Officials at that time said it was caught before it could infect the whole network. (Read more in the KC Star.)
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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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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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