Nearly All AT&T Cellphone Customer Data Exposed in Massive Breach
UNDATED (CNN) - AT&T says it's been hacked. The telecom giant says call and text message records from nearly all of its wireless customers have been exposed in a massive data breach. CNN reports that the the compromised data includes the telephone numbers of cellphone customers. The stolen logs also contain a record of every number AT&T customers called or texted – including customers of other wireless networks – the number of times they interacted, and the duration of the calls. The company says the stolen data did not include the contents of those calls and text messages.
AT&T told CNN that this breach was an entirely new incident and not connected to another incident disclosed in March. At that time, AT&T said personal information such as Social Security numbers on 73 million current and former customers was released onto the dark web. The company has more than 100 million wireless subscribers.
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Kansas-Born Astronaut Joe Engle Dead at 91
HOUSTON (KPR) - The nation is mourning the loss of one of its greatest astronauts. Kansas-born Joe Engle died Thursday in Houston, surrounded by family and friends. He was 91. Engle is the only astronaut to pilot both the X-15 hypersonic rocket plane and the space shuttle. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1955 with a degree in Aeronatical Engineering and then became a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force. At the age of 32, Engle became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut.
Born in 1932, Engle grew up in the small Dickinson County town of Chapman. A green highway sign on I-70 reminds drivers that Chapman is Engle's hometown.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called him "a natural pilot who helped humanity's dreams take flight in the Apollo Program and as one of the first commanders in the Space Shuttle Program."
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Body of Missing Man Found in Marshall County
MARSHALL COUNTY, Kan. (KPR) - The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Marshall County's Sheriff's Office have located remains believed to be those of a missing Native American man. The body, located Wednesday in rural Marshall County, is believed to be that of 36-year-old Cameron Shoptese, of Blue Rapids. Shoptese went missing the night of July 4th. Agents believe Shoptese was murdered. And a person of interest is already in custody on unrelated charges.
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Kansas to Receive $45 Million to Fund Roads
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas will receive about $45 million in federal grants to help build and repair roads, bridges and sidewalks around the state. It’s part of a program that uses both federal and local dollars to fund infrastructure projects. More than half of the money will help the City of Topeka make about 50 miles of sidewalk more accessible. Another $16 million will help improve roads and sidewalks in the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in northeast Kansas. The state will also use a small amount of funding to conduct a study on certain major bridges and interchanges. Officials say that will help determine where future improvements are needed.
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Atchison Schools Offering Free Breakfast and Lunch to All Students in the 2024-25 School Year
ATCHISON, Kan. (KWCH) - Atchison Public Schools will provide all district students with free breakfast and lunch for the upcoming school school year. The district made the announcement on Facebook this week. KWCH TV reports that the free meals come from the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). School officials say all students will receive a healthy breakfast and lunch without having to pay a fee or submit any kind of meal application.
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KBI Crime Data Indicates Violent Crime in Kansas Has Dropped
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has released crime data for 2023. Violence seems to have dropped across the state as state and local police recorded fewer murders, rapes and robberies than in 2022. Still, agencies report higher violent crime rates now compared to a decade ago. Travis Linnemann, an associate professor of criminology at Kansas State University, treats this data with skepticism. He says statistics aren't always reliable and most incidents go unreported to police. “We don't really know exactly what's going on with crime in a given year and we're only kind of given a small, imperfect window into understanding it," he said. Linnemann says homicide tends to be the best-tracked data point. Kansas had 157 murders last year, the fewest since the pandemic started.
Meanwhile, the KBI reports 34 murders in Topeka in 2023. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that's more than double the 15 murders committed in 2022.
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Indiana Men Arrested in Shawnee County; 100 Pounds of Marijuana Seized
SHAWNEE COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) - A big drug bust in Shawnee County! The sheriff's office arrested two men from Indiana after finding 100 pounds of marijuana in their car. KSNT reports that a deputy pulled over their vehicle Wednesday on Interstate 70. The deputy's K-9 detected the pot. Marijuana valued at more than $62,000 was seized. The men -- ages 27 and 36 -- were charged with felony posession and distribution. The arrests come just over a month after another Indiana man was arrested in Shawnee County with 120 pounds of marijuana and other illegal drugs.
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Judge Rules that Dodge City Did Not Violate Rights in Elections Case
UNDATED (KPR) - A federal judge has ruled that Dodge City’s local election system does not violate the rights of its Latino residents. The judge ruled Dodge City’s practice of electing its five city commissioners at large does not block candidates backed by Latino voters from holding office. A lawsuit from two Latino residents alleged the practice violates federal anti-discrimination laws. They argued each commissioner should be elected from a separate district for better representation. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said candidates backed by the highest percentages of Latino voters won at least half the time in the past decade. Nearly two-thirds of the city’s 27,000 residents are Latino.
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Kansas Purchases 911 Translation and Transcription Services
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Emergency dispatchers in Kansas will soon get a tool to help them respond to non-English speaking callers. The Kansas 9-1-1 Coordinating Council has approved purchasing a transcription service that also translates languages, like calls from Spanish speakers. Jeff Ridgway, who works for the coordinating council, says third-party translators, not dispatchers, will speak directly to the foreign language callers. But the new service will provide the dispatchers with a real-time translated transcription of the conversation between the caller and the translator. He says that will help dispatchers better understand what the caller needs. “Our goal being, reduce the time that it takes to get resources to wherever they’re needed to go and make sure we're identifying the correct resources to send," he said. The coordinating council is paying more than $260,000 to implement the service for the state’s dispatcher stations. Each station will then pay to license the program.
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Federal Trial Date Finally Set for Accused Former KCK Police Detective
TOPEKA, Kan. (KCUR) – A federal judge has finally set a trial date for disgraced former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Detective Roger Golubski. KCUR reports that it comes nearly two years after his arrest. Golubski’s federal trial on charges of rape and kidnapping will begin on December 2nd and run through January of next year. He’s accused of using his badge to get away with abusing vulnerable Black women for decades. He was arrested by the FBI in September 2022 and has been on home detention since then. The trial, inside a federal courtroom in Topeka, will be held on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule to work around Golubski's dialysis appointments.
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Kansas GOP Legislative Leaders Agree to Hearings on Medical Marijuana
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Republican leaders in the Kansas Legislature will allow two days of hearings on medical marijuana later this year. The Kansas News Service reports that the Legislature formed a special committee on medical marijuana in light of a recent federal proposal to reclassify low-potency cannabis to a less restricted scheduling. The joint committee will hold hearings on how other states implemented medical cannabis and the potential impact if the U.S. government reschedules the drug. Hearings have not yet been scheduled but could happen as soon as this summer. Currently, 38 states and Washington, D.C. have legal medical cannabis. In Kansas, some Republican leaders in the Legislature have opposed it.
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State Board of Education Won't Ban Cell Phones, but Remains Concerned About the Effects of Screen Time and Social Media Use on Kansas Students
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Studies show social media use... can be damaging to your mental health. This is especially true among young people. Education leaders in Kansas say they’re worried about the constant use of cell phones by students. But they don’t support a statewide ban. Education leaders say schools should still do more to limit the use of cell phones by students during the school day. State school board members this week discussed research that ties screen time to higher rates of teen anxiety, depression and suicide. Board member Cathy Hopkins pointed to states like New Hampshire and Louisiana, which have offered advice to schools about screen time and social media. “I agree it’s a local decision," she said. "But I would definitely like to think, as a state board, that we would at least try to give some kind of recommendation, guidance, to local districts to do something.”
Board member Betty Arnold says some parents feel more comfortable knowing their children have cell phones. “Parents are divided on that," she said. "There are a lot that will say, ‘OK, if my child is in danger, I need my child to be able to reach me.’” Kansas lawmakers briefly considered a bill earlier this year that would have required local school boards to prohibit students from using cell phones during school hours, but that bill died in committee.
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Kansas Board of Education Gets Rid of FAFSA Requirement for High School Students
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas State Board of Education voted Wednesday to remove a new requirement that students apply for college financial aid. The Kansas News Service reports that the board voted last month to require that Kansas high school students — starting with the class of 2028 — complete the FAFSA in order to graduate. Now board members have walked back that mandate, saying completion of the form should not be tied to a student’s high school diploma. Board member Jim Porter says many students miss out on college aid because they’re confused by the application, and schools need to do more to help. “How in the world are we going to assure that they have all the information they need to be successful? I’ve struggled with this from the beginning, and quite frankly, I’m struggling with it today,” he added. Some board members say helping students with the FAFSA could be part of a district’s accreditation requirements.
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Paralympic Competitor from Leavenworth Gets Ready for Gold Medal Run
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KCUR) - A Leavenworth cyclist is preparing for another run at a gold medal in the Paris Paralympic games this summer. And a doctor from the University of Kansas is helping get her up to speed. Shawn Morelli is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist and she’s done it with her fair share of injuries and chronic vertigo. She had knee surgery after the 2020 games. Since then, she’s been working with KU Health System orthopedic surgeon Vincent Key on rehab and avoiding reinjury in training. “I have a hard time slowing down," she said. " I like to go fast, its why I win races." Dr. Key has been helping to manage Morelli's physical recovery so she can focus on the mental side. "Not not being on my bike, not being able to train…. it's mentally difficult for me," Morelli said. Her quest for another gold medal will begin August 30 with a qualifying round.
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