News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Meets With U.S. Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine

BY: and - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]

The U.S. Capitol

Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered in a […]

Jon Rolph, chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents, led colleagues and higher education officials through a discussion Wednesday to reduce requests for $570 million in new state funding to a more palatable amount. The full board is expected to vote Thursday on a unified higher education budget proposal. (Screen capture from the Kansas Board of Regents livestream)

Kansas Board of Regents sculpt $300 million plan for boosting state aid to public higher education

BY: - September 21, 2023

The Kansas Board of Regents is working to pare down more than $500 million in budget requests by the state's 32 public colleges and universities.

Migrants from Venezuela wait in line for dinner

Biden administration offers temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants 

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced late Wednesday that the agency will expand protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals, allowing them to live and work in the United States. The move comes after multiple requests from cities that have struggled to house asylum seekers and calls from […]

Kansas county scuttles talk of converting Leavenworth jail to ICE detention center

BY: - September 21, 2023

Leavenworth County officials voted unanimously Wednesday to halt discussions over whether to convert a former private federal jail into a detention center for immigration enforcement.  For years, CoreCivic, the nation’s largest private prison operator, ran a federal pretrial detention center in Leavenworth for individuals charged with — but not convicted of — federal crimes from Kansas, […]

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, speaks at a news conference Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol alongside individuals advocating for the extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program

Americans sickened by radioactive waste press Congress for action on assistance

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Victims of nuclear contamination rallied in the nation’s capital on Wednesday in support of bipartisan legislation that would extend compensation for those harmed by radioactive waste. U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, held a rally and press conference outside the U.S. Capitol as part […]

The U.S. Capitol

A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]

U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, sided with some of the House's most conservative members on a series of votes against U.S. funding of Ukraine's war against Russia. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

GOP advocacy group pressures Kansas’ Estes, Mann to support new Ukrainian aid package

BY: - September 20, 2023

A conservative GOP organization is lobbying Kansas U.S. Reps. Estes and Mann to support a new round of military aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Registered Nurse Orlyn Grace administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Jeanie Merriman at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic April 6, 2022, in San Rafael, California.

‘A nice, regular fall’: Kansas doctors call for more vaccinations to dampen COVID-19 cases

BY: - September 20, 2023

TOPEKA — Doctors warn that colder months have already brought an uptick in COVID-19 cases, especially in the urban parts of the state, though numbers are still significantly lower than they were during the height of the pandemic. During a Wednesday update on the state’s COVID-19 situation, doctors and health officials asked Kansans to take […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy

U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown

BY: and - September 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]

Scales of Justice

Kansas judge rejects prosecutor’s attempt to seal affidavit by insulting newspaper

BY: - September 19, 2023

TOPEKA — Douglas County District Judge Stacey Donovan says a prosecutor’s criticism of the Lawrence Journal-World raises First Amendment concerns and is “beneath the dignity” of district attorney’s office. Joshua Seiden, Douglas County deputy district attorney, had tried to persuade the judge to seal an affidavit in the arrest of a homeless man because he […]

Corn, soy and wheat farmers are struggling with inflation and the economic effects of the war in Ukraine. (Jill Hummels for the Kansas Reflector)

Marshall expresses irritation with possible change to temporary visa program for farm workers

BY: - September 19, 2023

GOP U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Senate agriculture committee member, objects to proposed reform of a temporary visa program for farm workers.