Kansas daily brief
Kansas and US news for busy people - Dec 19, 2025 edition
🌾Kansas
- Governor Kelly declared a state of emergency Thursday as extreme winds and dry vegetation fueled fast-moving wildfires, including a 500-acre grass fire near Hutchinson that forced evacuations of a Buhler elementary school.
- Kansas legislative leaders meet Monday to approve Sales Tax and Revenue Bond agreements worth hundreds of millions for a domed Chiefs stadium near the Legends in KCK, potentially ending the team's six decades in Missouri.
- Governor Kelly declared a second emergency Wednesday to address propane delivery delays caused by a pipeline leak, temporarily suspending federal driving hour limits for fuel haulers through year-end.
- KBI Director clarified marijuana cultivation, distribution, and possession remains illegal in Kansas despite federal rescheduling, as Kansas and Idaho remain the only states with no cannabis access programs.
- Lenexa grew 15% between 2015-2023 to become Kansas's fastest-growing city, fueled by its strategic highway location and hundreds of millions in office and industrial development investment.
Greg Loving
🇺🇸 US
- Brown/MIT murders solved: Anonymous Reddit tip about suspicious man and grey Nissan with Florida plates led police to suspect's body in NH storage unit; 48-year-old former Brown student Claudio Manuel Neves Valente died by suicide.
- Green card lottery suspended: Trump paused diversity visa program after learning Brown shooter obtained permanent residency through it in 2017, continuing his immigration crackdown following violent incidents.
- Marijuana reclassified: Trump moved cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, easing research restrictions and authorizing Medicare CBD pilot program, but did not decriminalize or legalize the drug.
- TikTok sold to avoid ban: ByteDance signed deal giving Oracle-led investor group 80.1% control of US operations valued around $14 billion, meeting divestiture requirements to prevent nationwide ban.
- Healthcare subsidies expire: Congress left for recess without renewing enhanced ACA subsidies affecting 20 million Americans, though bipartisan pressure may lead to retroactive fix in January.
- Inflation drops: November inflation rose just 2.7% year-over-year, below September's 3% and expectations of 3.1%.
Greg Loving
Weather
December 19, 1776: Thomas Paine publishes “The American Crisis”
Amid one of the bleakest moments of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine published The American Crisis, opening with the famous line, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” to rally a collapsing Patriot cause. Washington’s army, encamped along the Delaware River after a string of defeats and the loss of New York City, was rapidly shrinking as thousands of volunteers went home and enlistments neared expiration, threatening the rebellion’s survival. Building on the revolutionary impact of Common Sense, Paine’s new essay was read aloud to Washington’s dispirited troops, helping revive morale at a critical moment. The renewed resolve contributed directly to Washington’s daring crossing of the icy Delaware, the surprise victory over Hessian forces at Trenton on Christmas night, and the subsequent defeat of British General Earl Cornwallis at Princeton—turning the tide of the war and restoring hope to the revolutionary cause.