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Kansas daily brief

Kansas and US news for busy people - Jan 14, 2026 edition

14 Jan 2026 • 2 min read

Gov. Laura Kelly delivers her State of the State speech on Jan. 13, 2026, in the Kansas House. (Photo by Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)

🌾Kansas

Gov. Kelly celebrated Kansas' economic transformation in her final State of the State, highlighting the Chiefs' stadium deal, $30B in new investments creating 80,000 jobs, and $1B in annual tax cuts including eliminating grocery sales tax.
Legislature introduced HB 2435 allowing natural gas utilities to defer infrastructure costs while organizing committees and processing early session business.
Chief Justice Rosen called for expanded specialty court funding and rural attorney recruitment in his first State of the Judiciary address, emphasizing treatment over incarceration for mental health and substance abuse cases.
AG Kobach opened $10M in applications for AI gun detection software in Kansas schools, promoting ZeroEyes technology that analyzes security cameras and alerts authorities within 3-5 seconds of detecting firearms.
An Arctic front dropped Kansas temperatures 20 degrees Wednesday with gusty winds, followed by a stronger cold front Friday bringing highs only in the 30s through the weekend.

Trump threatens Iran military action as protest death toll mounts, telling demonstrators "help is on its way" while European allies share intelligence on potential targets, though Saudi Arabia lobbies against strikes.
Trump tours Ford plant in Michigan to showcase manufacturing amid voter economic concerns following recent GOP election losses in swing states.
Six federal prosecutors resign from Minnesota over Trump administration pressure to investigate the wife of a woman fatally shot by ICE agents.
U.S. ouster of Maduro forces China's Latin America retreat, with Beijing reassessing regional ambitions and signaling potential trade-off: Western Hemisphere for America, Taiwan Strait for China.
China's trade surplus hits record $1.19 trillion despite Trump tariffs as exporters pivot successfully to Southeast Asia, EU, Latin America and Africa markets.