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# Kansas daily brief
- URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/kansas-daily-brief-30/
- Published: 2026-02-04T13:09:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-04T02:34:31.000Z
- Description: Kansas and US news for busy people - Feb 4, 2026 edition
- Author: Greg Loving
- Tags: hcj, #brief, #fullemail

# 🌾Kansas

- [**Electoral College for Governor**: ](https://www.citizenjournal.us/kansas-lawmakers-propose-electoral-college-to-elect-governor/)Kansas House introduced a constitutional amendment creating an electoral college system for gubernatorial elections, allocating one elector per 40 senate districts—potentially allowing a candidate to win without the statewide popular vote.
- [**Social Media Parental Consent**:](https://www.citizenjournal.us/kansas-bill-would-require-parental-consent-for-minors-on-social-media/) Legislators advanced bills requiring verified parental consent for minors under 16 to access social media platforms and AI chatbots, with enforcement through the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
- **Panasonic Battery Expansion**: Panasonic's De Soto plant is ramping up to 50% capacity with two new production lines despite the EV industry facing a 36% sales drop after elimination of federal tax credits.
- **Data Center Deregulation**: New legislation would allow data centers and industrial facilities to generate and purchase electricity outside traditional utility regulation to attract major tech investments to Kansas.
- [**Election Security Measures**:](https://www.citizenjournal.us/election-security-bills-target-voter-rolls-ballot-counting-and-campaign-spending/) Lawmakers introduced bills requiring voter roll checks against federal immigration databases, hand-counted ballot audits instead of machine tabulation, and increased campaign finance transparency.
- **Free School Meals Expansion**: Bipartisan coalition introduced two bills to expand free meal access—one encouraging federal program participation and another creating state-funded universal meals for all Kansas students.

[Top 6 Kansas news storiesFebruary 4 2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/icon/favicon-4563.ico)citizen journalGreg Loving![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/thumbnail/Kansas_State_Senate_2020.svg)](https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-kansas-news-stories-115/)

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# 🇺🇸 US

- **US shoots down Iranian drone** near aircraft carrier after aggressive approach; IRGC later threatened US tanker in separate incident day before nuclear talks.
- **Trump signs spending deal** ending shutdown with short-term DHS funding extension; passed narrowly 217-214 with bipartisan opposition.
- **Plastic surgeons recommend halting** gender transition procedures for patients under 19, breaking with major medical groups citing insufficient long-term research.
- **AI advancement triggers software selloff** as Anthropic's legal tools spark $300B market value loss; Thomson Reuters drops 16%, PayPal 20% on disruption fears.
- **Russia resumes energy strikes** on Ukraine in minus-13°F cold, ending informal cease-fire one day before peace talks despite Trump's request for weeklong pause.
- **Walmart hits $1 trillion market cap** joining elite tech club through e-commerce expansion and AI-driven automation success.

[Top 5 US news storiesFebruary 4 2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/icon/favicon-4562.ico)citizen journalGreg Loving![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/thumbnail/ftcms_77438627-664b-401f-b1a8-96858f267927-1.jpg)](https://www.citizenjournal.us/top-5-us-news-stories-111/)

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# Weather

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/e6/f7e66a8b-8f27-493f-8b7e-664ecefd4c3d/content/images/2026/02/Tab3FileL--10-.png)

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# February 4 2004: Facebook launches

A Harvard sophomore named Mark Zuckerberg launches The Facebook, a social media website he had built in order to connect Harvard students with one another. By the next day, over a thousand people had registered, and that was only the beginning. Now known simply as Facebook, the site quickly ballooned into one of the most significant social media companies in history.

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