🌾 Kansas

• A Kansas State University study found nitrate, uranium and radon levels exceeding federal safety limits in three Kansas counties where cancer rates are higher than the state average, with 64% to 77% of surveyed homes reporting at least one cancer case. →

• Two Lawrence Democrats, Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold, are running in the Democratic primary to challenge Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Salina, who has $2.3 million cash on hand for his reelection campaign in Kansas' 1st Congressional District. →

• The House Committee on Elections advanced SB 231, which would move city, school district and community college elections to even-numbered years and align them with state and federal races. →

• The House Committee on Education recommended passage of amended SB 387, which would require school districts to verify household income for students receiving free meals under the national school lunch program. →

• Strong southwest winds are pushing temperatures into the 70s across Kansas on Thursday with red flag warnings in effect statewide, followed by a cold front Saturday night that will bring 50 mph wind gusts Sunday. →

🇺🇸 US

• Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and warned additional vessels would be targeted, effectively paralyzing traffic through the Persian Gulf's only sea route as the U.S. declined oil company requests for tanker escorts. →

• Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil benchmarks represent different products from different regions, with WTI priced at landlocked Cushing, Oklahoma, while Brent represents North Sea crudes and serves as the dominant global reference for roughly three-quarters of internationally traded crude. →

• President Trump is debating if he wants to wind down the war with Iran less than two weeks after launching it, facing rising oil prices and pushback from his political base over another prolonged military engagement. →

• Hackers claiming to act on behalf of Iran launched a cyberattack against US medical device maker Stryker, disabling cellphones and laptops belonging to thousands of its roughly 56,000 employees on Wednesday. →

• The Trump administration announced a trade investigation Wednesday targeting 16 of America's largest trading partners over unfair practices and excess factory capacity that have contributed to large, persistent U.S. trade deficits. →

Weather

March 12 1968: Oil discovered in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay

Prudhoe Bay’s discovery significantly boosted non-OPEC oil supply, strengthening U.S. energy security and reshaping global oil markets by moderating OPEC’s leverage on prices and supply. Globally, it showcased what it takes to extract Arctic oil at scale—massive infrastructure like the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and complex logistics using bush planes, sleds, and a 700‑square‑mile web of field pipelines to move billions of barrels from a remote permafrost region to world markets.

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