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Kansas daily brief draft

Kansas and US news for busy people - Feb 13, 2026 edition

Greg Loving

13 Feb 2026 • 2 min read

🌾Kansas

Senate cellphone ban Kansas Senate passed bill 28-0 to mandate school cellphone bans starting 2026-27, but House committee stripped enforcement language to make it optional, setting up conference committee fight.
School voucher expansion House passed HB 2468 70-49 on party lines to expand private school tuition tax credits; Republicans touted school choice while Democrats argued it diverts funds from underfunded public special education.
Wichita sales tax opposition Sedgwick County GOP unanimously opposes Wichita's proposed 1% sales tax (projected $850M over 7 years) ahead of March 3 vote, citing lack of public input and rushed process.
Right to repair narrowed House committee advanced "right to repair" bill but added major amendments exempting farm equipment and limiting manufacturer requirements to authorized repair shops rather than consumers, with 2027 effective date.
Bathroom bill costs Local officials warn Kansas bathroom bill requiring use of birth-sex facilities could cost millions in enforcement and signage; Governor Kelly expected to veto despite veto-proof legislative majorities.

🇺🇸 US

DHS shutdown imminent: Senate Democrats blocked House funding bill (52-47), leaving Homeland Security unfunded as Congress leaves for recess—third partial shutdown in five months starts Saturday.
National Guard exits sanctuary cities: All troops have withdrawn from Chicago, LA, and Portland, ending Trump administration deployments that sparked federal-city conflicts.
Detroit automakers lose $50B on EVs: GM, Ford, and Stellantis write down massive EV investments as sales plunged 30% after federal tax credits expired in September.
Chinese AI programmed for propaganda: Alibaba's Qwen3 models use hidden instructions to present China positively and avoid criticism—sophisticated bias beyond simple censorship.
US smuggles Starlink into Iran: Trump administration covertly delivered 6,000 satellite internet terminals to Iranian dissidents after regime killed protesters; Pentagon simultaneously deploys largest carrier to Middle East.

Weather

February 13 1633: Galileo arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy

Galileo’s 1633 trial for heresy, after he supported the Sun-centered Copernican system, shows how threatening empirical, observation-based science once was to established authority. His careful telescopic observations, willingness to challenge Aristotle, and insistence that nature—not doctrine—should arbitrate truth helped lay the groundwork for the scientific method of testing hypotheses against evidence.

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