Lawrence

• Records show The Hawk bar in Lawrence faced 60 alcohol violations involving minors prior to a January shooting that killed an 18-year-old. →
• Lawrence Police Department officials met with residents to address privacy concerns regarding the Axon Fusus camera integration program. →
• Commissioners proposed a mid-month study session to investigate how upcoming city annexations will affect rural water infrastructure and statutory regulations. →
• The North Lawrence Comprehensive Corridor Study committee has suspended meetings while awaiting updates from external consultants HNTB Corporation. →
• Lawrence’s upcoming Free State Book Festival will feature a community-focused event for writers and readers in a relaxed environment. →
• No injuries were reported after a fire broke out at the Babcock Place apartment building in Lawrence on Wednesday afternoon. →
• Expect a mostly cloudy day with highs near 66, but keep an umbrella handy as afternoon showers and thunderstorms move into the area.

🌾 Kansas

• The U.S. House delayed its farm bill vote Wednesday after Republican disputes over E15 ethanol and pesticide liability provisions stalled the package, with Speaker Mike Johnson pushing final action back roughly two weeks following a 216-210 procedural vote. →

• House lawmakers pulled year-round E15 sales from the 2026 Farm Bill and plan a separate floor vote on the measure in coming days, with Kansas holding direct stakes as a top corn and ethanol producer and having already enacted a state tax credit for E15 retailers. →

• Kansas State University student Jack Fleischaker, 19, died after falling from a second-story window of the Sigma Chi fraternity house early Saturday, and Riley County police are investigating whether alcohol was involved. →

• The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission deferred a decision Wednesday on Mission Clean Energy's nearly 1,500-acre solar project southwest of Wichita, scheduling further consideration for June 11 after a four-hour hearing drew mostly opposition. →

• Construction of the $300 million Wichita Biomedical Campus is on track for substantial completion of its 471,000-square-foot first phase by end of 2026, with classes set to begin in spring 2027 at the downtown facility shared by WSU, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas. →

🇺🇸 US

• The Supreme Court's conservative majority issued a 6-3 ruling Wednesday sharply weakening Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a decision that could net Republicans as many as 12 House seats by enabling redrawn majority-minority districts across the South. →

• Brent crude surged past $126 a barrel Thursday as President Trump said the naval blockade of Iran would continue until Tehran abandons its nuclear program, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling Congress the war has cost $25 billion and 14 American lives. →

• The House voted 235-191 Wednesday to renew Section 702 of FISA for three years, but attached a central bank digital currency ban that Senate Republicans called a nonstarter, likely forcing a short-term extension before next week's recess. →

• One year of Big Tech AI capex in 2026 (~$670 billion) exceeds the entire Interstate Highway System (~$580 billion, built 1956–1991) and more than doubles the Apollo program (~$280 billion) — and the four-year cumulative spend (~$2.9 trillion) tops the combined cost of the 1990s telecom boom, the highway system, Apollo, the Manhattan Project and Hoover Dam. →

• Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will cease bankrolling LIV Golf after the current season, effectively ending the Saudi-funded circuit that spent billions poaching top players from the PGA Tour beginning in 2022. →

Weather

APRIL 30, 1993: WORLD WIDE WEB ENTERS THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

On this day, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee released the source code for the first web browser and editor, WorldWideWeb, into the public domain. By making his system royalty-free and widely accessible, he paved the way for the modern internet and a historic expansion of global information sharing.

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