Lawrence

• A housing study reported to the Lawrence Planning Commission shows home values have outpaced incomes, pricing out middle-class buyers. →
• Consultants told the Lawrence Planning Commission that the local housing shortage is a structural crisis caused by a lack of vacant lots. →
• The Lawrence Planning Commission heard reports that rising property taxes are a major factor driving up rental costs for local tenants. →
• The Lawrence Planning Commission reviewed data showing that city residential building permits have fallen to their lowest levels in years. →
• City staff are repairing damage to the Fútbol 50 v 50 steel artwork located at the Lawrence Public Library plaza. →
• Fitness coach Shelly Prescott Performance Lab in McPherson provides exercise tips and encourages consistency in a new video. →
• Expect a beautiful sunny day with a high near 87°F, though keep an eye out for southwest wind gusts reaching up to 30 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Jose "Joe" Ceballos, the former mayor of Coldwater and a legal permanent resident, surrendered to ICE in Wichita after agents issued an administrative warrant declaring him "removable from the United States," despite a state plea agreement his attorneys believed had resolved his election-related misdemeanor charges. →

• Kansas's 2026 winter wheat crop is projected at 214.6 million bushels, a 38% drop from last year, as drought, freezes, and high winds devastate fields statewide — with conditions worst in south central and northern Kansas. →

• Kansas awarded more than $1.3 million in HEAL grants to support building renovation projects in 15 rural communities, leveraging nearly $3.9 million in local contributions for a total investment of approximately $5.2 million. →

• A Topeka 16-year-old was arrested after pulling what appeared to be a real gun on a person who confronted him during a "cheesing" stunt, part of a viral TikTok trend that has drawn more than 500,000 views and prompted a police warning. →

• China approved hundreds of American slaughterhouses to resume beef exports, restoring access to a market that had been effectively closed since March 2025 when Beijing allowed export licenses to lapse in response to Trump's tariffs. →

🇺🇸 US

• President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened a two-day Beijing summit — the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nearly a decade — with Xi warning that Taiwan could lead to conflict if handled poorly and Trump calling Xi a great leader. →

• The Trump administration will withhold $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid payments from California, with Vice President JD Vance citing the state's failure to combat fraud in the public health insurance program. →

• The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair in a 54-45 vote Wednesday, the narrowest margin since Senate confirmation became required for the position in 1977. →

• A UC Berkeley study found AI has driven a roughly 30% increase in A grades in writing- and coding-heavy college courses since ChatGPT's debut, eroding the value of transcripts for employers. →

• U.S. population growth slowed to roughly 0.5% over the past year — the lowest rate since 2021 — with large cities, especially in the Northeast, losing ground to surrounding midsize cities, Census Bureau data show. →

Weather

MAY 14, 1804: LEWIS AND CLARK DEPART TO EXPLORE THE NORTHWEST

Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery left St. Louis to chart the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, traveling from the Mississippi River toward the Pacific Ocean. Over nearly two and a half years, they covered thousands of miles, gathered vital geographic and scientific knowledge, and strengthened U.S. claims to the Oregon Country.

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