Lawrence

• A partnership between Lawrence Community Shelter and Peaslee Tech will add 125 beds to the shelter in Lawrence. →
• The Douglas County Commission voted 3-1 to support establishing a 133-acre Tax Increment Financing district in Eudora. →
• Officials confirmed Eudora USD 491's state-mandated 20 mills will be exempt from tax capture in Eudora's proposed TIF district. →
• A Douglas County plan amendment recognized a 51-acre conservation easement west of K-10, replacing proposed industrial zoning. →
• The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission considered restricting artificial intelligence in future grant proposals and marketing materials. →
• Lawrence City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry officially appointed Joe Hardy as chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. →
• The City of Lawrence hired Shaun Cookson as airport manager to oversee daily operations and compliance at Lawrence Regional Airport. →
• It's going to be a scorcher in Lawrence today with plenty of sunshine, a high near 99°F, and heat index values climbing as high as 110.

🌾 Kansas

• Four Johnson County school districts — Blue Valley, De Soto, Olathe and Shawnee Mission — have hired law firm Lathrop GPM to build a case against Kansas over alleged chronic underfunding of special education "excess costs." →

• The Greater Wichita Partnership announced Aug. 12 that Cox Airparts and Balco Inc. plan combined expansions worth more than $9 million, adding roughly 20 jobs in Sedgwick County. →

• The Barton County Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to let the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition join two federal lawsuits defending the repeal of Endangered Species Act rules. →

• USDA's Aug. 12 Crop Production report cut its Kansas sorghum forecast to 167.5 million bushels, down about a third from 2025's 252 million bushels, citing drought-driven yield declines. →

• Chicago wheat futures rose about 3% Wednesday after a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Novorossiysk port disrupted grain terminals, killed three people and wounded 24. →

🇺🇸 US

• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will step down at the end of August, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, citing the demands of balancing the job with raising her two young children. →

• The consumer price index rose 0.1% in July and core inflation hit its lowest annual rate since February 2026, helping push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq near record highs Wednesday on strong AI-related earnings. →

• The Department of Homeland Security plans to spend $10 million to $20 million by March 2027 on electric-shock gloves for ICE officers, drawing objections from civil liberties advocates amid scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics. →

• Colorado River basin states meeting in Las Vegas warned Wednesday that litigation could follow if they fail to agree on post-2026 water-sharing rules, as Lake Mead has fallen to its lowest level since Hoover Dam's construction. →

• Houthi forces killed four crew members in a ballistic missile strike on a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandeb Tuesday, while a U.S. Navy helicopter disabled an Iran-bound tanker with Hellfire missiles near the Strait of Hormuz. →

Weather

AUGUST 13, 1961: BERLIN IS DIVIDED BY EAST GERMAN REGIME

East German soldiers sealed the border through Berlin overnight with barbed wire and concrete, abruptly cutting off movement between Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the democratic western sectors. The new Berlin Wall became a defining symbol of the Cold War, embodying the Soviet bloc’s determination to stop its own citizens from fleeing to the West.

This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.